Stunning pictures show Newgrange ahead of the Winter Solstice

Pictures by John Lalor/ NMS/ Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Stunning images captured by the National Monuments Service (NMS) show light filtering through Newgrange leading up to today's Winter Solstice.

The pictures show light entering the Neolithic Passage Tomb, built around 3,200 BC, and were taken by NMS Senior Photographer John Lalor over three mornings.

Winter Solstice is an astronomical phenomenon marking the shortest day of the year and longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, it happens on December 21.

At Newgrange, the sun shines through a roof box built above the passage tomb entrance. For about 15 minutes, the light gradually works its way up the passage floor to the burial chamber.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) opens the monument at dawn from December 18 to December 23, when winners of an annual OPW lottery get to witness the spectacle.

Twenty six years after the 'Archaeological ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne or Brú na Bóinne' was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a new visitor experience has opened.

The €4.5 million visitor experience was built between Fáilte Ireland, the OPW and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.