Dawn solstice to be streamed live from Newgrange across the globe 

This year, on the shortest day of the year, the people from Cork and across the world will watch on livestream as the first rays of dawn light up an Irish monument that was ancient when the Great Pyramids were planned and the first boulders brought to Stonehenge.

Every year the winter solstice, the astronomical phenomenon marking the shortest day and the longest night of the year, occurs in the northern hemisphere on December 21 or 22 when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Capricorn.

For 17 minutes at sunrise, direct sunlight can enter the ancient passage tomb at Newgrange, through a small opening above the entrance, known as the roof box, to illuminate the chamber.

Newgrange is the main monument in the Brú na Bóinne complex in Co Meath, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that also includes the passage tombs of Knowth and Dowth, as well as other henges, burial mounds and standing stones.

Built around 3,200BC, it predates the Great Pyramids in Egypt by about 500 years, and Stonehenge by approximately a millennium.

Illumination

This winter solstice, for the fifth year in a row, the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the National Monuments Services (NMS) will again livestream the illumination from inside the ancient passage tomb.

Since the first livestream of this event in 2020, viewers around the world have witnessed the event in high definition from the comfort of their own homes.

This year, on Saturday, December 21, RTÉ will also be broadcasting the livestream.

Rosemary Collier, head of Heritage Services and Capital Works Delivery in the OPW, said she was delighted the event would again be livestreamed.

“At Newgrange, visitors gather at the ancient tomb to celebrate and experience the illumination of this ancient passage tomb, just as people did over 5,000 years ago,” she said.