114 



land, rather than avail himself of the many other means of publica- 

 tion that were open to him, and where his papers would have re- 

 ceived a wider as well as a speedier circulation. 



The same enlarged views enabled him also to appreciate the 

 value of other branches of knowledge, which a man of less culti- 

 vated mind might be tempted to underrate, when viewed in the 

 light of his own favourite and more dazzling studies. But it is to 

 Mac Cullagh, to his splendid example of munificence, and to his un- 

 tiring zeal, that we owe the creation of the spirit which led to the 

 formation of our Museum of Antiquities, that has already attracted 

 80 much public attention, and which constitutes so important a fea- 

 ture in the present position of the Academy. 



The Cross of Cong was the gift of Mac Cullagh to our national 

 Museum, purchased at his own'sole expense. On the 24th June, 1839, 

 he presented it himself to the Academy, at a general meeting, and, 

 after some remarks on its historical importance and value, he stated 

 that his motive for presenting it to the Academy was " to save it 

 from the shameful process of destruction to which everything vene- 

 rable in Ireland has been exposed for centuries, and to contribute, at 

 the same tilbe, to the formation of a national collection, the want of 

 which, he had been told, was regarded by Sir Walter Scott as a dis- 

 grace to a country so abounding in valuable remains. He trusted" (he 

 said) " that the time was not far distant when that reproach would 

 be no longer merited, — when the relics of antiquity, now scattered 

 over the kingdom, would find their way to a place where they could 

 be appreciated, studied, and preserved. He believed, indeed, that 

 there already existed in the public mind a strong disposition in favour 

 of such a plan, a disposition that only required to be awakened into 

 action."* 



He had himself the pleasure to see this anticipation realized, and 

 to feel that he was greatly instrumental in awakening into action the 

 disposition of which he then spoke. His spirit was immediately 

 caught up by others, and the golden torques of Tara were purchased 

 by a subscription, and deposited, with the Cross of Cong, in the 

 Museum of the Academy. 



' Proceedings, Vol. I. p. 328. 



