The Winter Solstice takes place today, marking the shortest day of the year. It is a focal point of the season each year as people celebrate the brighter days to come.
As the Irish Examiner report, crowds usually gather at Newgrange passage tomb in Co Meath, which, is older than the pyramids, to observe a beautiful solar alignment phenomenon as the rising sun illuminates the inner chamber, a spectacle that only happens at this time of year thank to some ingenious Neolithic engineering.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Office of Public Works (OPW) decided against bringing a selection of lottery winners together in the small space this year and instead they are broadcasting the visual on their YouTube channel this morning.
While it remains closed for the foreseeable future, the visitor centre is currently open and there are tours available to the passage tombs along the banks of the Boyne.
"The chamber in the Neolithic passage tomb at Newgrange has been closed to the public since March of this year and will remain closed in line with the Government Guidelines/Recommendations surrounding Covid-19," the OPW adds.
"The Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre has now re-opened to visitors along with access to the site surrounding the monument at Newgrange. The visitor centre is open daily from 9am until 4pm, with the last bus leaving the Visitor Centre at 3pm. Access to the monument site is only available through the visitor centre."
