In June 1954, Joseph McHugo of Derrybrien was turf-cutting in an area of upland bog some six hundred feet above sea level.
At a depth of thirty to thirty-five cm, he discovered a large number of small, scattered beads, spread over an area of about one metre.
[3] Their investigation stated that there were four hundred and six beads, made of amber; ' ...in a rather decayed condition and many were damaged ... together with numerous fragments.
[3] Prendergast and Mitchell said that the Derrybrien necklace is ' ...one of the finest recorded for Ireland ', despite the existence of a number of other similar finds.
The amber was believed to have originated in the Baltic Sea region, and dated to the end of the Bronze Age, approximately 800-700 BC.