Newgrange Winter Solstice Draw 2009

Sunrise at NewgrangeThe annual draw to attend the Winter Solstice at Newgrange took place on Friday September 25th 2009 at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, Donore Co. Meath. Children from three local schools drew the winning applicants. The successful people are being notified by registered post. There is no guarantee that there will be sunlight in the chamber on any of the mornings, the event is totally weather dependent!

Fifty names were drawn, and each of those fifty people are being invited along with a guest to attend on a specific morning. There are ten lottery winners and their guests in the chamber on each of the mornings. Some additional names were also drawn and placed on a reserve list. The reserve list is there in case someone whose name is drawn for the initial list is not contactable or else finds it impossible to travel to Newgrange on the date they have been assigned. The place at Newgrange for dawn is non-transferable. Lottery winners cannot offer their place in the chamber to someone else.

There were 32,995 entries for the Winter Solstice Draw 2009. There was a great geographical spread of winners, Ireland and the USA were the most numerous, other countries represented were Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

If your name was not drawn in the lottery, you are still welcome to celebrate the Winter Solstice outside the mound at dawn from the 18th to the 23rd of December. Normally visitors to the Newgrange mound have to go through the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre Visitor Centre, the only exception is at dawn around the Winter Solstice where visitors can gain direct entry to the site.

Newgrange Winter Solstice Draw 2010

Application forms for the 2010 Winter Solstice are available at the reception desk in the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre. There is no on-line application system, however the obliging Staff at the Visitor Centre will fill out a form on your behalf.

Sunrise at Newgrange

Past Winter Solstice Mornings

 

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