Sunny Southeast

Winter Solstice

NEWGRANGE -- Today is the shortest day of the year and the time of the winter solstice. Alan Betson of the Irish Times shot this photo at Newgrange, showing the sun's alignment with the passage way leading into the burial chamber of the megalithic tomb at Newgrange. This is an awesome sight and unique to Ireland. Newgrange delivers its magic on the day, captured by spectators and by journalist Eileen Battersby below.

Battersby writes:

Curiosity and belief create tradition and custom becomes ritual. This is true of many things, such as the annual mid-winter pilgrimage to the great Stone Age passage grave monument of Newgrange in Brú na Bóinne, the famous Boyne Valley in Co. Meath. During the solstice, the five shortest days of the year, the rising sun will, given kindly weather conditions, strike the northern or back recess of the chamber. Fusing nature and science, with the honouring of the dead, the phenomenon devised 5,000 years ago continues to fascinate.

On a good day, such as yesterday, the Gods and the ancients smiled. With them, about one hundred present-day mortals were also smiling as the famous honeyed rosy golden beam cast forth by a determined sun made its way towards the monument. God, art and precision engineering all have a part in creating what is the marvel of Newgrange. Hopes of experiencing the ingenious role of the roof box in the drama, from inside the chamber or from outside the monument facing a high ridge flaking the south bank of the river, draws pilgrims and devotees from all over the world, as well as Ireland.

A trio of Kerry men had travelled through the night intent on being part of the celebrations. It was close, but they made it, as had a solemn older man wearing a troll-like headdress cum woollen hat complete with two thick white woollen plaits.

Part of the magic is to arrive in the darkness; this is the morning following the longest night of the year. To be at Newgrange at the solstice is to welcome the beginning of the gradual return of the daylight. More importantly, it marks the first stages of the slow death of winter.<

The mist rises from the river and the shadows that had appeared to be ghostly watchers are revealed as large standing stones also sharing in the vigil. Nature invariably defies the predictable. Early arrivals were all confident of a spectacular sunrise worthy of the sophisticated genius of the tomb-builders. "Conditions are perfect" became a form of greeting.

A small group quickly became a fair-sized gathering without a Santa in sight. The chosen few, selected by lottery to enter the chamber in the presence of the official guests, wore slightly apprehensive expressions. The wider public outside consisted of regulars known to attend every year, first-timers, zealots and the curious as well as those anxious to begin Christmas well, were prepared to wait.

Morning was well established, the shadows were gone. The sky could have been on loan from a Turner painting as the sun announced its presence against a mixture of brightening blue and contrasting purple. Cameras were focused. All eyes turned to the heavens. Pale pink turned to warm gold. Contented onlookers applauded. The sanded floor of the famous passage inside would begin to shimmer as the sun began its journey.

Almost by surprise, however rain began to fall. The sun and the rain danced. Would there be a loser? Not this time. The outcome was more magnificent duet than battle. Onlookers decided the real solstice was happening outside. It was.

With a final flourish of graceful theatre, nature decided to toss a rainbow straddling the monument, itself a serene juxtaposing of earth and stone. The colourful ribbon became a vast arc. More cameras flashed recording the image of a rainbow encircling Newgrange yesterday morning as winter began to die.

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Eileen Battersby -- "Newgrange delivers its mid-winter magic"
Knowth -- Winter Solstice Magic
John Smyth --"Winter sunrise"
Dave Walsh -- "Winter Solstice"
Stunned -- "Winter Solstice"
Photo by Alan Betson
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Black Irish

CLONMEL -- You won't hear the term "Black Irish" commonly spoken in the sunny southeast part of Ireland but it's a concept batted around in parts of New York rather frequently. The term "Black Irish" is mostly used in America and is typically an innocent reference to those of Irish descent who have dark hair and features.

There are other more romantic notions as to why some Irish have dark hair. I heard the first explanation while visiting Galway nearly 10 years ago. Out west, some have used "Black Irish" as an ethnic designation for those doe-eyed Irish who are the descendants of shipwrecked sailors from the Spanish Armada.

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There's even a Black Irish mailing list.
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Ancient art of Irish hacking

CARROWMORE -- Sean McGrath, CTO of Propylon Software, believes "modern day Irish may be genetically pre-disposed to the quick, inelegant but highly performative solutions known as 'hacks'". He draws the conclusion after discovering "wonderful quick hack that an anscestor of mine executed" in a Megalithic cemetery a few miles from Sligo.

The image shows a small stone slipped under a big stone in order to make the big stone sit horizontal to the ground. It's "a hack executed some six thousand years ago."

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Sean McGrath -- "The ancient art of hacking in Ireland"
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The D-Day Web

CBC -- Ever wonder what would have been at the top of the Internet newsfeeds during the first week of June, 1994? CBC of Canada has created a website that asks the question, "What if there had been online news on June 6, 1944 -- D-Day?" It's a flashback site.

It is designed as though the web existed in 1944. CBC's Robin Rowland announced the site on Poynter's Online-News discussion list last week. The style of the site borrows from CBC's current war coverage, with commentary by correspondents and letters from soldiers. There's also a long-lost tape of a Victory bond broadcast by actress Katharine Hepburn.

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CBC News -- "What the Web Looked Like in 1944"
Posted by Bernie Goldbach via Steve Outing. Image from Canadian Army/CP.
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