Ancient Irish Pearls

(via The Journal of Gemmology, Vol.13, No.1, January 1972) C J Robb writes:

The freshwater pearl of the bivalve unio margaritifera, the animated gem, the ‘na seod’ in Gaelic, was found in the crystal clear meandering rivers of Ireland from the mists of history. It was the prized jewel of the ancient queens, princesses, and fair ladies of those distant times and the hierarchy of the Church regarded it as a token of respect. Bishop Gillbertus of Limerick, gave the Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Anselm, a pearl as a token of his respect in 1094.

Con O’Neill, Prince of Ulster in 1493, bestowed pearls ‘of riches’ on ladies. In 1656 the river Slaney in Co. Wexford was prolific, says Richards, an English writer, in fine pearls of fair luster, magnitude, and rotundity, not inferior to Oriental gems at prices from 20s, to 40s, to the silversmiths and jewelers of London. Sir Robert Reading described pearls from the rivers of Co. Tyrone to the Royal Society in 1688. These gems were mostly of a pale brownish color, some with a greenish tinge. Some of these of good quality weighing up to 36 carats were valued up to £40. A miller found a pearl in the mill race, which he sold for £4 10s and the buyer sold it to Lady Glenawley for which she refused an offer of £80 from the Duchess of Ormond. The Bann River, at Banbridge in Co. Down, was rich in these pearls and a small industry was established to collect, polish and sell them to the best buyers in Dublin, London and Paris. Queen Charlotte had a necklace of Bann pearls valued at £700, one of 4 carats being valued at £60. The river pearls of Ireland had thus an abiding place in the annals of gemology.