Five lucky pupils 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.

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The pupils were chosen by lottery in their classes and were collected by Brian from 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 12,800 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, China, USA, Netherlands, Poland, France and as near as Cork, Mayo, Donegal, Kildare, Dublin, Wicklow, Galway, Longford, Antrim, Kerry, Louth and Meath (with a ticket from Navan and Slane!). After the draw the pupils got to jump into the pit where the tickets were drawn from.

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.