Mythical Ireland in conjunction with Newgrange Farm is pleased to announce a brand new tour
initiative that has never been done before.
Anthony Murphy of Mythical Ireland – author, photographer, tour guide and archaeological
discoverer – will lead a new tour of the monuments and mythology of Newgrange Farm at Brú na
Bóinne.
The tours will include a visit to the Newgrange Monument, where participants will also visit
the interior chamber of the famous monument with OPW guides.
The tours will take place on various dates throughout the summer, beginning Tuesday 20th June, and
will visit the archaeological landscape of Newgrange Farm, which covers a huge area of the Brú na
Bóinne World Heritage site around Newgrange, incorporating a significant cluster of monuments
dating from the Neolithic into the medieval period, covering several thousand years of human
activity.
Anthony, the discoverer in 2018 of ‘Dronehenge’, a gigantic Late Neolithic henge monument
situated in one of the fields of Newgrange Farm, will lead tours of the significant monuments and
ancient myths and legends associated with this world-class heritage park which contains the greatest
concentration of Late Neolithic henge monuments anywhere in the world.
The tours will take place on a tractor-hauled specially modified trailer, where tour participants will
get a close-up glimpse of ancient passage-tombs, henges, standing stones and other remarkable
features of the ancient past.
“Newgrange Farm contains many of the monuments that make up the Brú na Bóinne archaeological
complex, including a host of structures which were originally made of timber and which were
unknown until they were revealed in drone imagery during the drought of July 2018,” Anthony said.
“The tour offers a glimpse into a remarkable ancient past, looking at both the monumental
archaeological landscape and indeed the mythological landscape because there are many myths
associated with the Brú na Bóinne monuments. Some of these ancient stories appear to contain
information about the monuments that could not have been known when they were written down
in the Middle Ages.”
“What we’re seeing at Newgrange Farm is one of the most important archaeological monument
complexes anywhere in Europe, and indeed the world,” he added.
“This tour is an opportunity to see that landscape up close, and to get an insight into the size and
nature of the monuments, the materials from which they were constructed, and the people who
built them. Along with that, we have many myths and legends, and some of these refer to an Oenach
(assembly) site at Brú na Bóinne, the remnants of which I think were discovered during the drought
in 2018, when Newgrange Farm shot to international fame.”
Newgrange Farm owner David Redhouse said: “We are delighted to be able to offer this new and
fascinating tour of the Newgrange Farm Archaeological Park for the first time. Some of the
monuments on our lands are among the oldest and biggest in Ireland and tour participants will hear
from a knowledgeable expert and author who specialises in the study of this landscape.”
Newgrange Farm has been hosting visitors for many years to its open farm in the heart of the Boyne
Valley, where children and adults alike have been able to discover all the fun life on the farm has to
offer.
The new tour will add another dimension to Newgrange Farm, taking in what is an immense
and important part of the Brú na Bóinne landscape in the fields around and in front of Newgrange.
“I’m very excited as a tour guide who has been showing off our rich archaeological and mythological
heritage to visitors from around the world for years now, to be giving them a close-up tour of the
‘jewel in the crown’ that is the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site and Newgrange Farm,” said
Anthony.
“The fact that our tour participants will ALSO get a tour of the Newgrange monument and its
wonderful chamber makes this a unique offering,” he said.
