Shortest day of the year celebrated at Newgrange

A group of people gathered this morning at Newgrange monument to celebrate the winter solstice. The celebration takes place each year to mark the shortest day of the year.

The group of sixty people were chosen by lottery for the opportunity to see the morning sunrise from the monument. On Midwinter's Day, around four and a half minutes after sunrise, the sun shines down the 'roof-box' of the Neolithic passage graves of Newgrange, and illuminates the floor of its main chamber 18 m away.

The sunrise occurred at 8.58am this morning but the weather was less than ideal for the onlookers due to poor visibility, but this didn’t stop many waiting to catch a glimpse at the site.

The solstice is occurring on the same week that new archaeological evidence was found at the site, Surveys carried out during the summer have indicated immense timber enclosures and large ceremonial henges which were once part of the Neolithic landscape.

A report published yesterday by the National Monument Service says these were once monuments that "clearly formed and deliberately structured and ritual landscape of great significance".

Speaking about the discoveries, Minister Madigan, said: "This new information is a graphic illustration of the extent and density of ritual and ceremonial sites associated with the Newgrange Passage Tomb."

The report comes as people gather at Newgrange to celebrate the winter solstice - the astronomical phenomenon that marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year.