Lucky lottery winners from across the world visit Newgrange for Winter Solstice
Lucky lottery winners from across the world drawn from hundreds of hopefuls visited Newgrange last week to experience the significant Winter Solstice sunrise from within the Chamber at the Neolithic Passage Tomb.
The lucky few came from near and far, including winners from Antrim, Dublin, Cork and Galway as well as Sweden, Germany, Canada and the USA.
In addition to the lottery winners, people from across the globe joined in watching the livestream of the 2023 Winter Solstice, organised in cooperation with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Fortunately, the horizon cleared this morning, so in person and online, people got to experience the phenomenon of partial sunlight entering the monument through the roof box. Outside the monument, the usual joyful atmosphere of the Solstice could be felt, as hundreds gathered to celebrate.
Minister of State, Patrick O'Donovan said:
“I am delighted to welcome the winners of the very popular OPW Winter Solstice Lottery competition here to Newgrange. They have been very fortunate to witness first hand this solar phenomenon.
"I am also pleased that we were able to live stream the event again this year so that people across the globe had an opportunity to witness this in the comfort of their homes. The Winter Solstice is a very significant occasion where we move past the long dark evenings and look forward to new beginnings for the year ahead”.
Today also saw the launch of new electric buses at Brú na Bóinne by Minister Patrick O’Donovan. These buses are the first of a full fleet, which will gradually replace the old fleet of diesel buses that transport visitors from the Visitor Centre for tours of Newgrange and Knowth. This is one of many OPW initiatives in advancing sustainable solutions that help reduce the impact on climate change.
“It is a great honour to launch the electric buses here today. These buses will replace the traditional fleet of buses, used to transport visitors from the visitors centre to the sites in Brú na Bóinne. This move represents a significant milestone on OPW’s journey to play our part in taking action against climate change”