OPW will be live streaming the Winter Solstice from Newgrange this year

The event was live-streamed last year too due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Each morning, between the 20th and 22nd December, the Winter Solstice will be live-streamed from the Neolithic passage tomb in Newgrange. The Office of Public Works (OPW) and the National Monument Services (NMS) recommenced their study of the phenomenon this year. Teachta Dála of Ireland, Patrick O'Donovan says of the event:

"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 at Newgrange has huge global relevance. In 1967, Professor Michael J. O'Kelly re-discovered it, and recent analysis of imagery taken during the solstice back the theory that the solar illumination was intentional. Although sadly people can't visit the actual site this year, you can live-stream it either on gov.ie/opw or heritageireland.ie. It might just lift your spirits as we head into Christmas week. Header image via Shutterstock  READ ON: "€40,000 of cancelled bookings so far this month" Dublin hotel manager speaks of difficult Christmas period