Bru'na Boinne: Ireland's Ancient East

Bru'na Boinne was an interesting way to finish off our Ireland trip, as it's one of the oldest, most ancient sites in all of the island. Personally, Bru'na Boinne wasn't my cup of tea. I'm a lover of more recent history and much more byzantine (there's a word of the day for you) sites. Here is my unbiased review of what to see and how to visit the Neolithic attraction.

About Bru'na Boinne:

The Boyne Valley tombs are a collection of neolithic structures along the River Boyne. Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth are the largest and most well-known of these hill-like temples. My companions and I only had time to visit one of these ancient burial sites: Newgrange.

We hopped on a tour from the visitors centre, as it's the only way to get to the site. At the Bru'na Boinne visitor centre, you can dive into the history of the surrounding area during the time that these structures were built. Newgrange is older than both Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza, at just over 5000 years old.

When you arrive, you're given some time to explore the grounds and then lead inside by a guide. Newgrange is the only one where you can do this.

Once under the great mound, the guide explains what they think the structure could have been used for: possibly a temple of great importance. They then demonstrate how light hits the inside during the winter solstice. You can actually apply to be a part of this phenomenon every year, but it's a lottery and only the lucky few will ever see it happen.

If you'd like to learn more about Bru'na Boinne and visiting the site, check out their website here.

More Ireland:

This will be my last Ireland post for those who have been keeping up with our journey! You can read about the rest of the trip here. Hopefully I will have our full itinerary up soon.