Builders unearth ‘treasure’ in Irish pub

Builders working on an old pub in Ireland have unearthed one of the country’s “most significant finds of gold coins”.

More than 80 coins, dating back to the 17th century, were dug up during work at Cooney’s pub in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary.

The coins were found in clay underneath floorboards, while the builders carried out stabilisation work on the fire-damaged pub.

The coins were held at the South Tipperary Museum in Clonmel, before being handed over to the National Museum of Ireland.

Marie McMahon, the curator in Clonmel, told the Press Association: “We were told that they were gold and you never really believe it, normally you would find silver, but they were in fantastic condition.

“There are one or two coins buckled and one tarnished, but overall fantastic condition. They’d be incredibly valuable but legally we would not be allowed to discuss that.”

The coins were found on 14 January and the pub’s site has subsequently been examined by archaeologists and old maps are being checked to try to determine what was previously on the site.

The coins go on display at Ireland’s National Museum today, and a spokeswoman for the museum said that no comparable collection has been found in Ireland since the 1940s.