Inside Dublin’s splendid national museum is gathered the majority of the nation’s most significant archaeological finds, brought here from the peat bogs, fields, and hillsides where they have been dug up or stumbled across over the years by turf cutters, ploughboys, and amateur archaeologists. The best of Ireland’s treasure trove of religious art is here, too. The museum itself was built in 1890, its grand entrance hall floored with a giant mosaic of the zodiac.

There are seven permanent exhibitions. The Treasury, Prehistoric Ireland, Or – Ireland’s Gold, and The Road to Independence are sited on the ground floor in the Great Hall, while the first-floor gallery and its side halls contain Viking Ireland and Ancient Egypt, along with The Church.

The right-hand side of the hall contains the fabulous Treasury exhibition. Perhaps the three most famous exhibits here are the Tara Brooch, the Broighter Hoard, and the Ardagh Chalice. The shape of the bejewelled eight-century Tara Brooch, with its circular gold clasp and long pin, is familiar as the inspiration for countless pieces of modern Celtic jewellery.