merrion street

Simon Harris TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) this morning, (21 December), welcomed the eight winners of the OPW Winter Solstice Lottery to Newgrange. Their prize granted them access to the Chamber this morning ready to witness the Winter Solstice but unfortunately the sun was obscured by cloud. Nevertheless, the atmosphere at the Monument is weather-proof and all the visitors enjoyed the unique experience of Winter Solstice. The winners were from the USA, Belgium, England and Ireland. They were joined at the Monument by a large group of media and onlookers, all seeking to share in the excitement of this unique event.

Speaking this morning the Minister said: “I am delighted to be here this morning to welcome the eight lucky winners of this very popular OPW Lottery competition. In September, I attended the draw and these lucky winners were chosen by local school children from over 30,000 applications from all around the world. That some of the winners came from as far afield as the USA and Belgium today shows the continuing fascination the Solstice has the world over”.
“2015 was a phenomenal year for overseas tourism, continued the Minister, with Tourism Ireland reporting an estimated 7.9 million overseas visitors and a growth of over 16% in overseas revenue to €4.6 billion while the domestic market also continues to grow, with 7.4 million trips recorded by Failte Ireland generating revenue of €1.5 billion in 2014. My Office, the Office of Public Works, continues to play a vital part in this sector with over 4.4 million visitors recorded at OPW managed sites last year. The sites managed by my Office also feature prominently in both key tourism experiences developed by Fáilte Ireland – the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland's Ancient East. All of these wonderful sites will continue to support the ambitious targets of anticipated growth of 5% for 2016”.

-Ends-
Editors Note:
Winter Solstice:
Winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon which marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs either December 21 or 22, when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Capricorn; the summer solstice occurs either June 20 or 21, when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Cancer.
Sunrise on the shortest days of the year begins at 8.58am and the light shines into the chamber for 17 minutes. The Office of Public Works opens the monument for the dawn from December 18 until December 23 inclusive and general admission on those mornings is free of charge.

- See more at: http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/Harris_welcomes_winners_of_OPW_s_Annual_Winter_Solstice_Lottery_to_Newgrange_for_the_Solstice.html#sthash.uEIybb2G.dpuf