1891-9*.] 395 



in Ireland that had not costly shrines. In Dr. Oscar Mont- 

 clin's work, The Civilisation of Sweden in Heathen Times, 

 there is an illustration of an interlaced pattern exactly the 

 same as may be seen on the end of the shrine. The date he 

 assigns is between the fifth and sixth centuries. In the Annals 

 of Ulster for the year A.D. 836 it is recorded that the Gentiles 

 destroyed all the churches on Lough Erne, and probably this 

 was the time that the shrine was thrown into the lake. 



It will be observed that the shrine is shaped similar to an an- 

 cient Celtic cill, and the interlaced ornament along the upper 

 ridge is very beautiful, and is divided into panels, each one bearing 

 a distinct pattern. The roof-shaped lid is detached from the 

 body, and on one side is a beautifully carved boss with a 

 minute interlaced design, the centre being an amber bead. Its 

 diameter is i t 3 q inches. The body of the shrihe is composed of 

 one piece of yew . wood hollowed out, and is covered with a 

 bronze sheeting with round moulded angles. On one end is 

 the remains of a handle with Celtic design, the'other being lost. 

 The shrine is 7 inches long by 3 inches wide. The front side 

 bears the marks where two bosses have been attached, but both 

 are now lost ; the other side bears two plain round rings of bronze. 

 The lid is made in the same way as the body, and is at the base 

 7 inches long by 3 inches wide, and 3f inches from ridge to 

 base. The ridge is five inches in length, and f of an inch in 

 depth at the centre or either end. The bronze coating of the 

 inner shrine alone remains, and would form a coffer of the same 

 shape as the outer shrine ; its dimensions are 4^ inches long 

 and 1^ inches deep, whilst the sloping lid is 1 ^ inches from 

 ridge to edge. The breadth is 1^ inches, and both ends show 

 the remains of handles. The wood composing the sides is -^ of 

 an inch thick, and is in good preservation. 



The shrine is now in the Royal Irish Academy. 



Mr. Robert Patterson, M.B.O-U., then drew attention to two 

 birds which he exhibited, and which, he stated, were new to 

 Ireland. The first was a good specimen of Wilson's petrel 

 (Oceanites oceanicus), which was captured alive in a field near 



