Newgrange. PHOTO: Courtesy of OPW

LIVE: Watch the Winter Solstice happening at Newgrange

The live stream of the 2018 Winter Solstice begins at 8.30am

WATCH IT LIVE HERE

It was 50 years ago that Newgrange’s great secret was first unveiled.  It marks the Winter Solstice and is the only time of the year this remarkable phenomenon takes place. One of the most striking of Ireland’s Ancient East’s monuments, it demonstrates the engineering and astrological know-how of our forebears of more than 5,000 years ago - and it helps bring us closer to those people who called this land home so many generations ago.

It is one of the wonders of the ancient world - and it still captivates us to this day.

The light from the rising sun aligns perfectly with the ‘roof-box’ opening of the Newgrange neolithic passage tomb, travels up the 19m corridor and enters the watertight central chamber where it illuminates it completely.