Access via visitor centre only – roads around monument will be closed
It has been confirmed that the Winter Solstice Sunrise at Newgrange will once again be live-streamed from within the chamber at the Neolithic passage tomb.
This phenomenal event can be viewed live each morning from the 20th to 22nd December on gov.ie/opw and heritageireland.ie.
Members of the public are advised not to travel directly to the site, as there will be road closures in place around Newgrange itself.
Visitors may enter through the Visitor Centre prior to travelling to the Monument. However, in adherence with the Government Guidelines, visitors are reminded that the wearing of face coverings within the Centre and on the buses is obligatory.
This December, The Office of Public Works (OPW), in partnership with the National Monuments Services (NMS) re-commenced their archaeological research programme to obtain further information on this phenomenon.
The research project is measuring and monitoring in great detail the movement of the winter sunlight coming through the roof box into the passage and chamber to determine how the beam of dawn light interplays with the chamber as we move towards Solstice and then past it.
Analysis of high-resolution imagery taken during last year’s research programme adds to the convincing body of evidence that the solar illumination of the tomb was intentional.
Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Patrick O’Donovan, T.D, said: “I understand the disappointment of the public with the closure of the tomb chamber during the pandemic, especially at this significant time of the year, but we have to be mindful of the Government Guidelines in relation to COVID-19 and the health and safety of our visitors at all times.
While the chamber cannot be accessed, it is great that the OPW is able once more to broadcast the Winter Solstice Sunrise live over three days to the four corners of the world, allowing us all to gather and watch the passing of the longest night of the year and to welcome the new year of the Solar Calendar. Watching the light creep into the five-thousand-year-old passage tomb in real time is a moving event that has the power to fill us both with wonder at the ancient architects’ ingenuity and with hope for the future.”
The solar alignment of the passage tomb at Newgrange to face the rising sun on winter solstice is a significant astronomical finding of global importance.
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 to illuminate the Chamber, not through the doorway, but through the specially contrived small opening above the entrance known as the ‘roof box’.
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.
