(From the Desert Shamrock)
Last year, Bill O'Brien, President of the Irish Cultural and Learning Foundation stopped at Hance park to visit the Great Hunger Memorial. It was sunset and to his suprise the setting sun appeared to be lined up with the Memorial.
The next day, December 21st, he arranged to meet at the Morial with Paul Ahern, the Project architeck, Sean Lee, Foundation Treasurer, and Rich Bailey, photographer and astronomy buff. To their amazement, they saw that An Gorta Mor was lined up exactly witht he beautiful Arizona setting sun.
The mysterious part of the winter solstice is that ancient civilizations in Africa, Peru, Egypt and what is now New Hampshire market it, all unkown to each other. The oldest winter solstice recording in the world is at Newgrange in Ireland and was built 5,000 years ago. Few people are aware that Ireland's famous marker, Newgrange, was built before the pyramids, before the Incas and before Stonehenge marked this sun phnomena. As December 21st is the day of the year with the least amount of daylight and being after harvest and before the long winter, great celebrations were held by the ancients celebrating the return of the sun.
The local Phoenix Irish group also came to realize that not only the Great Hunger Memorial is lined up directly with the winter solstice, but the entire Irish Cultural Center buildings are parallel to the Memorial and also lined up witht he solstice sunset. It is an exciting coincidence and one has to wonder how Paul Ahern, by chance happened to set that particular angle when he laid out the site plan of the Irish Cultural Center and the An Gora Mor Memorial.
The next morning, (Bill) O'Brien, (Paul) Ahern, and (Rich) Bailey met again to mark the winter solstice unrise and confirm the fact that the sun rays strike the mark coming from the east at sunup.
It is expected that there may be another Irish Gathering at the Memorial at sunset this coming December 21st.
(Editor's Note: Following is from Bill O'Brien)
