Newgrange Winter Solstice Lottery 2026 - Applications Open

What to Expect

Each year a small number of people are selected by lottery to stand inside the Newgrange passage tomb on the mornings of the winter solstice (19-23 December), when the rising sun illuminates the chamber through the roof-box in a phenomenon unchanged for 5,200 years. The lottery is free to enter; applications open in advance and close on 30 September 2026. Winners are notified by post. The experience is considered one of the most profound you can have in Ireland.

Good to Know

• Lottery application deadline: midnight Wednesday 30 September 2026.

• Apply free of charge at solsticelottery.ie.

• The solstice event itself takes place 19-23 December 2026 at dawn each morning.

• Very small number of places available; the lottery is oversubscribed every year.

Getting There

Newgrange is accessed via the Bru na Boinne Visitor Centre at Donore, Co. Meath, approximately 8km from Drogheda and 48km from Dublin. A shuttle bus runs from the visitor centre to the monument.