Ogham stone (present location)

The National Monuments Service's description

National Monument No. 10029. This is the present position of an ogham stone whose original location (KE025-002001-) is recorded by Cuppage (1986, 248-50, no. 790) as being further upslope.

The stone stands in the elevated and exposed gap between Masatiompan and the steep N slopes of Brandon Mountain, and commands a dramatic view to both sides of the mountain range. When first discovered, the stone stood buried in peat to within 2 feet (.6m) of the top (Hitchcock, quoted in Macalister 1945, 140-1). It had fallen by 1937 (Henry 1937, 276), and eventually became buried beneath an accumulation of hillwash and a thin sod cover. It was rediscovered and re-erected in 1982 and again following winter storms in 1995. At that time it was re-erected in a more secure location 4.4m to the NW. Cuppage (1986, no. 790) recorded that local information indicates that the location recorded in 1982 was some 10 to 12m downslope from its original location.

It is a smooth sandstone pillar measuring 1.9m high, c. 0.36m wide and c. 0.15m thick. Both faces are inscribed with crosses and there appears to have been some dressing of the stone to prepare surfaces for the carvings. One face bears a Maltese cross with a hook-like expansion at the right side of the upper arm; this is a monogram form of the chi-rho symbol. The opposite face bears a Maltese cross within a circle; the lower arm is linked to the circle by a short, straight stem. An ogham inscription has been carved along both edges and across the top of the former face. It reads: QRIMITIR RON(AN)N MA(Q) COMOGANN which can be translated as Ronán the priest son of Comgán. The top right corner is damaged and the AN recorded by Macalister is unclear as is the Q lower down the same edge. Otherwise the scores are clearly legible. A plinth-like step at the base of the stone suggested to Macalister that a slab had been detached to remove an earlier pagan inscription.

The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 790. In this instance the entry has been revised and updated.

This stone has been studied as part of the ‘Ogham in 3D’ project undertaken by the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. To access details go to the following website: https://ogham.celt.dias.ie/search.php?ciic=145

Revised by: Paul Walsh

Date of upload: 16 August 2013

References

Cuppage, J. 1986 Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne.

Macalister, R.A.S. 1945 Corpus inscriptionum insularum celticarum. Dublin. Stationery Office.