Irish people need light relief from long dull winter

As November advances and our part of the globe tilts away from the sun, daylight becomes a precious and a diminishing commodity.

Irish people are essentially tropical animals who have wandered dangerously far to the north. We have to struggle to cope with the winter darkness, though of course we have artificial light to help us. When the only artificial light was fire light November was a more traumatic season. From what little we know about our ancestors who built Newgrange they were obsessed by the death and re-birth of daylight.

The reduction in natural light has an effect on the entire natural world. There is a hormone called melatonin which is remarkable because it is found in animals, plants, fungi and bacteria, as well as in humans. Such universal occurrence suggests it is the most fundamental hormone involved in the evolution of cellular life. Melatonin in all organisms is produced in response to light.