Visitor Information

Visitor access to Newgrange and Knowth is strictly by guided tour through the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, located on the south side of the River Boyne. Newgrange and Knowth lie on the north side of the river. Visitors cross the River Boyne via a pedestrian bridge and then travel to the monuments by shuttle bus. There is no direct public road access to Newgrange or Knowth. When using a GPS satellite navigation system, the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre should be entered as the destination.

Winter Solstice

Newgrange is best known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the winter solstice sun. Above the entrance to the passage at Newgrange there is a opening called a roof-box. This baffling orifice held a great surprise for those who unearthed it. Its purpose is to allow sunlight to penetrate the chamber on the shortest days of the year, around December 21, the winter solstice.

At dawn, from December 19th to 23rd, a narrow beam of light penetrates the roof-box and reaches the floor of the chamber, gradually extending to the rear of the passage. As the sun rises higher, the beam widens within the chamber so that the whole room becomes dramatically illuminated. This event lasts for 17 minutes, beginning around 9am.

Newgrange's accuracy as a time-telling device is remarkable when one considers that it was built 500 years before the Great Pyramids and more than 1,000 years before Stonehenge. The intent of its builders was undoubtedly to mark the beginning of the new year. In addition, it may have served as a powerful symbol of the victory of life over death.

Each year the winter solstice event attracts much attention at Newgrange. Many gather at the ancient tomb to wait for dawn, as people did 5,000 years ago. So great is the demand to be one of the few inside the chamber during the solstice that there is a free annual lottery (application forms are available at the Visitor Centre). Unfortunately, as with many Irish events that depend upon sunshine, if the skies are overcast, there is not much to be seen. Yet all agree that it is an extraordinary feeling to wait in the darkness, as people did so long ago, for the longest night of the year to end.

On the mornings around the winter solstice, members of the public are welcome to gather outside the entrance to the Newgrange monument to witness the sunrise. Access is free on these mornings, and visitors begin their journey at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, from where shuttle buses operate to Newgrange. While chamber access at sunrise is restricted to solstice lottery winners, those attending can experience the atmosphere at the monument itself and, after sunrise, may have an opportunity to queue for limited post event entry to the chamber.