Newgrange Winter Solstice – The Longest Night

The longest night at Newgrange

Newgrange winter solstice is the longest night of the year in the Boyne Valley. This story-poem is a fictional account of that morning at the mound. It comes from My Village: Brú na Bóinne 3200BC by Michael J. Walsh.

Winter Solstice Sunrise at Newgrange

Longest night story-poem by Cian

Winter Solstice, 21 December, 3200 BC.

In our village we fear the night
Most of all we fear the longest night
Our darkness is a black blanket
that shuts out even the brightest moon.

Seldom can we see the glory of the heavens.
The sun moon and stars are still there
hidden from us by troubled skies.
Our eyes are left without seeing.

As night falls the men return
and takeover as guardians of the household.
The animals are gathered into pens
the gates barred with heavy logs.

A fire is lit and the evening meal celebrated.
The children leave early to be readied for sleep
They are told stories of the fairy people and of the
mighty warriors who fought and saved our people.

Outside the winds howl and threaten the roof
Lightening may strike at any moment
Wolves and foxes begin their nightly rampage
Thieves emerge from their forest hideouts.

The banshee roams and seeks a house
where she can sing her shrill chant of death.
Those wandering in the dark may stumble into a fear gorta
a field of no escape which they wander around for ever.

Tonight is the longest night. People stay inside subdued.
The children huddle and are quiet,
no stories are told, the doors are barred.
Outside there is nothing but silence.

On the longest night many evil spirits roam
They may be souls of those put to death for evil deeds
now seeking vengeance for their shameful end.
They set traps and can steal a person’s mind.

The Sidhe people stay in their forts without song or dance
They too fear persecution by evil spirits.
Their absence leaves a strange chill in the air,
The joy and sparkle of our lives is gone.

An hour before dawn the doors are opened
People emerge and go silently towards the river
They carry small torches. No fires can be lit.
The darkness and silence still prevail.

Then at the predicted hour the tip of the solstice sun
peers above Red Hill to the south east.
The old year is dead. A new year is born.
The Sun Goddess has kept her bargain with her people.
The cycle of renewal and regrowth begins again.

Now a huge bonfire can be lit, people can sing and dance,
they link in rings and lines by the river.
The noise of the bodhrans and cowhorns now deafening,
the birds are scared and keep their distance.

A great feast has been prepared. Two days ago
two calves and two wild pigs were killed.
Around the bonfire a splendid feast begins.
This continues all day and well into the night

Finally all return home carrying less fear in their hearts.
Soon when the Bhrú is finished the solstice sun
will beam deep into its innermost chamber
and there renew the spirits of our beloved ancestors.
There will be great ceremonies led by Maoloch himself.

The Chieftain from Tara and his court will come
and will have place of honour within the Mound.
They will see the sunbeam creep along the floor
and then cover the ceremonial bowl in a wondrous light.
The longest night will end in an awesome climax.

Tour Guide Michael Fox inside Newgrange

The book behind this longest night poem

My Village: Brú na Bóinne 3200BC
The people who built Newgrange left a mark that still holds. Their mounds tell us a lot about them. The builders were an organized Neolithic society. Engineering skills ran deep. They also had the courage to take on massive projects. In addition, they were skilled in art and astronomy. They held powerful beliefs about the cosmos.

Part of that world still sits in us. So we need to know them better. Ireland is at a turning point now, as it also was in their time. For inspiration, look to the mounds of Meath.

This book takes you inside the minds of those who built Newgrange. Druids, stonemasons, builders, stone-carvers, boatmen, carpenters and bards each tell a story in verse.

Price £8.99 / €9.99. Buy it at Fintra Books, Monkstown Valley, Blackrock, County Dublin A94, Ireland. Email info@fintra.com. You can also buy it on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

Newgrange background

by Michael J. Walsh, author of My Village: Brú na Bóinne 3200BC

The Boyne Valley holds an impressive cluster of Stone Age monuments. They date back about 5,000 years. From about 3500 BCE to 2000 BCE, people built thousands of monuments across Ireland. Researchers have identified about 1,500. They range from a few standing stones to huge passage tombs. Besides Newgrange, major clusters stand at Carrowmore and Carrowkeel in County Sligo. Loughcrew sits in County Meath. Croaghan Hill is in County Donegal. Related groups also appear in Iberia, Brittany, Scotland and England.

Farmers who had come by sea likely built these mounds. They settled along the rivers. Then they kept contact with their places of origin. There is evidence of a shared culture along the Atlantic coast. They seemed to share practices, beliefs and cosmology.

The most imposing monuments were passage tombs. A stone-lined passage leads to a chamber, or to a set of recesses. People first linked them with a cult of the dead. However, they also served ceremony, ritual and a link with the otherworld. Builders often sited them near a river and on a hill. The entrance direction mattered. Many face the rising or setting sun on special days. Some point to other tombs or to a local mountain.

The Boyne Valley cluster holds about 37 tombs. The three great passage tombs are Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. Newgrange is famous for its scale, its Neolithic art and its cultural weight. Its most notable features are as follows.

The scale of Newgrange

The mound measures about 80 meters (262 feet) across. It rises about 15 meters (49 feet). It holds about 200,000 tons of stone. There are 150 large structural stones. Each weighs about 2 to 10 tons. Some came from as far as Wicklow and Clogherhead. Smaller stone came from the river bed. An 18 meter (59 foot) passage leads to a ceremonial chamber. On a standard OPW tour, visitors do enter that passage and chamber. Walsh estimates that 300 workers spent about 30 years completing the mound.

The orientation of Newgrange

On the morning of 21 December, the winter solstice, the rising sun enters through a roof-box over the door. The light creeps along the passage floor. Then it lights a large ceremonial bowl in the heart of the mound. After that, it retreats slowly. People think the bowl once held bones or ashes of the dead. This is now a world famous annual event.

The art of Newgrange

Many of the large stones carry abstract art. You will see spirals, cupmarks, zigzags, lozenges and ovals. Makers carved them with stone hammers and chisels. The Boyne Valley mounds hold the largest collection of megalithic art in Western Europe. UNESCO listed Brú na Bóinne as a World Heritage Site in 1993.

The whole design speaks of a well organized community. It also shows technical skill on a large scale. Newgrange now has a visitor center. More than 200,000 people come each year. New monuments are still being found. Digs will continue for many decades.

Newgrange Winter Solstice Archive

• 21st December 2025 Winter Solstice
• 19th December 2024 Winter Solstice
• 19th December 2023 Winter Solstice
• 20th December 2022 Winter Solstice
• 20th December 2020 Winter Solstice
• 18th December 2016 Winter Solstice
• 20th December 2015 Winter Solstice
• 19th December 2014 Winter Solstice
• 21st December 2013 Winter Solstice
• 18th December 2011 Winter Solstice
• 22nd December 2010 Winter Solstice
• 19th December 2010 Winter Solstice
• 18th December 2010 Winter Solstice
• 22nd December 2009 Winter Solstice
• 21st December 2009 Winter Solstice
• 21st December 2008 Winter Solstice
• 21st December 2007 Winter Solstice
• 22nd December 2006 Winter Solstice
• 21st December 2006 Winter Solstice
• 21st December 2005 Winter Solstice
• 20th December 2005 Winter Solstice
• 21st December 2004 Winter Solstice
• 19th December 2004 Winter Solstice
• 21st December 2003 Winter Solstice
• 22nd December 2002 Winter Solstice
• 21st December 2001 Winter Solstice

Newgrange, the Boyne Valley in Ireland’s Ancient East

Visit Newgrange at winter solstice with Boyne Valley Tours

Enjoy a private day tour from Dublin to the Boyne Valley. We tailor the itinerary to your interests and handle the driving and logistics. The OPW-guided visit from the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Center includes Newgrange and Knowth. Afterwards, continue to the Hill of Slane and the Hill of Tara. Because this is a private tour, you can choose other sites instead.

Book online now! Inquire now!