Irish gold is

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

that occurs naturally in areas of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and highly prized because of its origin and scarcity. Ireland was the major area of

gold working in the Bronze Age British Isles Gold working in the Bronze Age British Isles refers to the use of gold to produce ornaments and other prestige items in the British Isles during the Bronze Age, between circa 2500 and c.800 BCE in Britain, and up to about 550 BCE in Ireland. In t ...

. Irish gold is especially well known from the Irish

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

as jewellery, in the form of

gold lunulae The Gold lunula (plural: lunulae) is a distinctive type of late Neolithic, Chalcolithic or (most often) early Bronze Age necklace or collar shaped like a crescent moon; most are from Prehistoric Ireland. They are normally flat and thin, with ...

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some had hook and ring closures and a few had ...

gorget A gorget , from the French ' meaning throat, was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the thro ...

s and rings.

History

The first gold was produced in Ireland c. 2500 BC during the late

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

Atlantic Bronze Age The Atlantic Bronze Age is a cultural complex of the Bronze Age period in Prehistoric Europe of approximately 1300–700 BC that includes different cultures in Britain, France, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. Trade The Atlantic Bronze Age ...

. Sun discs and lunulae were produced from hammered gold. Lead-isotope and major-element analyses have shown this gold to mostly be from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, also a major ancient source of

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

. In return, Irish copper was exchanged for this foreign gold. Around 1200 BC

s began to be produced using new techniques. From 900 BC bracelets, dress-fasteners, sheet gold collars and ear-spools were made in Ireland.

Occurrence

A likely source for Irish gold is

placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (Alluvium, alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining, open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer minin ...

in Ireland's rivers, including the rivers of

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

and the "Gold Coast" of

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

. Other likely ancient sources based on placenames include Slieveanore ("Gold Mountain",

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

), Tullynore ("Gold Hillock",

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

), Coomanore ("Gold Hollow",

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

), Luganore ("Gold Hollow",

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

) and Glenanore ("Gold Valley", County Cork). Note that the

Golden Vale The Golden Vale () is an area of rolling pastureland in the civil province of Munster, southwestern Ireland. Covering parts of three counties, Limerick, Tipperary and Cork, it is the best land in Ireland for dairy farming. Historically it ...

is not named for the metal, but for its high quality soil; the town of

Golden, County Tipperary Golden () is a village in County Tipperary in Ireland. The village is situated on the River Suir. It is located between the towns of Cashel and Tipperary on the N74 road. In older times the village was known as Goldenbridge. It is also a parish ...

takes its name from the Irish ''gabhailín'', "

river fork A river fork is where a river is connected to two or more clearly and equally distinct branches. It describes both tributaries and distributaries. A typical river fork is usually two tributaries merging (a confluence), such as the Nile proper cre ...

"; and

Shanagolden, County Limerick Shanagolden () is a small village located in County Limerick, Ireland. The village is on the R521 regional road between Foynes and Newcastlewest, around 35 km west of Limerick City. It is situated west of the 'Golden Vale', an area of fertile a ...

is from ''seanghualainn'', "old shoulder". All gold in the ground in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

is the property of the state. Recreational gold panning is permitted, but the gold cannot be sold and finds of over 20 flakes or must be reported. Between 1796 and 1860 about of gold was mined in Ireland, from places including the Gold Mines River, County Wicklow. In 2008 a major discovery was announced near

Clontibret Clontibret () is a village and parish in County Monaghan, Ireland. The village population in the 2016 census was 172. Clontibret is also a parish in both Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland traditions. The territory of the parish also includes ...

, estimated at . The mining is run by Conroy Gold and Natural Resources and Anglo Asian Mining. Total resources could be as high as .{{Cite web, url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/arid-30834428.html, title=Ireland seen as 'significant' new gold mining region, date=March 27, 2018, website=Irish Examiner

References

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

Gold mining

History

Occurrence

See also

References