LAST UPDATE | 21 Dec 2021

Tuesday 21st December - Happy Solstice.
Welcome to day two of our live stream of the Winter Solstice from Newgrange. The countdown is on, so hopefully the clouds will clear and there will be light. We are live on https://t.co/7SgN1iBpXO.
Enjoy wherever you are watching from. pic.twitter.com/c4pxib6Ni3

— Heritage Ireland (@heritageireland) December 21, 2021

CROWDS OF PEOPLE gathered at Newgrange in Co Meath today to watch the winter solstice at the neolithic monument.

However, overcast conditions meant the view was not as bright as hoped at the 5,200-year-old passage tomb.

For the second year year in a row, members of the public were not admitted to the chamber itself due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The solstice sunrise event was live-streamed from within the chamber, and a playback video can be viewed here. Another live broadcast will happen from the site tomorrow morning.

The winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon that marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice happens on 21 or 22 December.

We are Live pic.twitter.com/7H5GswXxR4

— Brú na Bóinne - Newgrange and Knowth (@newgrangeknowth) December 21, 2021

Sadly, the glorious sun (here's one I prepared earlier) did not shine down the Newgrange passage this morning, but a Happy Winter Solstice to all! After this afternoon, the days lengthen again. (tbf, Zoom meetings make them long enough, winter or no winter...) pic.twitter.com/E7Rafblooh

— Dr Wendy Morrison (@Hillfortian) December 21, 2021

At sunrise on the shortest day of the year, for 17 minutes, direct sunlight can enter the Newgrange monument through the specially contrived small opening above the entrance known as the ‘roof box’ to illuminate the chamber.

“I understand the disappointment of the public with the closure of the chamber, 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,” Patrick O’Donovan, Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, said ahead of today’s event.

Really delighted to be here at Newgrange this morning on the winter’s solstice- the shortest day of the year.

The interior tomb, as designed by the ancients, lights up at dawn on the solstice when the sun is shining. An ancient mystery right here in Meath East @UNESCO pic.twitter.com/uOW2VzMHJG

— Thomas Byrne (@ThomasByrneTD) December 21, 2021

The Department of Housing had asked that members of the public to not travel directly to the site, as there are road closures in place around Newgrange itself.

While the tomb chamber has remained closed during the pandemic, the National Monuments Service and the OPW have been able to expand their archaeological research programme and gather further information on the winter solstice phenomenon over the month of December.

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 the solstice and then past it.

With reporting by Órla Ryan