Crowds gather to celebrate Winter Solstice at Newgrange

Updated / Sunday, 21 Dec 2025 22:42 Colman O\u0027Sullivan By Colman O'Sullivan Around 2,000 people have gathered at Newgrange to celebrate the Winter Solstice. The ancient passage tomb is aligned for the rising sun on the shortest day of the year to shine into the inner chamber. The sky was mostly clear but cloud on the eastern horizon obscured the sunrise. It has since cleared and people are now queuing to get into the inner chamber. Just 14 people get the rare privilege of being inside the chamber for sunrise on the shortest day of the year. We need your consent to load this rte-player content We use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences They are two guides and six winners of the free solstice lottery and their companions. Several of this year's winners live overseas but one is based in Balbriggan, Dublin. This year's winter solstice, the exact time when the sun reached its lowest point in the Northern Hemisphere sky, is 3.03pm. Celebrations at Brú no Bóinne will continue this evening at Dowth where the passage tomb is aligned with the solstice sunset. Watch: 'I think it's a very spiritual place' - Crowds gather for Winter Solstice at Newgrange Newgrange Lottery winners speak of awe at witnessing Winter Solstice Newgrange Lottery winners have spoken of their awe at being in the inner chamber of the monument at sunrise on the shortest day of the year. Six people who entered the free lottery to be in the ancient passage tomb in Co Meath won a pair of tickets each to witness the moment when the rising Winter solstice sun enters the chamber through lightbox. Clouds low on the eastern horizon obscured the sun as it rose but Rory McKenna who travelled from his home in nearby Balbriggan said enough light still entered the chamber. "You could see the effect of it there. You know...it was good, because you definitely could see all the light doing what it was supposed to do," Mr McKenna said. Rory McKenna travelled from nearby Balbriggan Jimmy Hennessy had come from New York with his daughter, Molly. He had entered the lottery after a visit to Newgrange captured her imagination. Molly Hennessy said she thinks she has read every book on Newgrange, "the first time we were here was about a year ago in January, and it was incredible". "It was quiet. There was really nobody here. It was really lovely. And, I mean, I just kind of became obsessed with it. "I'm an archeology major, so I just thought it was the coolest thing. And so he started entering the raffle, and we got lucky, and we're here. And it was just..it was really incredible," Ms Hennessy said. Jimmy Hennessy said he was delighted to share the experience with his daughter Molly Jimmy Hennessy's grandfather emigrated from Co Laois...

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