Irish Horn Rosaries

On a journey to the sacred sites of Ireland, visitors would buy an Irish Horn rosary as a souvenir of their travels through Ireland. Unique to Ireland, these rosaries were produced from the 1800s to the mid 20th century at which time their production was stopped. At sometime in the past, I know I read about a ban on using horn but I can't find the reference anymore. I believe the last rosaries were made in the 1970s. 
The beads, center and cross may all be made from horn. Other rosaries have metal centers or celluloid centers and crosses. But, all Irish horn rosaries had horn beads. Some were natural brown or tan in color, while others were dyed red or green. Some have a metal corpus on the cross- I have seen aluminum and also silver. The beige color corpus, most common to these rosaries, is usually made of celluloid.
Right now, I have one Irish Horn Rosary on The Sacred Bead. You can find it on Antique Rosaries page 11. They go quickly, as they have become quite a collector item. Said to have been all handmade, these are usually sturdy rosaries with plenty of use left in them. They are a wonderful gift for someone of Irish heritage!

 Natural horn beads and cross with a celluloid corpus. Note the interesting lyre shaped center. This rosary is in a private collection.

Irish Horn Rosary with dyed beads and aluminum center and corpus.
Below is a nice variety of vintage/antique Irish Horn rosaries showing various colors of beads, types of centers and crucifixes.