Back in the 1970s, the US landed on the moon during the Apollo missions. They brought back samples of moon rock and gifted them to various countries, including Ireland. The Irish moon rock was kept at Dunsink Observatory in Dublin.
On 3 October 1977, a fire broke out at the observatory, destroying much of the building. During the cleanup, debris—including the moon rock—was taken to the nearby Finglas landfill. At the time, the rock was seen as a nice memento, but later, when it was realised that moon rocks could be worth around $5 million, people began searching for it at the dump.
Because the sample was so small and the landfill so large, it was never found. The site has since been covered with grass, making recovery unlikely.
Interestingly, in recent years, there were rumours that the US asked for their moon rock gifts to be returned. When some countries checked, they discovered their rocks were fakes. But that’s a story for another day.
(Show picture) – Here’s an example of what a moon rock looks like. This one was gifted to the British and is currently on display at the British Museum.
References: Source image of Dunsink Observatory – https://www.taylormccarney.ie/projects/dunsink-observatory