New Discoveries At Newgrange, Co. Meath, Ireland 1962

A team of archaeologists lead by Professor Michael J O’Kelly from University College Cork have made fresh findings at the centre mound of Newgrange in County Meath.

Discovered in 1699 the megalithic passage-tomb of Newgrange, is considered to be one of the best decorated tombs of its type in Western Europe. Along with nearby Knowth and Dowth, Newgrange forms a complex of archaeological sites at Brú na Bóinne in County Meath.

Prior to repair work being undertaken at Newgrange, Professor O’Kelly from University College Cork UCC and his team are excavating the site, to ensure the archaeological value of the tomb itself will not be damaged. The monument,

Now needs some repairs, so it was thought that the time had come when we should do some investigation around the edge of the mound before these repairs are undertaken.

Professor O’Kelly’s team consists of three students from Uppsala University in Sweden, two students from Harvard University and Helen Kelly and Elizabeth Murphy from UCC. They work alongside two local labourers.

Folklore says the High Kings of Tara were buried at Newgrange, but Professor O’Kelly dismisses this as Newgrange dates 2000 years before Tara became an important historical monument. He postulates that chieftains were buried inside, remaining untouched until the tomb was plundered in the ninth century by the Vikings.

Some of the new findings uncovered by Professor O’Kelly’s team include decorated kerbstones with chevron ornamentation and an intriguing mound of turf, which may be part of the passage grave itself or part of a preexisting structure made before the great cairn was thrown up.

The question to be solved now is,

Whether this turf mound is the same or an earlier time than the tomb or whether it belongs to an earlier time.

The answer to this could provide a very valuable contribution to archaeology.

Ninety-year-old Anne Hickey, caretaker of Newgrange mound for sixty years describes the customs and local superstitions held about the mound. She says old people think fairies live there and they are

Terrified of them.

There is also a white lady connected with the mound. This woman vanished when Anne Hickey approached her, mistaking her for a friend.

I was very vexed that she disappeared so quick without me getting a chat with her.

This episode of ‘Newsview’ was broadcast on 14 August 1962. The reporter is Sean Egan.

[Fortyball]

A very important video, thank you very much for making this video available for public viewing, whoever you are.

[nikitameo]

Thanks so much for sharing! I live 10 mins from newgrange 😍

[iknowyoureright]

It’s Strange to think the majority of the people in this video are now deceased…..61 years ago, as I write this……so even the students at that time doing the digging would be in their 80s. Shows how absolutely lightning quick time does pass, and I shall pass too and so shall all who read this and those tombs will still stand where they have always stood. Crazy thought.

[jenniferdunn]

I can’t believe we were not told of these discoveries at school. I first went there about 1970.

[sc]

I could listen to the old woman telling stories all day

[MikeyJMJ]

6:02 The Italian girl with the modern looking hoodie looks so strange compared to everyone else

[colmmcnaughton]

thanks for posting. a brilliant wee film.

[PatrickCotter-lvzb]

The old woman is 12 years older than James Joyce, five years younger than WB Yeats.

[jamescornflake]

06:65 I made one of those things when I was small. He is supposed to pull the string tight!!

[msb]

9.33 (mins) the Swedish student smoking away as he's digging!! 🤭

[markmarnell]

“So much for the fairies. Science and progress marches on… etc” comment by interviewer and his superstitious nature unmasked after the curtesy’s of Mrs Ann Hickey 90yrs Newgrange’s oldest guardian of the day - totally disregarding her important testimony regarding the local history, habits, 🐐 and beliefs related locally to Newgrange. One hopes there are longer recordings in existence still shared equally between both the science and the guardians. Because many questions remain to today unanswered. Would love to see the full unedited reels?

[Ginal]

So, in the 1960s they removed the top of the mound and what we see when we go inside the passage now was reconstructed or did they excavate the areas around the passage and left that alone?

[GkPhotographic]

no mention of the light box, the most important aspect of the Bru .
it is the centre of the Gael universe .

[noelmaher]

Customs, you'll have no customs and traditions and be happy.

[inazonitobe]

Oh interesting. He wrongly said bronze age. I wonder if they hadn't properly dated it yet by that point.

[noelryan]

Iontach ar fad. Cuimhnionn me an-tOllamh o'n am a bhi me ag staidear i UCC fado fado. Ni bheidh a leithead de'n t-Ollamh Micheal O'Cheallaigh ann aris!

[johnobrien]

Repairs...hmmm. Desecration more like. After 4, 000 years they decided to repair it.

[captur]

Its the priests and religion they should of feared...nevermind the 🧚‍♂️...

[martini]

Professors, TV people, Parish Priests, Bishops, TDs, Taoisigh, Bank Managers, School Heads et al took themselves terribly fooking seriously back in the 50s & 60s. I know this because I was reared in the countryside and I was 10 years old in 1962.
Most of the youth in their teens & twenties back them were busy having no involvement in Irish Music, Dance nor the Irish Language.
Perhaps Newgrange would have been best left alone until now given the enlightened approach of our present day Archaeologists on site.

[thehairysnot]

They could find ancient archaeological artifacts but couldn't find out what was going on in the mother and baby homes at the present Irish media folks, keep people distracted by the past