EMAP_2012_Report_6_1.pdf (7.3 MB) - The Heritage Council

elaborate and best-known brooches, including the ‘Tara’ brooch, fall into this category, and it
can be difficult to trace their original context (Whitfield 1974). Certain types of brooch are
more affected by this than others; no thistle or bossed penannular brooches have been found
in excavations, for example. Of the 216 sites which produced personal ornaments in this
survey, just 40 sites produced brooches. Of these, 23 sites had just a single brooch, while the
others ranged from two to ten brooches, with some unspecified plurals (see Table 7.3). In
terms of brooch types, only limited details are available in some cases, but most appear to be
penannular brooches, with rare disc brooches (one apiece) found at Lagore and Togherstown
(Hencken 1950, 67; Macalister & Praeger 1931, 79-80). An interesting feature is the
discovery of a bird-headed penannular brooch at each of the sites of Lagore (Hencken 1950,
61), Moynagh Lough (Bradley 1994-5, 166), Baronstown (Linnane & Kinsella 2007, 59) and
Parknahown (O’Neill 2007, 136, 138); this type is often seen as influenced by Anglo-Saxon
designs, but was probably mediated through Dunadd in Scotland (Lane & Campbell 2000,
106, 239; Ó Floinn 2009, 245).
Site Site type Brooch Materials Reference
Ballinderry I, Co. Westmeath Crannog 2 1 silver, 1 copper Hencken 1936, 144, 154
alloy
Baronstown, Co. Meath Non-circular 2 2 copper alloy Linnane & Kinsella 2009, iv
Carraig Aille II, Co. Limerick Cashel 2 2 copper alloy (1 Ó Ríordáin 1948-50, 69
gilded)
Castlefarm, Co. Meath Cemetery/
2 2 copper alloy O’Connell & Clark 2009, 38
settlement
Clogher, Co. Tyrone Multivallate 2 2 copper alloy Warner 1973
Coonagh West, Co. Limerick Univallate 2 2 copper alloy Taylor 2007, 78
Millockstown, Co. Louth Multivallate 2 1 copper alloy, 1 Manning 1986, 154, 157
iron (fragment)
Moynagh Lough, Co. Meath Crannog 2 2 copper alloy Bradley 2011, 16
Parknahown, Co. Laois Cemetery/
2 2 copper alloy O’Neill 2007, 136
settlement
Rathtinaun, Co. Sligo Crannog 2 1 copper alloy, 1 Raftery undated
iron
Uisneach, Co. Westmeath Other 2 1 copper alloy, 1
iron
Macalister & Praeger 1928,
119, 121
Cahercommaun, Co. Clare Cashel 3 1 silver, 1 copper Hencken 1938, 27-34
alloy, 1 iron
Knowth, Co. Meath Raised 3 3 copper alloy Eogan 2012, 258-70
Ballinderry II, Co. Offaly Crannog 4 4 copper alloy Hencken 1942, 34-42
Lagore, Co. Meath Crannog 10 8 copper alloy, 2
iron
Hencken 1950, 59-64, 99-
100
Dooey, Co. Donegal Other Plural Copper alloy & iron Ó Ríordáin & Rynne 1961
Feerwore, Co. Galway Univallate plural Iron Raftery 1944, 34-5, 39, 41
Table 7.3: sites with multiple brooches
While crannogs account for five of the seventeen sites listed above, brooches are well
distributed across all site types (see Fig. 7.2 for distribution across all forty sites). The
geographical distribution is also broad (Fig. 7.3); differences in the proportions across the
modern provinces may be related to the extent of excavation, rather than original presence.
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