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Major announcement: Martin Brennan to return
to Ireland after a quarter of a century

PIONEERING AUTHOR TO HEADLINE WINTER SOLSTICE CONFERENCE

Author of "The Boyne Valley Vision" and "The Stones of Time" to speak about his forthcoming book

Martin Brennan is delighted to be returning to Ireland after an absence of 25 years.

Pioneering author Martin Brennan, whose work changed the way the world looked at Newgrange and the Boyne Valley monuments, is set to return to Ireland for the first time in a quarter of a century.

Brennan wrote The Boyne Valley Vision and The Stones of Time, two books which radically altered thinking about Stone Age monuments and which challenged the widely-held academic view that Newgrange and its sister sites were just tombs.

The author, who is living in Mexico where he is currently working on concluding his next book, will headline a conference at Newgrange on Sunday, December 20th, the eve of Winter Solstice. He will reveal fascinating new data from Mexico relating to ancient alignments and the Mayan calendar, and will reveal the resonance and the synchronicity between his discoveries in Mexico and those he made in Ireland in the 1980s.

The conference will be titled "The Boyne Valley Revision" in honour of his first ground-breaking book, The Boyne Valley Vision, and will outline how the theories he advanced over a quarter of a century ago have matured, and how new data from other parts of the world is supporting the idea that the ancient monuments were inspired by the Cosmos.

He will be joined at the conference, being held at The Newgrange Lodge in the heart of the Boyne Valley, by two members of his research team who helped him with his major discoveries - Toby Hall and Jack Roberts. Also speaking will be Anthony Murphy, author of Island of the Setting Sun - In Search of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers, who is a great admirer of Martin Brennan's work. Completing the line-up of speakers will be Sig Lonegren, another acquaintance of Martin, who will speak on 'Earth Energies Then and Now'.

Speaking directly to Anthony Murphy of Mythical Ireland, Martin Brennan said he was excited about coming back to Ireland and delighted to be giving his first talk here in over 25 years. Click here to listen to an audio clip of Martin speaking about the event.

His next book will be called 'Days of Power'. He has discovered fascinating alignments in Mexico, and his work also looks at the correlation between the beginning of the Mayan Long Count Calendar and the construction of Newgrange. As we speak, the famous author is ensconced in the jungle in Mexico preparing for publication of the book some time early in 2010.

The Boyne Valley Revision will take place on Sunday, December 20th, at The Newgrange Lodge. Tickets are on sale now at 65 euro for the day, and can be booked by emailing sara@ebc.ie or by phoning The Newgrange Lodge on +353 41 988 2478.* To celebrate Martin Brennan's return to Ireland, a celebratory dinner will be held at the Lodge on the evening of the event. Spaces for this dinner will be limited. The dinner, which will be attended by Martin Brennan, will cost an additional 35 euro. Enquiries to the same email address and phone number as above.

It is hoped that on the morning of Winter Solstice, Monday 21st, Martin Brennan will be accompanied to Newgrange to watch the sunrise.

* One month refund policy applies. For more details contact The Newgrange Lodge

See the Boyne Valley Revision page

Island of the Setting Sun 2nd Edition
The revised and expanded 2nd edition of acclaimed book available now

Ireland is home to some of the world’s oldest astronomically-aligned structures, giant stone monuments erected over 5,000 years ago. Despite their apparent simplicity, these megalithic edifices were crafted by a scientifically knowledgeable community of farmers who endeavoured to enshrine their beliefs in a stellar afterlife within the very fabric of their cleverly-designed stone temples.

Island of the Setting Sun second edition

The cover of the revised and expanded second edition of Island of the Setting Sun.

In this updated and revised edition of their best-selling book, Anthony Murphy and Richard Moore present evidence suggesting the builders of monuments such as Newgrange and its Boyne Valley counterparts were adept astronomers, cunning engineers and capable surveyors. Their huge monuments are memorials in stone and earth, commemorating their creators’ perceived unity with the cosmos and enshrining a belief system which resulted from a crossover between science and spirituality.

As investigation of this awe-inspiring civilisation of people continues on many levels, evidence is emerging that significant archaeological sites dating from deep in prehistory are linked – not just through mythology, archaeology and cosmology – but through an arrangement of complex, and in some cases astonishing, alignments. Some of these alignments of ancient sites stretch from one side of Ireland to another.

While the accounts of the lives of some prominent Irish saints appear to be steeped in folklore and mystery, it seems from new interpretations of the literature that the cosmic world view which existed in Neolithic Ireland experienced a continuity right into the Early Christian period.

Join us on this fascinating exploration of stones, stars and stories. Island of the Setting Sun was launched in December 2006 and was sold out 13 months later in January 2008. The second edition is revised and expanded, with new images and more fascinating insights into ancient Ireland. It will be officially launched in Dublin Castle on Thursday, September 25th. We'd love to see you there.

See more about Island of the Setting Sun on this page | See photos from the launch night here

Critical acclaim for Island of the Setting Sun

“A fascinating insight into Ireland’s ancient burial sites” – Irish Independent

“A monument” – Drogheda Independent

“The sheer amount of information contained within the book is mind-boggling. It is well thought out and structured . . . The more you read the evidence the more convinced you become.” – Astronomy & Space

“The authors . . . reach interesting and challenging conclusions about the significance of ancient astronomical knowledge. The book is jammed with colour illustrations, maps and photographs. A thoroughly interesting read!” – Archaeology Ireland

"An essential book that demonstrates just how much the beliefs and practices of our ancestors were influenced by the movement of the stars. . . . A must have tome for all those passionate about what remains of our fast disappearing ritual monuments of the prehistoric age." - Andrew Collins, author of The Cygnus Mystery

“A recent, beautifully written and illustrated publication, Island of the Setting Sun offers a thought-provoking merger of the studies of archaeology, astronomy and folklore, to explain Newgrange's significance.” Geraldine and Matthew Stout, authors of Newgrange

Mythical Ireland Tours

Explore the mythical landscapes and hear the ancient stories and monuments decoded in our new tours of ancient Ireland. Visit the Boyne Valley or tour the High Man's mystic landscape. Click here to read more and for booking information.

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Proleek Dolmen Alignment

Read about an extraordinary summer solstice alignment at Proleek dolmen. Click here

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"Peace mounts to the heavens, the heavens descend to earth, earth lies under the heavens,
everyone is strong . . ." Victory song of the Morrigan, Book of Fermoy

"In the old time the people used to be looking at the moon and at the sun and the rest of the stars, travelling and ever-travelling, through the day, and at the flowing and ever-flowing of the world's wells and rivers, and at the sadness of the earth and the trance and the sleep of it with the coming of winter, and the rising of the world again with the coming of the summer." Great Wonders of the Olden Time, from Lady Gregory's Saints and Wonders

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