Summer Solstice sunrise at Newgrange, Boyne Valley

Good morning from the Boyne Valley!

I'm delighted to share this beautiful photo of Summer Solstice sunrise at Newgrange/Síd in Broga (taken a few days after the actual day of solstice).

For a moment of the year,
the sun stops its run,
and stays awhile in the
northeast at dawn.
But, like everything in nature
the spiral will wind down once
more towards winter, when the sun
will come home again.

The big crowds that come to Síd in Broga on winter solstice are completely absent for summer solstice. I am glad for that! At 5am it's probably no surprise, but sometimes it's nice to be the only human figure walking among these magnificent remains...

An early morning trip to Loughcrew to observe whether the passage of Cairn U is aligned to Imbolc sunrise

In his 1983 book, The Stars and the Stones: Ancient Art and Astronomy in Ireland, Martin Brennan suggested that the passage of Cairn U, one of the smaller cairns on Slieve na Calliagh (known today as Carnbane East) at Loughcrew, was aligned on the November/February cross-quarter sunrises. One team of observers was situated in Cairn U on November 3rd 1980, which was five days before the correct date for Samhain cross-quarter on November 8th. Brennan implies, although falls short of explicitly stating, that Cairn U is aligned to the cross-quarter sunrises. Regrettably, no further observations were possible, due to weather (not altogether unsurprising due to the Irish climate!) until November 12th.(1)

The passage of Cairn U in the pre-dawn sky of February 3rd.

I was unaware of any photographic proof extent showing the sun aligning with the passage of Cairn U. Probably the best-known photographer of ancient megalithic sites and their alignments is Ken Williams of Shadows & Stone. In personal communications, Ken indicated to me that although he had been at Cairn U around the time of the cross-quarter sunrises, and although he had some photos, he hadn't been there on the exact day.

I set out from Drogheda at 6.25am with the intention of getting to Loughcrew (which can take an hour or so by road) and climbing up the hill to be ready for sunrise, which occurs at around 8.08am. With all the camera gear, the walk up the hill is quite laborious!

Cairn U looking down the passage from the end recess towards the southeastern sky.

With a red sky forming because of some cloud towards the southeast, it was clear that the sun would come up in the approximate direction to which the passage of Cairn U was pointing, with me positioned in the rear recess (photo above).

The sun was obscured by cloud for the first few minutes after the actual moment of sunrise. So I was unable to make direct observation at the moment the sun was rising above the horizon.  However, what was immediately clear was that the sun's position was still somewhat to the south of where it needed to be for a direct alignment. I observed the sun's azimuthal position from the light that it was projecting on to the clouds. Crouched in the rear recess, I couldn't see the sun or its light. However, on leaning slightly into the left-hand recess, I could see the sun coming out from behind the clouds in alignment with the passage. This is shown in the photo below.

The sun appears from behind cloud in alignment with the passage of Cairn U (sort-of!)

It was a great thrill to see the sun emerging though. I suspect it will be maybe a week or so before the sun is rising directly in alignment to the rear of the end recess - but unfortunately this is just a rough guess and there is no empirical method to my guesstimate! Perhaps a return visit next week might be in order.

A closer view of the sun's appearance from the interior of Cairn U.

The alignment today was such that I had to lean towards the left-hand recess of Cairn U in order to see the sun through the passageway. Perhaps the cairn focuses on a range of sunrises, maybe lasting a couple of weeks. This is something that requires further observation.

Megalithic art on the side stone of the left-hand recess of Cairn U.

One very, very interesting thing which I did not realise until this morning is the fact that today's sunrise, as viewed from Cairn U, was coming up over the Hill of Tara in the far distance. I imagine that is not a coincidence. Neighbouring Cairn T faces the Hill of Slane (looking across Hill of Lloyd) for equinox sunrise. Some of the cairns on Carnbane West point to cairns on Carnbane East. I put the telephoto lens on the camera to zoom in for the shot of Tara from Cairn U below:

About 15 minutes after sunrise. The Hill of Tara is located at the clump of trees towards the left.

It's such a great pleasure to be able to observe these astronomical occurrences at prehistoric buildings. There are numinous qualities to such moments because they transcend temporal boundaries and take us back, in a way that is both spiritually and empirically connective, to a remote era when our early ancestors observed heavenly phenomena. We can only conjecture at a possible greater purpose behind such alignments, and inevitably such conjecture takes us into realms that are both scientific and spiritual. On the one hand, early people were marking out the distinct patterns of the sky, making the ancient passage-tombs of Ireland primordial sundials (and doubtlessly moondials too). But their construction was such that they are a statement, tacit or explicit, of permanence, of longevity, in a world where the cycles of nature spun all too fast, especially where humans themselves are concerned. In the Neolithic, a great many people would not live to see even one completion of what was known in later Irish as the Naoidheachda, meaning "the nineteenth" - the 19-year cycle of the moon which today is known as the Metonic Cycle. The best a neolithic cairn builder could hope for was to see two complete Metonic Cycles. There were no elders in the New Stone Age, certainly not in the sense that we have elders today. Spiritual elders, perhaps, but not aged octogenarians or centenarians. At 40, you were a wise elder of the Neolithic community. At 50, you might have been seen as a freak of nature.

Furthermore, the ancient passage-cairns weave a connective web suggestive of awareness or consciousness of a greater cosmos, in which the sun and astral bodies are not so much seen as things that are "out there", totally beyond reach or influence, but rather things with which humans and the animate world have a distinct interaction. The light and heat of the sun can be seen to directly influence growth and seasonal patterns in nature, in addition to the many migratory patterns which would have been observable in the vicinity of the Boyne and Slieve na Calliagh tombs in the Neolithic. The moon's distinct and powerful effect on the tides is something that Alexander Thom remarked might have been known since time immemorial. 

The labour involved in creating cairns on hilltops must not be underestimated. Even a fit young person finds the climb to the summit of Slieve na Calliagh an exertive and physically demanding activity. Imagine repeating this exertion, with the additional burden of carrying a boulder, or several boulders. When one factors weather and the lack of any significant capable engineering or construction technology into the equation, the building of the cairns on the hills of Loughcrew seems a gargantuan task. These structures certainly deserve to be described as immense and monumental. As well as being prodigious feats of construction, they are monumental memorials to the humans who laboured hard to complete them. Their fastidious observations of discernible natural phenomena were ingeniously combined with an imaginative vista which opened towards realms that were supernatural, transcendental and otherworldy while retaining a physical connection to the telluric, sublunary sphere. At Loughcrew, this world and the next are seen to coalesce. Up there, on the hills of the hag, one gets a sense of detachment from the ordinary mortal dimension. Reaching out towards the sky above and the horizon beyond, the young humans who had just discovered agriculture and who were setting in place the foundations of civilisation, stepped out through the inter-dimensional threshold of the cairns into whatever realms of the spirit or imagination lay beyond.

There is yet at least one place on the earth where the ancient spirit dwells. When the fast-revolving clock of astronomical circuits ticks down on each of us at our own appointed time, we might aspire to those realms that were so anciently envisioned. Can we yet countenance the possibility that we will perhaps some day meet those who left their bones behind in the cairns of Loughcrew, out there, beyond that threshold?

References:
(1) Brennan (1983).

The 12 days of Solstice - Day 12 - sunlight in the passage of Newgrange on the dawn of Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice has officially arrived. Today the sun reaches its minimum declination - its furthest southerly position in the sky. This is the turning point of the year. As the sun rises above Red Mountain in the Boyne Valley this morning (weather permitting), its light will enter through an opening above the passage entrance known as the 'roof box' and will illuminate the central chamber, which lies about 20 metres inside the cairn, for around 17 minutes.  The lucky Winter Solstice Lottery winners will be inside, while hundreds will gather outside. This year, there will be 20 Irish wolfhound dogs at Newgrange too. It should be a great morning.

The photo shows a view taken on Winter Solstice 2010 just as I was emerging from the chamber where I had witnessed the solstice illumination for the first time. As you can see, there are two beams of light. The main area of light, on the floor and the lower part of the passage orthostats, enters through the main doorway. This might have been closed by a large slab during winter solstice ceremonies in ancient times. The upper beam is a much shallower beam, and is visible higher up on the orthostats in the left of the image. This is the light that comes in through the roof box, and it is only this beam that reaches the floor of the chamber within.

As we reflect upon the coming of the glorious light of dawn into the dark void, and the turning of the year, we hope that events in the wider world which have led humanity into darkness in recent times will turn also, and that the hearts of those who have resorted to anger, hatred or fear are softened, so that we can better learn to get along with each other. For that is one of the central themes of the ancient myths involving the Tuatha Dé Danann, the gods who were said to have owned and built Newgrange. When the Milesians came from Spain, to take Ireland by force, there was initially some fighting and, after losses on both sides, the Dé Dananns and the Milesians reached an accord. The Dé Dananns would occupy the sídhe, these great palaces of stone and earth that allowed access to and from the otherworlds, while the Milesians would occupy the surface of the land. And so it is that we must learn to get along with our fellow humans. We must learn to get along together. What is the alternative, except suffering and misery?

Today, as the sun shines into the heart-shaped mound of Newgrange, and warms its interior with a golden light, we ask that a light shines into the hearts of all our fellow human beings, that we might learn to reach an accord that looks to the ending of hate and discrimination, and allows for a peaceful settlement of all conflict. That is the most urgent message from Newgrange for today's world.

The 12 days of Solstice - Day 11 - Winter Solstice sunrise viewed from the doorway of Newgrange

It's day 11 of my new series of photographs entitled 'The 12 days of Solstice'. This is the second-last image in the series. It shows the sun not long after it has risen on the shortest days of the year at Winter Solstice. The picture was taken just inside the entrance of the passage of Newgrange. Above my head in this image is the specially constructed aperture known as the 'roof box'. This is the portal which allows sunlight to penetrate the entire length of the passage and into the chamber. The light that enters through the actual doorway does not reach the chamber floor. The two beams of light are kept separate by the stone seen in the top of this image.

Immediately in front of the entrance is the large kerb stone, K1, which on its front side (the side facing the sun) has the famous tri-spiral design among other lavish engravings. At the time this photo was taken, the sun's light had already left the chamber again. It shines in there for 17 brief minutes. There is something very special about the quality of the light immediately at sunrise. As soon as the sun rises above the ridge known as Red Mountain (Roughgrange), its golden light reaches into the corridor of Newgrange and shines a narrow beam of light onto the darkened floor of its central chamber. It is at this moment that the year is seen to have reached its turning point. The old year dies and the new year is born. Dagda, the father god, yields ownership of Síd in Broga (Newgrange) to his son, Oengus Óg, the youthful sun.

From this moment, following a period of about a week when the sun's rising position has stood still on the horizon, it begins its slow movement back towards the east, and after a few weeks the light will get stronger and the days longer.

Time lapse footage shows dramatic eclipsing of Dowth's solar eclipse symbols on Stone of the Seven Suns

The above video is a time lapse sequence showing the Stone of the Seven Suns (kerb stone 51) as it is lit up dramatically after sunrise in early December, with just two weeks to go to the Winter Solstice. The video features almost half an hour of footage compressed into one minute and 30 seconds. The symbols on the stone are thought to represent the sun, or perhaps even the sun during a solar eclipse, with ties in with the mythology about Dowth which suggests that its construction was abandoned when a sudden darkness fell over the land.

The time lapse footage reveals something fascinating. At first, the solar symbols are lit up quite dramatically, so that they are shown in excellent relief. Then, as the sun rises moves towards the south, a shadow from another kerb stone falls over the sun symbols - eclipsing the symbols one by one. If you can, make sure to watch the YouTube video at 1080 HD and full screen.

Kerb 49 (arrowed) is the one that casts
the shadow on kerb 51. Also shown here
is kerb 50, with its vertical line.

Unfortunately there was cloud blocking the sun early on, so the first of the seven sun symbols, which is on the far left of the stone, is already in shadow when the sun comes out. However, that does not spoil the show. Sit back and watch this marvel of megalithic magic! One can only speculate as to whether this "light and shadow" show was intentional on the part of the builders. The shadow from kerb stone 49, which is two stones to the left of the Seven Suns stone, causes the eclipsing of the symbols on kerb 51. However, it can be seen that kerb 49 leans forward somewhat (K49 is arrowed in the picture on right), and one has to be mindful about the possibility that this lean has happened in more recent times and was not, perhaps, part of the original design.

However, this interaction of light and symbols reminds me somewhat of the illumination of symbols that are not dissimilar to Dowth's seven suns on the back stone of Cairn T at Loughcrew. These symbols are lit up by sunrise on the spring and autumn equinoxes.

The interplay of light and shadow is also suggested at Newgrange, where shadows from the Great Circle stones appear to point towards, or "touch", kerb stones at the front of Newgrange at certain important times of the year, as described by Frank Prendergast.

Although I've been to Dowth several mornings lately to watch how beautifully the sun symbols are illuminated, I hadn't realised the extent of the phenomenon, or the slow progression of the shadow, until I saw the time lapse video. The video was made by taking a photography every two seconds. Because it compresses time, it shows the effect much more vividly.

The sun symbols lit up by the low winter sun. The shadow has not yet eclipsed these emblems.

The shadow crosses the stone diagonally, and interestingly the last sun to remain illuminated is the one which is currently at ground level. I presume the original Neolithic ground level is several inches below the current ground level and that the lower part of this symbol is hidden from view.

At around 9.15am, as shown in the above photo, the shadow from K49 is crossing the diagonal line on K50. Within about 15 minutes this shadow will have completely crossed K50 and will begin its slow progression across K51, eclipsing the eclipse emblems as it does.

The shadow from K49 is almost half-way across K51, the Seven Suns stone.

There is undoubtedly more to be learned about Dowth. It continues to provide surprises. Even though its mythology suggests a summer solstice influence, we can see the midwinter sunrise also has a dramatic "wakening" effect upon the few eastern kerb stones that are revealed. This is by far the best time of the year to view the Stone of the Seven Suns. At most other times, the megalithic art appears to be very flat and is sometimes difficult to see.

We shouldn't forget either that Dowth's southern passage and chamber are aligned so that the light of the setting sun on winter solstice shines inside, as shown in these beautiful photos by Anne Marie Moroney.

Winter sunlight does some beautiful things with the ancient megalithic art on the stones at Dowth

I've been able to spend a few mornings at Dowth recently. It's one of three of the great monuments of Brú na Bóinne (the others being Newgrange and Knowth), but is the least visited of the trio. Personally, I'm glad that Dowth retains this almost-forgotten status. It is not on the official tour. It is wild and overgrown, and many of its secrets are in the deep slumber of many centuries. I like it that way. It's a lovely place to spend time. Despite the fact that it is named after darkness (Irish Dubhadh), it presents a very interesting notion - the belief that we must experience the darkness of the longest night before the new year dawns.

Winter sunrise at Dowth, the third great passage-tomb of the Brú na Bóinne complex.

While it near neighbour Newgrange is famous for its winter solstice sunrise alignment, Dowth's alignment to the sunset on the shortest day is less well known. Discovered (rediscovered) in 1980 by Martin Brennan and Jack Roberts, it was studied in detail over the course of a number of winters by Anne Marie Moroney, who published a lovely little book about it called Dowth: Winter Sunsets.

While the focus at Dowth is undoubtedly centered around winter sunset, there is something really beautiful that happens just after the sunrise on these short days of midwinter. The very well-known kerb stone 51 at Dowth, more famously referred to as the Stone of the Seven Suns (named so by Martin Brennan), is gloriously lit up by the warm luster of the midwinter sun. For about an hour after sunrise, these ancient solar symbols are highlighted in a dramatic fashion by the acute angle of the low sun. As a photographer who has spent many years photographing this stone under various lighting conditions, I can safely say that I have never seen them so impressively and dramatically in relief. It's quite striking. Below are a couple of photos showing some of the megalithic carvings, which are thought to be up to 5,500 years old, lit up by the winter sun.

Some of the solar emblems on the Seven Suns Stone lit up by the low winter sun.

The megalithic art is highlighted in dramatic and pristine fashion by the acute angle of sunlight.

The Stone of the Seven Suns is on the eastern side of the great mound of Dowth. Curiously, over on the southwestern side, the entrance stone to the southern chamber is also lit up by the morning sun in winter time. This is due to the alignment of the stone, which is orientated roughly northwest-southeast. There are two large cup holes on the stone, referred to by some as 'Lucy's Eyes'. There is also some worn megalithic art, which appears to be part of a spiral. A good bit of the stone is still buried beneath the ground - only the top third or quarter is visible above the surface.

The spiral and cup marks on the entrance kerb. I added flash to this one because the sunlight was a bit watery.

For a place that is named after darkness, the sun plays a big role at Dowth. It penetrates the southern chamber at midwinter, as we know. Until recent centuries, it probably also shone into the northern chamber around the time of Samhain and Imbolc sunsets (November/February). And there may be undiscovered passageways within its huge bulk. But as I said before, some of its secrets are in slumber. For now at least. And that's just the way I like it.

See more photos of Dowth.

Live broadcast from Carnbane West, Loughcrew, as the Samhain sunrise illuminates the chamber of Cairn L

In case you are not a follower of Mythical Ireland on Facebook, you might be interested to know that I did a live broadcast from Carnbane West at Loughcrew around Samhain, where the light of the rising sun cast its beams into the chamber of Cairn L. Above is a video of that live broadcast.

Carrigbrack hill at Loughcrew is also called Sliabh Rua (red mountain) and now I know exactly why...

The hill at Loughcrew known as Carrigbrack might be the least famous of the four hills* upon which the Cailleach of ancient times was said to have built a scattering of cairns. Today, it has the remnants of just one passage-tomb on its top, and is somewhat forlorn. However, it has another name - Sliabh Rua - meaning "red mountain". Following a weekend of observations on the hills of Loughcrew, it's now really clear why it had that name.

Samhain sunrise over Sliabh Rua viewed from Cairn L on Carnbane West.

When the sun rises at dawn on the ancient festival known as Samhain, the halfway point in days between autumn equinox and winter solstice, the sun rises out of the breast of Sliabh Rua and immediately its light shines into the chamber of Cairn L on Carnbane West. Its light dramatically strikes a bright, slender limestone pillar in the chamber. Standing outside the cairn, looking at the dawn sky, one cannot help but look and see Carnbane East (topped by Cairn T) and Sliabh Rua (topped by the remains of an old cairn) as the breasts of the hag.

This evening, I went back to Loughcrew. This time, I went to Slieve na Calliagh (Carnbane East) to see if I could determine where the sun goes down on Samhain as viewed from the Hag's Cairn (Cairn T). To my delight, it was a beautiful evening and the sun and sky put on a dazzling show for my camera. And as it sank down towards the horizon, I could see that the sun was setting over Sliabh Rua/Carrigbrack. It was easy to see from the resulting light show how that hill might have got its name - red mountain.

Samhain sunset over Sliabh Rua viewed from Slieve na Calliagh near Cairn T.

The higher elevation of Slieve na Calliagh means that one is looking "down" at Sliabh Rua for the sunset, whereas because Carnbane West and Carrigbrack/Sliabh Rua have the same elevation, one is simply looking horizontally at the sunrise. (Cairn L is at 236m above sea level; the cairn on Sliabh Rua is 237m and Cairn T on Slieve na Calliagh is 258m above sea level).

The sun sinks behind Carrigbrack viewed from Slieve na Calliagh.

Just to reiterate - at dawn on Samhain, the sun rises out of Red Mountain when one is situated at Cairn L, which is one of the largest cairns in the whole complex, and which has a chamber that faces towards Carrigbrack. At dusk, the sun sinks into Red Mountain when one is situated at Cairn T, also one of the largest cairns, known as the Hag's Cairn.

I've put together a simple map to show the alignments. It's based on imagery from Bing Maps, which has much clearer views of the Loughcrew landscape than Google Maps.

One of the fascinating things about the Samhain alignments is that the hag in other parts of Ireland is sometimes characterised as the Hag of Winter. The November cross-quarter date appears to have been important in pre-Christian times, although there is some debate about its true antiquity, and whether it was considered important in the Neolithic. Samhain was said to have marked the beginning of winter, or the beginning of the "dark half" of the year (the bright half beginning at Bealtaine in early May). Samhain was considered the principal festival in the ancient calendar.

Moreover, the visual aspect of the alignment system at Loughcrew leaves one in little doubt that the placement of cairns was set out with deliberate alignment in mind. With good weather for both Saturday's sunrise observation and this evening's sunset, I can certainly say that both events are very dramatic, and awe-inspiring. As stated in Saturday's blog post, the view from Cairn L towards Slieve na Calliagh and Carrigbrack certainly presents the impression of recumbent female breasts. This is a feature noted in Sligo, where the Ballygawley Mountains present the form of a recumbent pregnant female.(1)

A Samhain pre-dawn view of the breasts of the Cailleach from Cairn L on Carnbane West.

It's worth noting too that the hill over which the sun rises on winter solstice when it shines into Newgrange in the Brú na Bóinne complex is also called Red Mountain.

*The four hills of Loughcrew are Carnbane (better known today as Carnbane West), Carrigbrack (Sliabh Rua), Slieve na Calliagh (better known today as Carnbane East) and Patrickstown Hill (the ancient name of which has been lost). In some versions of the creation myth, the Cailleach is said to have jumped on three hills, dropping stones from her apron, and in these versions it would appear Sliabh Rua is omitted. It's not clear why this is. In an old poem, in which the Cailleach is called the Garvoge, the hills are called Carnmore, Loar and Carnbeg.

References:
(1) http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue32/3/7.html

A glorious dawn announces the beginning of winter as sunrise shines into the chamber of Cairn L, Loughcrew

I was extremely blessed to have been present at Cairn L on Carnbane West at Loughcrew this morning to witness a gloriously beautiful Samhain sunrise and the illumination of the chamber of this ancient cairn.

I hadn't been to Cairn L in a good few years, and to go there in the pre-dawn twilight, with Orion and Sirius looming above the ancient cairns was really something very special. But what was to follow was one of the highlights of many years of being present at ancient and sacred sites. The above video captures the essence of it, but of course nothing beats being there in person. At 7.44am, the sun appeared above the remains of a cairn on the summit of one of the Loughcrew Hills - known as Carrickbrack (from Irish carraig breac, meaning "speckled rock"), and also known as Sliabh Ruadh (Red Hill). One wonders just how ancient some of these place names really are.

Sunlight enters the passage of Cairn L and illuminates the limestone pillar in the chamber.

As the sun appeared, its light immediately streamed into the passage and chamber of Cairn L, where it illuminated a limestone pillar in the chamber - a feature that is unique to Cairn L and not found in other ancient cairns with astronomical alignments.

The stone pillar in the chamber is lit up by the sun at dawn on Samhain and Imbolc.

Martin Brennan and Jack Roberts and their team discovered this alignment in the early 1980s. It is one of many apparent alignments at Loughcrew. The most famous is the equinox alignment of Cairn T (the Hag's Cairn). Although I had been to Cairn L a couple of times, I had never been there at sunrise, and certainly not at Samhain! It was an immense pleasure, and a moment of pure joy and rapture to see the beautiful warm sunlight illuminating the interior of the cairn.

The significance of this event is that Samhain was a very important pre-Christian festival, possibly having its origins in prehistory. It was considered the beginning of winter, and as a so-called "cross-quarter" day, it marks the halfway point, measured in days, between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. But unlike Newgrange, where the sun shines into its chamber around winter solstice, Cairn L will be illuminated twice - once in early November and again in early February, for the ancient festival of Imbolc, or the February cross-quarter day.

The cairns at Loughcrew were said to have been dropped there by an ancient Cailleach or Garvoge.

In local folklore, it is said that a hag (Cailleach) carrying an apron full of stones created the cairns as she jumped from hill to hill, dropping piles of stones as she did so. Another tale says the hills are sacred to the Garvoge, a "monster woman", who formerly lived here. The following is an old verse, sometimes attributed to Jonathan Swift, about Garvoge and Loughcrew:

Determined now her tomb to build,
Her ample skirt with stones she filled,
And dropped a heap on Carnmore,
Then stepped one thousand yards, to Loar,
And dropped another goodly heap;
And then with one prodigious leap
Gained Carnbeg, and on its height,
displayed the wonders of her might.
And when she approached death's awful doom,
Her chair was placed within the womb
Of hills whose tops with heather bloom.(1)

The moment the sun rose from behind the summit of Carrickbrack.

One cannot help, while looking out from Cairn L towards the other hills (Carnbane East, which was formerly better known as Sliabh na Caillighe; and Carrickbrack), both of which are topped with cairns, of the Paps of Anu or the Paps of Morrigan, and to see in the landscape the earth goddess herself. Perhaps, if one allows a little imagination, one can think of the breasts and the belly of that great woman, so venerated in ancient Ireland, as the earth itself, topped with these cairns that are attributed to her as miraculous works. Ancient though she may be, the Cailleach will never be forgotten at Loughcrew, because the Cailleach IS Loughcrew.

References:
(1) Conwell, Eugene Alfred, On Ancient Sepulchral Cairns on the Loughcrew Hills, Proceedings of the Roal Irish Academy (1836-1869), Vol. 9 (1864-1866), p. 358.

Special thanks to Lar Dooley and Ken Williams whose company was greatly appreciated. And to the landowner for allowing us access.

Not among the Newgrange winter solstice lottery winners? Watch this fantastic video of the event

If, like most people, you are not among the winter solstice lottery winners who will have exclusive access to the chamber of Newgrange next weekend, then fret not. Because this fantastic video by Paul Kelly shows the sunlight streaming into the passage and chamber, and it's set to beautiful music that will enchant you and put you into a mystical mood!

As we count down to the shortest days of the year, in a week's time, the light of the rising sun will start to enter the roofbox over the entrance doorway at Newgrange and shine into the passage and chamber. As someone who has witnessed it directly, I can tell you that it is a beautiful moment. Paul's video captures the event marvellously. We thank him for making this very special video.

An image from Paul Kelly's wonderful Newgrange solstice video.

Fantastic video of solstice sunlight in Newgrange

I'm amazed that this beautiful video showing the solstice sunlight in the chamber of Newgrange hasn't had more views on YouTube. Currently, it only has 112 views. This is the sort of video that is extremely rare, because it's so difficult to get into Newgrange on the solstice and usually only the press photographers are allowed in, and they don't usually do video. This video puts you right in the chamber, at that special moment. There are some shots closer to the entrance too. Really beautiful stuff. Well worth a look.

Read more about Newgrange here