Newgrange Winter Solstice 2015

On clear mornings around the Winter Solstice, the rising sun aligns precisely with the entrance of the great passage tomb at Newgrange. As the sun breaks the horizon, a narrow shaft of light enters through the roof box above the doorway and begins its slow journey along the 19-meter passage toward the chamber at the heart of the monument.

Conditions were perfect on Saturday 20th December for a magnificent solstice morning at Newgrange.

5000 year old solar alignment

Above the entrance to Newgrange there is a opening called a roof box. On mornings around the winter solstice a beam of light penetrates the roof box and travels up the 19 meter passage and into the chamber. As the sun rises higher, the beam widens so that the whole chamber is dramatically illuminated.

Access to the chamber on the Solstice mornings is decided by a lottery that takes place at the end of September each year. All are welcome to gather outside the entrance to the Newgrange mound on each of the mornings from December 18th to December 23rd inclusive, sunrise is at 8.58am.

The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) - Ireland's Ancient East