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It would be possible to fill many pages
with descriptions of the beautiful objects contained in this
museum, illustrative of the knowledge, skill, and perseverance
put forth at a time when many persons fancy that Ireland  was
inhabited only by hordes of savages, mainly occupied in the
slaughter of each other. The museum is crowded with whole
classes of specimens of which we can take no note--arms, dress,
objects the uses of most of which are known, but in some few
cases remain yet undiscovered, illustrative of all epochs
of Irish history, and of all classes of people who, during
historic and even prehistoric times, have lived upon Irish
soil. In fact, the only museum that equals it in compactness,
in devotion to very clearly defined objects, and in comfort
to the observer--by which we mean skilful arrangement of contents,
combined with the fact that these are not bewildering in number
and extent--is the much more widely-known Museum of Northern
Antiquities at Copenhagen. All readers of this book who wish
to appreciate the past of Ireland should make a point, whenever
they visit Dublin, of giving more than a hasty inspection
to this treasure-house of the past. Much, however, as we should
like to linger, we have space to glance at only three more
typical specimens, viz., the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch,
and the Cross of Cong.
The gem of the whole collection, and in many respects one
of the most beautiful and noteworthy objects in Europe, is
the Ardagh Chalice.
When it was made no evidence is extant to show, but all judges
agree that at the very least it is over 1000 years old. It
was found, with other specimens of Celtic art by a lad digging
potatoes in a rath or early fort near the village of Ardagh
in Co. Limerick. It belongs to the class of cups known as
calices ministrales, in use before the tenth century, intended
for the use of the minor clergy and laity, before the Roman
Catholic Church debarred the laity from the communion in both
kinds.
The chalice is composed of an alloy of silver, is seven inches
high, nine and a half inches in diameter, the bowl being four
inches deep. In the various parts, no less than 354 in number,
gold, silver, bronze, brass, copper and lead, are used. The
upper rim is of brass, much decayed and split from some local
action on that particular kind of alloy. The bowl is of silver,
the standard value of which is four shillings to the ounce.
The ornaments cut on the silver bowl consist of an inscription,
interlaced patterns terminating in dogs' heads, and at the
bottom a circular band of the Greek pattern. The mode of ornamentation
is peculiar to this cup, being done with a chisel and hammer.
Round the cup runs a band composed of two semi-cylindrical
rings of silver ornamented with small annular dots punched
out with a hollow punch. The space between the rings is filled
with twelve plaques of gold repoussé work with a very
beautiful ornamentation of fine filigree wirework, wrought
on the front of the repoussé ground, and carrying out
in its most delicate execution the interlaced pattern associated
with the art of the country. Between the plaques are twelve
round enamelled beads.
Although the object is so small, there are no less than forty
different designs discoverable in its decorative work. A well-preserved
inscription is engraved on the cup containing the names of
the twelve apostles as given in the Romish Canon of the Mass.
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