Wednesday, 17-Dec-2025
Okay so it’s not technically the winter solstice. But it’s close!
I really enjoy observing holidays and festivals – whenever there’s the reasonable opportunity, it just feels fun. Connecting to something bigger than ourselves, aligning with the natural rhythm of the world… I appreciate the structure of it all.
This year, my friend Megan and I took the Solstice as a reason to explore some of the many pieces of ancient Irish history dotted around the country. Or at least, dotted around our specific area of the country.
Our adventure went a little bit like this:
We started at the Proleek Dolmen and Wedge tombs – neat little mini tombs, set on a golf course. Access was free, but felt a little bit like an afterthought… They were very cool, though, and I took the chance to fly the drone around the area a bit in the morning light.
After Proleek (and a vain search for a supposedly fairy fort nearby) we headed onward toward the big one, The Newgrange Tomb Complex.
This is easily one of the biggest in the country – a huge tomb complex, with a whole visitors center and experience associated with it. Frankly, though, it felt a little… performative, maybe? I mean, don’t get me wrong! The tomb itself was cool, and the displays in the visitors center were good… but it felt poorly cared for, and almost like it had been built once, and then forgotten? It didn’t help that the folks at the visitors center made us buy a second set of tickets because we were 5min late for ours (the tickets are for 30min intervals, and there was absolutely no one there aside from ourselves)… but still.
Getting to go into the tomb was amazing, and the guides at the tomb itself were excellent. So that helped make up for it quite a bit.
Now, Newgrange is technically the whole complex, made up of Newgrange itself, Dowth, and Knowth. All of which are also known, traditionally, as Brú na Bóinne, or “Mansion of the Boyne”, since they’re right on the river Boyne.
The visitors center only controls Newgrange, it seems, with Knowth being closed to the public and Dowth being open for people to drive to and stand near on their own. So clearly, our next stop was Dowth.
We couldn’t go into the tomb, of course, since it’s just a walking thing (and I think privately owned? Maybe? It feels like these things are rather complicated, here in Ireland), but I absolutely adored the area and the views. Just the quiet serenity, really.
After Dowth, we headed South (hah, rhyming…) toward the Hill of Tara – an ancient meeting ground for the kings of the Irish clans. We grabbed a bite to eat at the nearby cafe, and walked around a bit exploring the area.
To be frank, this one was more than a bit disappointing. I mean, it’s this hugely significant historic area, and… there really wasn’t anything there. I mean, some hills and a standing stone? Some (very small) placards? A beautiful view of the sunset was nice, but then the herd of sheep grazing (and leaving landmines) to add complexity to the walk… I don’t know. I think I’m spoiled from the US, but I had hoped for a… I don’t know, maybe a walk? A map at the start, with a suggested path including placards and signposts focused on cultural preservation?
Well, the sunset was pretty.
From here, we’d planned on hitting two other tombs… but unfortunately sunlight wasn’t with us, and closing hours for the spots were fast approaching. The risks of Winter Solstice, coming through.
We headed for home.
We passed the Hellfire club, though unfortunately it was already closed by the time we arrived, and so we continued on toward dinner – a lovely Indian restaurant in Dalkey, as a beautiful end point to a lovely day of adventure.
