The Tara Brooch is an Irish Celtic brooch, dated to the late 7th or early 8th century. It is of the pseudo-penannular type (with a fully closed head or hoop), and made from bronze, silver and gold. Its head consists of an intricately decorated circular ring, and overall, its front and reverse sides are equally decorated; each holds around 50 inserted cast panels packed with filigree. The brooch was constructed from numerous individually made pieces; all of the borders and terminals contain multiple panels holding multi-coloured studs, interlace patterns, filigree, and Celtic spirals. It is widely considered the most complex and ornate of its kind, and would have been commissioned as a fastener for the cloak of a high-ranking cleric or as ceremonial insignia of high office for a High King of Ireland.
The Tara Brooch was hidden on the east coast of Ireland sometime during the 11th or 12th century, most likely to protect it from Viking or Norman invaders. It was rediscovered around 1850, but the exact find-spot and circumstances are unclear. Despite its title, it was not found at the Hill of Tara but on or near the beach around Bettystown on the coast of County Meath. The name by which it became known was chosen by its first commercial owner, the Dublin-based jeweller George Waterhouse, as a marketing ploy for selling copies during the height of the 19th century Celtic Revival. For this reason, many art historians describe it with inverted commas as the "Tara" brooch.
