September Equinox sunrise at Loughcrew

One of the country’s oldest monuments the Loughcrew cairns, a complex 5,000 year passage of tombs is an ideal location to witness the Equinox sunrise.  The Office of Public Works (OPW) provides free admission to the site during the summer months and at dawn on the days of the Equinox sunrise, i.e. around March 21st and September 21st when the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal.
The Loughcrew cairns, situated at the top of County Meath’s highest hills is a contemporary of the great monuments of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth at Brú na Bóinne, though on a smaller scale.  There are about 30 tombs at Loughcrew, sited on four different hills known as Sliabh na Caillí, or, the Hills of the Witch.
Constructed during the Neolithic (New Stone Age), the monuments were used as burial places but, like those at Brú na Bóinne, they surely had a wider role.  They would have been a focal point for the community, a place to honour the ancestors, a lasting symbol to their wealth and a territorial marker.  The cairns probably had further functions in seasonal rituals and festivals.
Legend has it that the Hag or Witch formed the cairns when she jumped from one hill to the next dropping stones from her apron.  After she had jumped onto three hills, she still had to get to the fourth and final hill in order to attain great power.  In the attempt to get to the last hill, she fell and died.  The story says that she is buried where she fell, on the slopes of Patrickstown Hill. 
The tombs have dominated the landscape south of Oldcastle for thousands of years and they can be seen from a great distance.  Cairn T, on Carnbane East, is the best known and the most visited.  The early farmers who constructed these impressive monuments would have gathered there to mark the beginning of spring and autumn and to celebrate the ever-continuing cycles of the year.
The Equinox sunrise at Loughcrew is considered less significant than that at Newgrange because the passage is shorter and wider.  The sunlight enters the chamber at Cairn T and highlights the wonderful artwork on the back stone of the end recess for nearly an hour.  By comparison, the Winter Solstice dawn light show at Newgrange lasts only 17 minutes.

Attending Equinox dawn at Loughcrew is not for the fainthearted.  In March, sunrise is shortly after 6:15 in the morning and in September shortly after 7:15.  The time difference between the two events is simply down to day light saving between winter time and summer time.
Arriving at the car park in the darkness, there is still a very steep hill to climb.  For those who make the effort the reward is great.  There is a feeling of being on top of the world climbing up in the darkness, the surrounding countryside quickly disappears in the dark and from the hill gazing eastwards only the outline of Patrickstown Hill is clear.  The wind is often bitter as the visitors wait in good-humoured anticipation.  The sky brightens before dawn and first lights up the hilltop and then the rest of the world below.  If you’re lucky, the sun will break through and you will be treated to the same wonder that our ancestors experienced when they gathered here.
 
Loughcrew Equinox – Visitor notes
The Office of Public Works will have staff in attendance at Cairn T, Loughcrew on the mornings of September 21st, 22nd and 23rd from 7.15am until 8.30am approx.  Small groups of five or six people will be able to enter inside the chamber at each time.
Admission to the Chamber of Cairn T is free of charge.
Please note that it is very important that visitors dress warmly and are wearing stout shoes.  The climb to the top of Carnbane East is very steep and can be slippery after rain or on frosty mornings.