Fr. Tom O Connor, a native of Kiltulla, Athenry, Co. Galway, has spent more than 50 years researching the history and geopolitics of Iron Age Ireland. His book, Hand of History, Burden of Pseudo-History, presents a Celtic royal complex, unprecedented in Ireland for its size and layout, but similar to Belgic centers of power, called oppida by Julius Caesar, in SE England and on the Continent, centered on Turoe in Co. Galway, site of the famous Turoe stone. Among the finest example of La Tene Celtic stone art in Europe, the stone was set on Turoe hill (Cnoc Temhro). According to O Connor, it is part of a hitherto unrecognized royal sanctuary at the core of a Belgic-like oppidum defensive system of linear embankments, connected with the Celtic invasion of Ireland. More Recently he wrote Ireland’s Queen Maeve.

His work has received local and national interest - especially since the construction of the M6 motorway (Ireland) through many of the sites – yet, so far, has received little endorsement from professional historians and archaeologists who feel their own academic work is somehow compromised.

O'Connor has spent more than fifty years working as a missionary priest in Borneo Island in East Malaysia.

Read about Tom’s Books here:

‘Ireland’s Queen Maeve’ (Amazon CreateSpace): Queen Maeve's history was deliberately suppressed as she underwent gross character assassination at the hands of medieval pseudo-historians, arousing shades of a Greek-style Odyssey. The sheer magnitude of machiavellian machinations which led to her metamorphosis as a sovereignty goddess compelled the author to redeem her noble regal history. “O Connor's research and photos are unprecedented in any account of Irish History. This scholarly work is real Irish History - not the romantic myth of Gaelic High Kings of Ireland based at Tara. It should be compulsory reading for any student of Irish History” (Colin Dykes’ in his Amazon.com review). This work is greatly enhanced by its very expansive Flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/44485145@N04/

‘Hand of History’(Trafford Publishers): Roman legions rang Celtic Europe’s death-knell and orchestrated Celtic Britain’s swansong, provoking Queen Boudicca’s anti-Roman revolt in “the worst disaster to befall the Roman Empire” – all of which had a huge bearing on the rise of Celtic Ireland. This book presents Turoe’s Celtic Royal complex, unprecedented for its size and layout, but akin to Belgic oppida (as named by Caesar) in Southeast England and Western Europe. It hosts the Turoe Stone, Europe’s most celebrated classic masterpiece of Celtic La Tene-decorated stone-art, set up on Turoe’s summit in the West of Ireland. Here its archaic history and hitherto unrecognized Royal Sanctuary trappings at the core of a vast Belgic oppidum defensive system of linear embankments, uniquely connected to the Celtic invasion of Ireland, are unfolded.

It was recorded by the renowned 1st century Greek geographer, Ptolemy of Alexandria. He located two capitals in the Ireland of his day, one at Armagh’s Emain Macha, the other at Turoe, roughly at the centre of Co. Galway. He named it REGIA E TERA (Te[mh]ra), the old Celtic name for 'Capital at Turoe' (Cnoc Temhro). It is recorded in dindshenchas material (history of famous places) associated with the names of archaic kings and queens. It was suppressed by medieval pseudo-historians. Its archaic record is reconstructed here.

“This book is not only of Irish significance, for its revelations should result in a reinterpretation of prehistoric and early historic Europe. Academics and experts in archaeological and allied fields must study what can only be a very important discovery.” (Dr. Hugh Weir). “Its awesome website, www.handofhistory.com explains a lot.” (Steve Cavanagh, Death Valley, California ).