Disappointed solstice crowd 'uplifted by special atmosphere’

Crowds of people who turned up to witness the winter solstice phenomenon at Newgrange yesterday (Tuesday) were disappointed when cloud stopped the sunlight from flooding the chamber of the passage tomb as dawn broke but nevertheless felt “uplifted at the special atmosphere created by the snowâ€, according to witnesses. And there was an added bonus for early morning solstice watchers when a lunar eclipse and the winter equinox coincided, an event that has not occurred since Tudor times, 450 years ago. The watchers were hopeful of the “double bonus†of both sun and moonlight flooding the chamber. In the end, they had to settle for the single 'big event' - the eclipse. Millions of people throughout the world tried to catch a glimpse of the first lunar eclipse for almost three years. It became visible at about 7.40am. A total eclipse was visible in some parts of Northern Ireland. Eclipse watchers will have to wait until 2015 for another sighting of an eclipse but solstice watchers can come back to Newgrange next year when it may just be less cloudy. Since 2000, tickets to attend the winter solstice inside the chamber at Newgrange have been distributed by free lottery with up to 25,000 people applying this year. Many local people had to battle through ice-covered roads to make the early morning journey to the World Heritage Site.