Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1889-10-18
IRELAND'S GOLD FIELDS.
THEIR GREAT ANTIQUITY AND EARLx
WORKERS..

Tierhmas, an Apecryphai King, Worked
Mines IN the Duhlin Forests, and AIso
II the wicklow MOuntaIns--The
EARLY GoIdsmIths Had Great Skill, Toe
in Their Work. f,Jr
Gold appearsto have been found In Irc-
u land at very remote period. 1t is re-
corded that Tiernmas, one of the apoc-
ryphal kings OF Ireland, worked gold
mines in the forests of the Dublin ann
Wicklow mountains, refining the metal
there and manufacturing it into cups,
brooches and various other articles.
The great number of gold ornaments
found in various parts of Ireland, their
exquisite workmanship and inimitable
elegance Of design testify to the high de-
gree of artistic excellence attained by
. those early artiflcers. 1t appears to have
been the practice in those times for the
goldsmith TO reside close to tho mine,
digging up and preparing en- the spot
small quantities of the precious metal,
which he then fashioned at his own home
into those interesting articles which to-
day adorn the various museumS,
At place called Cullen, on the borders
OF the counties Limerick and Tipperary.
is an extensive bog, in which great num-
ONio vi FoiuhbAO SOlu OlhoLlthOe hGNC
been found, accompanied by crucib4es,
ealdrons, ladies, and other smelling iul-
plements. clearly indicating that the dis.
triet was at some remote period inhan-
tied by race OF professional goldsmitns
whose existence must date from time
antecedent to the formation of the bog.
In many other parts of Ireland besides,
similar evidences of ancient gold-mining
have been discovered, the mine ia most
cases having been exhausted. y - -.
The wealth of Ireland In the precious
metals seems at later period to have
constituted one of the hiefattractionq
to the Danes in invading the country,
and The tribute they exaeted from the in-
laoitants of the conquered districts was
a lu gely paid in gold and silver.
The Danish kings and chieftains
adj pied the native fashion of wearing
u..ssive ornaments of Irish gold. The
y ancient goldsmiths held high social rank
in Early Irish civilization, and were even
regarded with superstitious veneratlon
bv their ignorant neighbors, who be-
Ievrd them to be endowed with magic
powers as exorcists and charmeFs. - Z
The tradition of the gold mines in
Wicklow never was completely lost but
the secret remained for hundreds OF
Years as time closely kept among few
families in that remote neighborhootA +
About 1850 a schoolmaster In the
neIghborhood of Arklow discovered the
existence OF alluvial gold In the Ballin-
valley stream, now the Goldme river.
4=l1 in the CroGhans Kinshelia, and
1luwing into the Aughrim river at the
beautiful and celebrated vale Avoca, He
KEEP, the secret well and gradually en-
iiched himself. much to the amazemen'
ni hil neighbors, who firmly believed thu
4e had sold himself, to the power o.
darkness; but in 1896, when Q maj
crossing the stream found a nugget
twenty-five ounces in weight and dis
losed OF 1t for eighty guineas, inquiries
were set on foot, and the secret leaked
out. The report spread like wildtire,
and operated so powerfully upon the
minds OF the untutored peasantry that
: they .o.eook every other employ.:e, .
ana fiocAcd in thousands to the newly
discovered Eldorado. All hoped to real
ize the fortunes of Ali Baba or Aladdin.
Steady, sensible men who had never
yielded pick or handled spade laid
down their pens on their desks and
thronged to the slopes of Croghan Kins-
hella. From the oath August, when the
news became publicly known, till the
18th October, when the government took
possession of the diggings, over 2,50y
ounces of gold were found by these mex.
perienced miners, and sold by them for
about 100000. The process of mining
was extremely simple. They dug tIp
the sand from the river bed, washed il,
and then picked out the granules OF gold,
which they preserved in quilts to brig
to the goldsmiths.-Cha journal