Several hundred people turned up this morning on the Hill of Tara in Co Meath to watch a glorious sunrise and celebrate the summer solstice on the longest day of the year.
The sun rose at 4.57am above the eastern horizon and, unusually, there was a barely a cloud in the sky for the event.
Many of those present camped out, watched the sunset and stayed awake for the whole of the shortest night of the year.
The view of the rising sun brought a sense of joy that made it a special solstice for those present because solstices in recent years have been affected by cloud or rain.
“Sometimes we only know the sun has risen because of the time, but this was beautiful,” said local druid Annette Peard.
She led revellers, who formed a circle, in the awen, the druidic chant of joy. “We are celebrating walking in the path of our ancestors, remembering what it was like for them,” she said.
Fergal McMahon said those attending had got lucky with the weather. “This has been a special morning. The sun just popped up and said hello,” he said.
Amy Brundon described the sunrise as “amazing and really powerful”.
The summer solstice has been marked at the Hill of Tara since pre-Christian times, but has become politicised recently because of the M3 motorway which passes through the Tara-Skyrne valley.
The motorway opened last month.
Among those who attended this morning were two members of the Wangkumarra Aboriginal people in Australia who have sought the help of Tara campaigners in their struggle to preserve their lands in south-west Queensland.
Tribal elder Hope Ebsworth described the sunrise as a “great event” and said there were many cultural similarities between Celtic Ireland and the Aboriginal people despite the distances involved.
He said he had been impressed by the solidarity shown by people in Ireland. Though the motorway cannot be easily seen from the Hill, its presence was invoked by many watching the solstice from the hill.
“Tara is wounded,” said local campaigner JP Fay who wore a long gabardine cloak with Morrigu, the Celtic Goddess of War, on the back “to fight when our country’s heritage has been attacked”.
He put sage on a fire – sage being a herb the ancient Celts felt increased wisdom and knowledge. Some of those present walked three times around the fire as an offering to the Earth “the mother of the world”.
