Ogham stone

The National Monuments Service's description

Prim (1872-3, 225) published a map of the raths in Dunbell, with one of the enclosures (KK024-010001-), annotated ‘D’ and described as, ‘the rath in which the Oghams were found’. Prim (1853-5, 403) records that two ogham stones (KK024-010003-; KK024-010004-) were found near the entrance to a souterrain (KK024-010002-), to the NNE, ‘standing nearly upright, but both inclining outwards from the mound of the rath’. The ringfort was being levelled at the time of discovery and according to Prim (ibid.), ‘the workmen said that the stones were so large that they were in the way, and, therefore, they had borrowed a sledge-hammer and smashed them to pieces’. The fragments, described as a ‘purplish-grey’ sandstone, were recovered and reconstructed and the ‘original dimensions’ of ‘No. 1’ were given as ‘length, 5½ feet [1.67m]; width, in the middle, 2 feet [0.61m], tapering at either end to 11½ inches [0.3m] (ibid.). It was broken into six pieces, and as the inscription only ran along the verge of three of these, we deemed it unnecessary to preserve more than those three fragments, making the present dimensions, as it appears in the Society’s Museum, 5½ feet [1.67m] in length, and 11½ inches [0.3m] square throughout. The inscription, of which there are only a very few scores defaced, runs from one end to the other, and if the stone was originally placed in a standing position, some portion of the inscription must have been, of necessity, covered by the earth’ (ibid., 404-5).
The pieces are now in the National Museum of Ireland (DU018-402----; DU018-403----). According to Macalister (1945, 34-5, no. 29) the first stone measured ‘6 feet 3 inches x 1 foot 1 inch x 0 foot 11 inches’ and was inscribed on one angle. The inscription was read by Macalister (ibid.) and, with a little less certainty, by McManus (1997, 66) as: BRAN[I]TTAS M[A]QI DUCR[I]DDA.

See attached sketch from Prim 1853-5, 397-408

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly and Nora White

Date of revised upload: 9 November 2021

References

Prim, J.G.A. 1853-5 On the discovery of ogham monuments and other antiquities in the raths of Dunbel, County of Kilkenny. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquarians of Ireland 3, 397-408.

Prim, J.G.A. 1872-3 The ogham monuments of Kilkenny, being a letter from Samuel Ferguson, Esq. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquarians of Ireland 12, 222-38.

McManus, D. 1991 A guide to ogam. Maynooth: Monographs 4. Maynooth. An Sagart.

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