 They were worn by the sovereign at the installation of knights of that order, the Irish equivalent of the English Most Noble Order of the Garter and the Scottish Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.Older pre-conquest items relevant to the ancient Gaelic dynasties that once ruled Ireland probably also existed.One example of this is an ancient relic called the Comerford or "Ikerrin" Crown that was discovered in 1692 but may have since been lost.