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Martin Brennan 2007  

Solstice watch in Tomb - Irish Times Reporter - December 1982

A small group of archaeologists, enthusiasts and Board of Works officials have been up since dawn today in order to see the winter solstice strike its rays right into the heart of the passage at Newgrange, Ireland's best known prehistoric monument.

For nearly 5,000 years the stone-lined chambers with their geometric decorations have demonstrated man's urge to bury his dead with ceremony. It also shows early Megalithic man's urge to embellish his handiwork. Architects, Danny Lynch and Tom Fitzgerald, will be representing the Board of Works.

But the archaeologist who did most to reveal the secrets of Newgrange in 1967 to the outside world will not be there. Professor Michael O'Kelly, who died during last summer, went there on December 21st for 14 years.