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Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



can be dated with some degree of certainty. The remaining two present more 

 difficulty, as their dating has to be based upon stylistic grounds, and the 

 dates suggested for them must only be considered as tentative. It may be 

 mentioned that Mr. Reginald A. Smith, of the British Museum, is publishing 

 a comprehensive memoir on the dating of Scotch and Irish brooches ; and it 

 is much to be regretted that this was not printed in time to be of use in 

 writing the present paper. The writer has, however, had some correspon- 

 dence with, and received some suggestions from, Mr. Smith on the subject. 



Fig. 1 (upper). — Brooch with La Tene survivals (f). 

 „ (lower). — Brooch with terminals fused together (§). 



The description of the brooches may commence with that of the earliest 

 in date, which is made of bronze, and is a good example of a well-known type 

 of Celtic penannular brooches, which are earlier than the general use of the 

 interlaced style, and show the influence of the pre-Christian (La Tene) 

 period. In the present example the cusps on the hoop above the expanded 

 ends, which are characteristically La Tene, are strongly marked. The ring 

 itself is round in section, and ornamented with fine lines in groups of four. 

 The terminals still retain traces of enamel below the cusps, and the enamel 

 settings of the expanded portions are in exceptionally good preservation. 

 These appear to have been composed of six small squares of variegated 

 coloured glass (blue and yellow, and blue, white, and red, the white centre- 

 pieces having a four-leaved design upon them), set in the form of a cross into 

 a ground of red enamel. The small squares or cubes are made up of very 



