• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • T’s & C’s
Got the Passports?
  • South Africa
    • Atlantic Seaboard
    • Cape Town City
    • False Bay
    • West Coast
      • Langebaan
      • Paternoster
      • Yzerfontein
    • Winelands
      • Botrivier
      • Elgin
      • Franschhoek
      • McGregor
      • Paarl
      • Robertson
      • Somerset West
      • Stellenbosch
      • Tulbagh
      • Wolseley
    • Western Cape
      • Arniston
      • Garden Route
    • Greater South Africa
      • Northern Cape
        • Springbok
  • Africa
    • Namibia
    • Mauritius
  • Europe
    • France
    • Ireland
    • Italy
    • Netherlands
  • United Kingdom
    • England
    • Scotland
    • Wales
  • General
  • Tips
  • Suggestions
    • Recommended
    • Pet Friendly Accommodation
    • Romantic Getaways

Visiting New Grange with the Mary Gibbons Tour

Waiting, patiently, I stare at my sneakers. With each inch of the wooden staircase gained, the sense of anticipation grows. This tomb is older than the pyramids. Older than Stonehenge. Why did they build it? Will there be ghosts inside? Will it collapse? We move another inch.

The sun is shining and the skies are deep blue, but every 15 minutes we’re reminded that this is still Ireland and drizzle is compulsory like a restaurant mister in the heat of summer.

Visitors are being led in and out of the New Grange monument in batches. This is an ancient site and numbers are important to preserve the integrity of the tomb – and our safety.

It’s my turn. A visitors’ guide cautions me to watch my head as I step into the darkness. The sound and colour of the world immediately dampen. I’m scared! I’m excited! The 19 meter, watertight passage is narrow and the path is inclining. One would imagine a tomb would slant downwards, but not at New Grange because this tomb is about the sun.

Soon all 24 permitted visitors have entered the circular tomb. It’s warm, dry and quiet. Flat, soft, almost dusty pink stones lie on top of one another like Pick-Up-Sticks forming a hexagon.

Our guide, Professor Muiris O’Sullivan, is a professor of Archeology, which was a lucky treat for us as he was extremely informative and entertaining. A real privilege to be taken into the countryside by someone so knowledgeable who could add more to the usual tour guide rhetoric.

The 5000-year-old tomb pays homage not only to the royal deceased, but also to the seasons, which sees the passage tomb perfectly align with the rising winter sun each year at the Winter Solstice. The “letterbox”, am open cube above the door is the key to allowing light into the tomb at the exact moment.

Before we had actually entered the tomb, we were taken on a tour of the surrounding stones, decorated with neolithic art. The history, life and times of the creators were explained to us and gave a deeper meaning to the unique, significance of the tomb’s location and purpose.

What is New Grange?

Located halfway between the equator and the north pole, New Grange has been declared the world’s oldest monument and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a passage tomb dedicated to the deceased while celebrating the light.

It is a phenomenal feat of Neolithic engineering, which sees the passage align with the rising sun, at midwinter sunrise, resulting in the tomb being lit up by the rising sun. This also indicates the annual switch from the shortest days and longest nights, to longer days and shortened darkness.

There is no other tomb in Ireland (as large) that illustrates this as clearly and as accurately as New Grange and we are now inside and experiencing a part of living history.

*Unfortunately, no photographs or videos are allowed to be taken from within the tomb. 

How To Get to New Grange – with Mary Gibbons

Staring up at the Parnell Monument, it’s another thing to tick off our touristy list. We’re waiting for the bus to arrive and I’m excited to join the New Grange tour by Mary Gibbons’. Having visited Knowth 2 years ago, AJ missed the experience so we decided to book for New Grange and explore and incredible ancient world of Ireland.

The tour starts with a 1-hour drive from central Dublin to the Hill of Tara and New Grange. The visitor centre was being overhauled so we packed our own picnic to ensure we didn’t go hungry or thirsty throughout the day. As it were, there is a cafe at the Hill of Tara and by 2021 the visitor’s centre will be complete at Knowth for other lunch options.

The cost of the tour is 45 Euros per adult and includes transport from Dublin to the Hill of Tara, New Grange and back again.

We absolutely loved the trip and would advise anyone to join Mary Gibbons, who kindly replies to mails – even a year later! She goes out of her way to facilitate the days and times that work for you and is very helpful with other tour queries. Five stars for the Mary Gibbons tour! Book through the New Grange tours website.

Watch the New Grange Winter Solstice Live on YouTube

Sadly, with COVID 19, there are no public visitors to New Grange to witness this phenomenal dance of engineering and nature, but the event is streamed live on YouTube on the Office of Public Works YouTube channel. (Broadcast live on Sunday 20th December, Monday 21st December & Tuesday 22nd December 2020. Replays still available on YouTube.)

5 Facts About the Winter Solstice at New Grange

  1. The passage is long and narrow and has a roof box that allows the light of the rising sun to penetrate the chamber.
  2. The horizon is at the same level as the slit in the bottom of the roof box.
  3. The chamber floor is that same level as the horizon, which receives the first bit of light.
  4. The roof box used to be blocked by quarts stones, which were added and removed, indicating that there was some control of the light and that people at the time were engaging with the deceased.
  5. Light falls into the chamber and lasts for 17 minutes and then it passes again until the next year.

The Importance of the Alignment

Celebrating the winter solstice at New Grange is important as it’s an experience that has remained consistent since the site was built over 5000 years ago, where the people of the time used to gather to watch the sunrise. It’s a piece of living history and a wonderful way to celebrate the hundreds of generations who have watched the sunrise and wished for longer days.

The tombs are complex as they don’t only hold the artefacts and cremated remains of the deceased, but also signify the human experience of people living during the Neolithic era. The sun was a supreme cosmic power that gave life and light to the people at the time.

 

 

Related

Posted in Ireland
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Post navigation

   Escape to Freedom at Webersburg
Farmyard Perfection at Bergsicht Country Cottages   

You may also like

Best Free & Paid Things To Do in Dublin

Continue Reading

Ireland’s Most Beautiful Library: The Long Room

Continue Reading

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Author

Hi! Welcome to gotthepassports

This is our Cape Town travel blog where we share our wins, fails, tips and reviews from around the Mother City. Enjoy and, before you go, "Got the Passports?"

GTP on Meta

GTP on Meta

Subscribe

Thank you for subscribing!

Subscribe

Sign up for our monthly newsletter and enjoy travel ideas straight in your inbox.

*

More from our Instagram

gotthepassports_

🇿🇦 A little South African travel blog by a girl from the desert 🌵 and a boy from the sea 🌊
✈️ Will travel for music, art & food 🍷

Got the Passports?
You read right! Loads of food & drinks including # You read right! Loads of food & drinks including #CapClassique, cocktails, beers and ciders. 🥂 

⠀
If you’re visiting #CapeTown and are looking to take a breather from your likely busy schedule, this is the brunch for you. 🍣 ⠀
⠀
The @radissonblu_waterfront hosts Breaker’s Brunch, a Dubai style (code for – leisurely and indulgent) brunch on their back patio.⠀
⠀
LOADS of food, drink, live sax, live DJ’s, ships and dolphins alllll in the mix. 🎷🐬 ⠀
⠀
LINK IN BIO for everything you need to know. Next dates:⠀
⠀
▫️29th Oct 2022⠀
▫️5th & 26th Nov 2022⠀
▫️3rd Dec 2022⠀
▫️7th & 28th Jan 2023⠀
▫️4th & 25th Feb 2023⠀
▫️4th & 25th Mar 2023⠀
⠀
☎️ Booking is essential.
Happy #WorldTourismDay from the #WesternCape! Here Happy #WorldTourismDay from the #WesternCape! Here’s featuring some of our stays from the past year: 
.
▫️ @mosaicsoafrica 
▫️ @arumlilylogcabins 
▫️ @spanishfarmlodge 
▫️ @abalone_hotel 
▫️ @brookdale_estate 
▫️ @bergsicht_country_cottages 
▫️ @southhill_vineyards 
▫️ @ricketybridgewinery 
▫️ @chefswarehousetintswalo
Spring is finally here and we are excited to shake Spring is finally here and we are excited to shake off the jackets and scarfs and head back outdoors 😍
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Content

  • Africa
    • Mauritius
    • Namibia
  • Europe
    • France
    • Ireland
    • Italy
      • Venice
    • Netherlands
  • Garden Route
    • Knysna
  • General
  • Other
  • South Africa
    • Arniston
    • Atlantic Seaboard
    • Cape Town
    • False Bay
    • Springbok
    • West Coast
      • Langebaan
      • Paternoster
      • Yzerfontein
    • Winelands
      • Botrivier
      • Elgin
      • Franschhoek
      • McGregor
      • Paarl
      • Robertson
      • Somerset West
      • Stellenbosch
      • Tulbagh
      • Wolseley
  • Tips
  • United Kingdom
    • England
    • Scotland
    • Wales

2 Continents Explored
11 Countries Visited
250 000 KM Traveled
100 000 Photos Taken

© Got the Passports 2021