‘Golden Warriors and Collars of Gold’

The Ormond Historical Society’s talk on Monday, November 9, next takes us back to Late Bronze Age Tipperary (1000 BC – 600 BC).

The speaker is Tipperary native, Dr Mary Cahill, former Keeper of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland. Her talk is titled ‘Making Tipperary Great in the Bronze Age: Golden Warriors and Collars of Gold’. The venue is as always the Abbey Court Hotel, with the usual starting time of 8pm.

The speaker, Mary Cahill is an archaeologist specialising in the prehistoric goldwork of Ireland and the wider world. She has published widely on numerous aspects of Irish archaeology, including on several finds and sites from Co Tipperary. In her lecture she will discuss Late Bronze Age (1000 BC – 600 BC) goldwork from Ireland, with special emphasis on the wealth of extraordinary gold ornaments found in Co Tipperary. Two of the most notable treasures are the well-known gorgets from Ardcroney and Borrisnoe. The Ardcroney gorget was discovered in a field near the village in the 1840s and is currently in the National Museum in Dublin.

Gorgets are highly skilful and sophisticated gold collar-like objects known only from Ireland. They were found mainly in counties Tipperary, Clare and Limerick. Mary Cahill’s lecture will show how they were made, and discuss their probable origins in sheet bronze body armour from western and central Europe, placing Late Bronze Age Tipperary at the centre of a vibrant Late Bronze Age economy with widespread connections to the wider world beyond our island.

This stimulating and highly illustrated talk will be of wide interest, particularly with its local connections. Art students – both second or third level – are specially invited and admission is free to students on the night.

Members free as usual, non-members: €10. So, mark the date, Monday, November 9 in your diary and join us at the Abbey Court Hotel for a revealing talk on the skill and craftsmanship of our Bronze Age ancestors.