Ogham stone

The National Monuments Service's description

Ogham stone discovered by Crawford in 1908 and described as following; 'The site of an ancient church (LI055-037----) and graveyard is still pointed out at Mountrussell, and goes by the name of "The Bishop's Field", though every trace is now obliterated, and even its name appears to be for gotten. From this, no doubt, the ogam originally came. Of late years it has been set up as a rubbing-post for cattle, in the same field and close to the south wall of the farmyard. As the inscribed end was sunk in the ground, with only a letter or two showing above the grass, and the stone rough and tapering, I at first thought that the remainder of the inscription had been hacked away; but on getting the herd, Patrick Carroll, to dig round it, the lettering was seen extending to the bottom. We then took up the stone entirely, and I found that the inscription covered two angles enclosing one of the broad faces, and extended 3 feet 7 inches [1.09m] on the first, and 3 feet 3 inches [1m] on the second angle. The stone is a rough pillar of coarse red sandstone, 6 feet 4 inches [1.93m] long, and 17 [0.43m] by 12 inches [0.3m] near the centre; it tapers slightly towards the inscribed end, and more decidedly towards the other, which is wedge shaped. It does not appear to have been much damaged, except perhaps at the top; but as the stone is friable and has a rough surface, some of the scores are rather indistinct, and others confused with natural grooves' (Crawford 1908, 52-3).

Once prostrate in a field near the house called Mount Russell (Crawford 1908, 52). Now upright beside a tree in the car park of Aherlow House Hotel, Co. Tipperary (TS073-036----). It is red sandstone, 1.93 x 0.43 x 0.3 (converted from Macalister 1945) and bears the inscription: IVAGENI MAQI LAISCEMITA on two angles, up-top-down. (Macalister 1945, 254, no. 259) Cross-referenced with TS073-036----.

Compiled by: Nora White

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 26 June 2019

References

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

Crawford, H. S. 1908 Description of an Ogam Stone at Mountrussell, County Limerick. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 18, 52-60.