The progress of the sunbeam on the backstone inside Cairn T at Loughcrew was video recorded at sunrise
on the morning of March 23rd 2005. The 50 minute recording has been compressed to 1 minute 46 seconds
and included in this Video which also includes background information on the equinox illumination at Loughcrew.
Reflections on Loughcrew and Newgrange by Tim O'Brien
We came across the Cairns at Loughcrew
in 1985 quite by accident and it was to
become one of the most exciting times of my life. Mary and I climbed the hill
with the late September evening, sun setting at our backs. As we walked over the
brow of the hill, Cairn T appeared like a mirage. It was just a large collection
of stones that appeared to be haphazardly put together. We went to the front of
the east side of the cairn and noticed that there was a gate left open.
It led to a passage into the pile of stones and we could hear voices inside. The people
inside invited us in as they had a flashlight, which was necessary to observe
the drawings on the stones. We had come to this place completely unaware of what
to expect and were overwhelmed by what we saw within the chamber. Our unofficial
guide gave us a quick tour pointing out the main features of the chamber and
showed us the drawings that had been etched onto the stones both in the central
chamber and the three small chambers off it. Continue reading Tim O'Brien's reflections.
The
music on the Loughcrew Equinox Video is the track Procession by Jillian LaDage from her album
The Ancestry.
In the album Jillian steps through the temples of memory on a journey that leads from the medieval sands of Turkey
and the Byzantine Empire to the moors and legends of the ancient Celts.
The nine self-produced tracks range from the intricately woven instrumental Manzikert into the hauntingly
melodic, traditional folklore inspired strains of Bonny Was The Lady to the balladry of
Endless Knot and the evocative rhythms of Midsummer's Night.
The eclectic Celtic singer/composer's rich musical tapestry of harp, piano,
bodhran, tabla, hurdy gurdy, guitar, clarinet, viola, violin, cello, uillean
pipes and more, embraces the quest of the medieval mystic, unifying the ancient and modern world.
"I came across a reference
to the Celts in Asia Minor early in the eleventh century as the Mediterranean world and the world
around them came to a crossroads and began to follow the migration of the many Celtic tribes as
the Byzantine Empire declined and the Normans invaded the British Isles," Jillian explains.
"The memories that had passed into the resting places of myth and legend,
and forgotten happenings were events that drew me to the stepping stone of
remembrance and lineage. In turn this became the foundation of the music, and as
I experienced it, the common thread that held the Celts together through the
opening of this great cultural Pandora's Box."
Jillian was born in rural Illinois in the USA to a dairy farmer and stay-at-home mom in 1980.
She grew up around the prairies her Scots/Irish ancestors settled when they immigrated to America nearly two centuries ago.
Pouring over books of fiction and non-fiction alike, she became enthralled with the world and music
of the Celts.
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