Loughcrew Equinox

At the 5000 year old Loughcrew megalithic cairn T in Ireland, the rising sun on the mornings around the equinoxes (March and September) illuminate the passage and chamber. The backstone of the chamber with its engraved sun symbols is bathed in a blaze of golden light during the 50 minute illumination.

Spring Equinox 2014

Autumn Equinox 2012

Autumn Equinox 2011

All those who made the effort to get up early on Sunday the 20th September 2009 were rewarded by a glorious sunrise that illuminated the backstone inside the chamber of Cairn T. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed and everybody got to spend time in the chamber and witness first hand the illumination of the backstone.

Spring Equinox - March 2009

The mornings were foggy leading up the the equinox, so a relatively small group gathered around 6:30am at Cairn T on Friday 20th March. Their optimism was rewarded and the equinox sunrise broke through the fog to illuminate the chamber and backstone.  More...

The conditions on Monday the 22nd of September 2008 were perfect for the Autumn Equinox rising sun to illuminate the passage and chamber of Cairn T at Loughcrew. Many thanks to Clare Tuffy for the beautiful photographs.

The best morning in March 2008 for the Spring Equinox was the 22nd which was a near perfect sunrise, when the sun rose above a little low cloud, Cairn T was brilliantly illuminated, rewarding the hardy souls that braved the arctic winds and sub zero temperatures.

Autumn Equinox - September 2007

It was a misty dawn on the 22nd September 2007 at Loughcrew. The sun did break through the morning mist to illuminate the backstone, much to the delight of the 60 people who gathered at Cairn T.  More...

The rising sun illuminates the passage and chamber of the megalithic Cairn T at Loughcrew around the March and September equinoxes. Many thanks to Ken Williams for the featured photographs from the morning of 22nd September 2006.

Autumn Equinox - 2005 photos by Ken Williams. Beginning with the sunrise at 7:20am, four great photographs of the equinox sunbeam illuminating the backstone of Cairn T and finishing off with a photography of the chamber at 8:17am where the sunbeam has moved off the backstone.

Due to adverse weather conditions on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of March 2005 the spring equinox sunrise didn't illuminate the chamber of Cairn T at Loughcrew. The sunrise on the March 23rd was a perfect sunrise to illuminate the backstone of the chamber in Cairn T.

The progress of the sunbeam on the backstone inside Cairn T at Loughcrew was video recorded on the morning of March 23rd 2005. The 50 minute video has been compressed to 1 minute 46 seconds and included in a YouTube Video.

Autumn Equinox - September 2004

The equinox rising sun breaks through the low cloud at 7:20am on the 21st September 2004. The rising sun illunimated the interior of Loughcrew Cairn T from 7:27am to 8:13am.  More...

Spring Equinox - March 2004

This image photographed inside Cairn T at 6:51am shows the shaped beam of equinox sunlight illuminating the back stone. Over a period of about 45 minutes the beam moves to the bottom right corner of the backstone.  More...

Autumn Equinox - September 2002

Tim O'Brien in his book Light Years Ago states "It would appear that the construction of Cairn T was specifically designed to cleverly fashion a beam of light from the rising and early risen sun around the time of the equinoxes to define the four year equinox or leap year cycle."  More...

Saint Patrick and the Spring Equinox

Saint Patrick's day is celebrated within a few days of the Spring Equinox, could it be that the Spring Equinox Festival was christianised to Saint Patrick's day and that this knowledge has been lost over time?  More ...

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