Farmers in Galway and south Mayo are being urged to report anyone who may ask them for access to their land to carry out metal detection on archaeological monuments on their property.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that a person may have been metal detecting on monuments in the Kilmaine and Shrule area of Mayo in recent days and this has been reported to the National Museum of Ireland.

The National Museum of Ireland urges any landowner or member of the public who comes across anyone metal detecting to contact Gardaí or the Irish antiquities duty officer at antiquitiesdo@museum.ie or 01 6777444.

Illegal

It is illegal to dig, excavate or use a metal detector at a protected national monument site in Ireland without a licence from the Minister for Housing.

The National Museum of Ireland has said that the unregulated and inappropriate use of detection devices causes serious damage to Ireland’s archaeological heritage and is subject to severe penalties under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014.

The penalty for an offence for using a metal detector on a protected site is a fine of up to €63,486 and/or up to three months imprisonment.

Read more

Warning issued to farmers carrying out groundworks near monuments