214 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 
The altars of Clonmacnoise were plundered of a number of relics, 
enumerated by annalists, in a.d. 1129. Of these we have no further 
mention; but this crozier appears to have escaped. Perhaps its 
custodians concealed it at this time ; at all events, it was concealed 
during some period of sudden disturbance and trouble, and we have 
no record whatever, after the date a.d. 1129, of its restoration to the 
church to which it belonged. Ee-discovered under an ancient tomb- 
stone, a fitting place for concealment, about the end of last century, 
by rude and ignorant persons, as Petrie says, " who unaware of, or not 
appreciating, its importance, either as a work of art or early relic," 
kept it concealed until, by fortunate chance, it was placed in my 
possession, and returned to its original birthplace — Ireland. 
Such are the opinions I have been induced to form after a careful 
study of this relic, and a comparison of it with the great crozier of 
Clonmacnoise — one of the chief ornaments of the Museum of the 
Royal Irish Academy. If regarded only as an example of early Irish 
art work, at its best period, I have become the possessor of an 
exceptionally valuable object; if it be, as I am led to believe, the 
long-missing and highly-venerated crozier of Ciaran, of Clonmac- 
noise, it will take high rank amongst the antiquities we prize as 
illustrative of the early ecclesiastical history of Ireland. 
NOTE ADDED IJST THE PRESS. 
A few days since Mr. E. Johnston, of Graf ton-street, who saw the 
crozier in London, at the Olympia Exhibition, with the person from 
whom I purchased it, informed me he stated it was found many years 
ago at Clonmacnoise, thus confirming my investigation. 
