Eight lucky pupils (one boy and one girl in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th class) were chosen to attend Brú na Bóinne Newgrange to pick out the lucky tickets that get to attend the winter solstice in the passage tomb chamber this December.

The pupils were chosen by lottery in their classes and were collected by the Office of Public Works in a very fancy electric bus!

Then it was straight in to picking out the tickets. 76 people in total were chosen from 34,263 online applications, 38 to be invited to the chamber with a guest and 38 reserves.

There were children from St. Patrick's National School, Slane, Knockcommon National School and Donore National School to help get the job done, as well as Brú na Bóinne staff and local Garda sargeant, Jenny, who was there to check that everything was done fairly.

Tickets were drawn from as far away as Taiwan, Portugal, USA, UK, Poland, France, Greece, and Argentina and as near as Westmeath, Mayo, Galway, Down, Dublin, Wicklow, Kerry and Meath. After the draw the pupils got to visit the exhibition itself, which was a treat.

Finally, there was a great reward of lunch in the café in Brú na Bóinne after all the hard work. We really enjoyed the trip. many thanks to the Brú na Bóinne staff for inviting us.

‍