Bronze is a mix of copper and tin. There is a huge amount of skill involved in both melting and then working the metals, and some time around 2500 BC this skill was brought to Ireland. There are many places around Ireland where copper can be mined, but tin needed to be imported. The nearest places where tin was found are Cornwall, Galicia in northern Spain, & Armorica in western France, so it’s generally assumed there was a lot of trade between Ireland and the rest of the Atlantic seaboard as well as with Britain the North Sea. During this period, a huge amount of bronze axe-heads were produced in Ireland, and the amount of gold, amber and bronze jewellery found indicates there was a lot of wealth in the country. The climate at the time was about 2 degrees warmer than it is today, meaning crops grew very well and winters were mild. In addition to this, the copper and gold mines would have meant there were a lot of things to trade. Weaving was brought to Ireland during this era, people would have woven with wool, horsehair and nettle fibre.
