I know you need a license to detect on protected sites, but aside from those is it a free for all as long as you have permission from the land owner?

Opposing views in these articles make it hard to know:

‘It’s a misconception’ that licences are always needed to operate metal detectors on farmland

https://www.thejournal.ie/metal-detectors-supermarket-sale-illegal-ireland-5766368-May2022/

8 comments

  1. It’s illegal to use them to search for historical artifacts anywhere, landlords permission or not.

  2. Its illegal to use metal detectors anywhere in Ireland without a licence, if your intention is to find archaeological remains.

    I think this makes it de facto illegal to use one unless you can somehow prove that you were looking for something that isn’t historical remains.

  4. the issue with them form archeology point of view is that evidence is destroyed digging for it. and possibly damage whatever your trying to unearth.. depth, clay changes, bones, stones that may be part of wall etc are distrubed and removed .. its not really policed though so unless your digging up some OPW site or selling it on ebay or something your unlilkely to be detected..

    there is story that years ago divers got in bother in athlone for taking cannon balls out of the shannon around the castle. they were only “caught” when trying to sell them though. they put them up on ebay or something like that..

  6. Unfortunately we’re loosing lots of history as it rots in the ground unseen until its gone.

    Yes disturbing a find can loose data but look at the UK and how much they know about every village, grave etc because of finds.

    I’ve found old coins years ago that would now be in sea and never found if I hadn’t found them when I was a teen.

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