98 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



shrine, which will be to the observer's left ; while to his right will be the 

 sinister or left side. 



The shrine is badly preserved ; this is easy to understand if Dr. O'Beirne's 1 

 account of its adventures is true. Unfortunately, the repairs and restorations 

 of more recent years have been roughly carried out ; lumps of solder have 

 been left exposed in prominent places, while the riveting on of the outer plates 

 has been crudely executed. 



The Dom/naeh Airgid is a box of yew wood, which was covered in the 

 first instance with bronze panels coated over with a white metal. Petrie 2 stated 

 that these panels were plated with silver ; but I was doubtful if any 

 process of silver-plating was in use in Ireland at such an early date, and so 

 asked Dr. A < '■. G. I. onard, of tin- Royal College of Science for Ireland, to 

 determine the metal. This he did by means of a spectroscopic analysis. The 

 first examination Bhowed some faint lines of silver, which Dr. I^eonard thought 

 wen impurities in the bronze ; he therefore made a second examina- 



tion of the deposit, and has reported as follows:— 



" The result nf th ic examination of the Vomnach Airgid shows 



the deposit t<> Decomposed mainly of tin. The Bilver lines were not appreciably 

 strengthened when the dej ked on to the lines of the bronze, whereas 



th.- tin ami Bome copper lii much intensified." It appears, therefore, 



tin' with tin, 3 not plated with silver. From 



the colour of this tin I its name of Domnach Airgid, 



/- In tin- fourteenth century a further covering of 



silver-gilt pi with figures of saints in relief, &c., was added, a 



rim of ornamental pai in inscription, being placed round the 



case to cover tie- i I will be Bhown that there is reason to believe that 



the present ' . the embossed plate- on the top of the -hiiie-, were still 



made up ..; th,- following parte : — 

 i 1 The fronl ; with the I". .111 teenth-cenl nry crucifix and panels, 



which are dii the inni work, all traces of any earlier 



metal plate I parently disappeared. Including the rim, it measures 



230 mm. by 16? mm. 



;■- (02. 

 '". 'it., p. 16. 



3 The prad bjects with white metal goes back to early times. Several 



Irish :h century <l;ite. m the Academy's collection, are so 



c->ated ..n then {fa Erne shrine, which has been assigned to the ninth 



century, is made of a yew-wood box covered with bronze panels which are "apparently 

 tinned. ' 3 - iinlni.ivian origin found in Ireland are coated in the same 



way. Sec Oofley, R. I. I > . •. ( ,.,-,.- . 1910, pp. 23 24, o.d 42^4. 



