The Winter Solstice at Newgrange is going online this year, read below for more details!
(Via the OPW website)
The Office of Public Works’ annual Winter Solstice gathering at the Neolithic Passage Tomb of Newgrange on 21 December has been cancelled this year, due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
However, the absence of visitors from this Annual event at Newgrange has presented a unique opportunity to carry out research which would not have been possible in any other year. Over the coming weeks, either side of the Winter Solstice on 21/22 December, the movement of the winter sunlight coming through the roof box into the passage and chamber will be scientifically measured and monitored, to determine how the beam of dawn light interplays with the chamber as we move towards Solstice and then past it.
The hugely significant Solstice Sunrise event will be live-streamed from within the Chamber, on 20th, 21st and 22nd December, so that everyone will be able to experience this wonderful phenomenon from any location around the world.
The archaeological research project is focussed on the Winter Solstice phenomenon at the 5,200 year old Newgrange monument. Over the coming weeks, either side of the Winter Solstice on 21/22 December, the movement of the winter sunlight coming through the roof box into the passage and chamber will be scientifically measured and monitored, to determine how the beam of dawn light interplays with the chamber as we move towards Solstice and then past it.
Please note: Members of the public are advised not to travel to Newgrange on the morning of the Winter Solstice as access to the site will not be facilitated. The co-operation of the public is greatly appreciated.
To view more about the Winter Solstice see our video below
Happy Solstice!
The Winter Solstice is an astronomical phenomenon which marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice occurs on December 21 or 22, when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Capricorn. At Sunrise on the shortest day of the year, for 17 minutes, direct sunlight can enter the Newgrange monument, not through the doorway, but through the specially contrived small opening above the entrance known as the ‘roof box’, to illuminate the Chamber.
In line with the revised Government Guidelines, Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre and the site at the Newgrange Monument are currently open to visitors. Access to the site is only available through the Visitor Centre, which is open daily from 9am to 4pm. For further information and online booking please visit heritageireland.ie
