This
paper considers a distinct period of metal production and use in Ireland at the
end of the Neolithic, spanning the second half of the third millennium BC. This
‘Chalcolithic’ or ‘Copper Age’ was marked by a widespread adoption of copper
and gold prior to the introduction of tin-bronze metallurgy c.2000 BC. Metallurgy and other material
innovations were introduced to Ireland at this time through contacts with the
Beaker network of exchanges. The rapid spread of metal use was facilitated by
the discovery of important sources of copper and gold. Yet, the Irish
Chalcolithic was much more than a technological phase, but was also a time of
ideological change, social transformation and possibly language development. A
new society emerged out of the older Neolithic culture, heavily influenced by
indigenous contacts with Britain and Atlantic Europe. The cultural relations
and chronology of this period are examined. The paper affirms how the concept
of a ‘Chalcolithic’ remains relevant to any understanding of what was a highly
formative period in Irish prehistory.