Winter solstice launch for 2014 equinox events
The winter solstice was in the air as the members of Oldcastle Tourism Group made their way up Loughcrew in snow flurries to launch their equinox Events for 2014.
Oldcastle Chamber of Commerce set up Oldcastle Tourism Group over a year ago, and they are now drawing up exciting plans for a festival centred on celebrating the equinoxes in March and September at the Loughcrew Cairns near the town.
The megalithic complex at Loughcrew predates Newgrange and the Egyptian pyramids and includes the oldest stone buildings in Europe (from 3,500 BC).
The Equinox Stone in Cairn T on the back of the centre chamber is lit over five days at the Spring and Autumn equinoxes by the rising sun, illuminating the ancient carvings and motifs on the petroglyph.
This year visitor numbers to the cairns were more than 10,000 during the summer months when the site is manned by OPW guides and off-peak more than 3,000 accessed Cairn T using the key held at Loughcrew Gardens. Add in the numbers that walk on the hill and view the tomb from the outside, and there are some 15,000 visitors.
“The Loughcrew cairns are an unique selling point for Oldcastle for tourism and the reason for setting up the tourism group last year was to identify ways to benefit the town,” said Garry O’Neill, president of Oldcastle Chamber of Commerce and proprietor of the Finncourt Bar and Guesthouse in the town.
“We have made good progress over the year, even trialling some events at last year’s autumn equinox. We are ambitious in what we want to achieve in building a festival around two dates that are set in stone each year.”
The tourism group are working with tourism consultant Bartle D’Arcy from Directing Tourism on the development and operation of the equinox events. Key to the promotion of the equinox has been an agreement with Tourism Ireland to feature the cairns as part of its greening of iconic monuments worldwide in the lead up to St Patrick’s Day.
“Cairn T is visible today for about a 50-mile radius and in its heyday would have been surrounded by white quartz, which would have reflected both sunlight and moonlight, giving it a glowing appearance,” said Bartle.
“We plan to light up the cairns for around 10 days over each equinox, green in spring and red in autumn as a reminder of their use as places of instruction for crop growing and harvest.”
The group are preparing an application to Fáilte Ireland for regional festival funding and are confident that generating activity at the equinoxes will benefit awareness of Loughcrew and bring tourists into Oldcastle. Both equinoxes occur over weekends in 2014 and some of the planned activities are themed walks, a fire procession, artisan markets, workshops and seminars, street entertainment and music events.
The tourism group have had lighting specialists look at the site and are in consultation with the OPW and landowners regarding their plans.
“We hold the key to the cairns for visitors to the area at Loughcrew Gardens and see first-hand the interest they generate, particularly among overseas tourists, and the huge potential they have for promoting this area, so it is great that these events are being organised,” said George Allen, general manager at Loughcrew Gardens and Adventure Centre.
• Oldcastle Chamber host a public meeting in January for business or people interested in assisting; details on the chamber’s Facebook page and the Oldcastle Tourism Group page (oldcastlechamber.ie).