Ogham Punic scipts on Ancient Irish Monuments
Ancient Monuments in Ireland.
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"It was they who made a hut for themselves that night; and (cooking places) were made by them. Aind Cailte and Finchadh went to the stream to wash their hands. 'Here is the site of a fulacht,' said ' and this is a fulacht-na-morrighna IFinchadh. 'True,' said Cailte;
(There should be a supply which is not to be made without water' of water near at hand).
" In the present county of Louth there is a district anciently known by the name of Gort-na-Morrigna, or the "Morrigan's Field," which her husband, the Dagda, had given to her. Both Jupiter and Dagda are grandfathers of deities who correspond to Vedic Pusa. "
(Book of Fermoy, fol. 125) , a 2. Book of Lismore (fol. 196, b. 1)
were Mur-na-Morrigna markable monuments of the Brugh on the (the mound of the Morrigan); two hills called the Cirr and Cuirrel (or comb and brush) of the Dagda's wife, And in Kerry, not far from fort, bearing the suggestive name of Lis-baba. The name of Morrigan is also probably contained in that of Tirreeworrigan , in the county of Armagh.
February 8, 1869. Rev. J. F. SHEARMAN
"When travelling through the country on official duty, I frequently meet with antiquarian remains, some of which may not have as yet been Academy.
Being recently employed on brought under the notice of the inspection duty in the county of Clare, my attention was attracted by what I at first conceived to be immense cromleacs, or druidical altars; but which I concluded, on closer inspection, to be sepulchral monuments of some of those stalwart heroes of the olden time who had been " dead and turned to clay" long ere the Milesian adventurers left the sunny shores of Spain to seek and win a new home in the green island of Innisfail."
The precise locality of these antiquarian remains is a little south of Gort to Feakle, and about midway between the public road leading from these two towns, in the town land of Droomandoora.
The situation is very romantic, being on the northern declivity of the Clare hills, over Galway, and which looking the deep valley which separates Clare from two beautiful lakes Lough Graney (Lake of the Sun), and Lough Cooter, with its wooded shores, and islets, and magnificent castle, whose lofty towers and battlements proudly rise over the stately woods by which they are surrounded, and fling their shadows o'er the pellucid lake, " whose tiny wavelets murmur at its base."They consist of two sepulchral monuments, distant about a furlong from each other,with two figures inscribed on the adjacent rocks, which in many places present tolerably smooth exposed surfaces.
The monument at the greatest elevation on the slope of the hills, though not in the most perfect state of preservation, is the largest. It is called by the people of the locality " Leabadh Diarmaid" (Diarmud's Bed), while the smaller and more perfect one is called " Leabadh Granu." I may remark, en passant, that there is a very remarkable sepulchral monument at Coolmore, about three miles north of Ballyshannon, county of Donegal, to which local tradition has assigned the name of " Diarmud and Granu's Bed ."
The rock inscriptions, of which I append tolerably correct copies (P1.XXIX.), are
Ist. An elaborately and artistically designed figure, somewhat resembling the caduceus of Mercury
2nd. The impression or outline of the sole of a sandal. I suppose it to represent a sandal; as, if it were intended to represent the naked foot, a rather small, probably formation of the toes. The foot that of a youth or of a female, as the carving represented it as only 10 inches in length, by 41 inches at the widest part, and 24 inches at the narrowest part
My reasons for assuming that the two first-mentioned remains are sepulchral, and not cromleacs erected for sacrificial purposes, are Ist. The name accorded to them by local tradition.
2nd. The covering slabs being placed almost horizontally, without the inclination of the covering slabs observable in structures intended for sacrificial purposes; and,
3rd. The extreme roughness and irregularity of the upper surface of the covering slabs, formed of the coarse conglomerate rock of the locality. This is most observable in the smaller and more perfect monument, which is covered by a single slab, tolerably smooth on the inner side, but extremely uneven on the outer side,without the slightest mark to indicate that it was ever designed or used for any purpose but
that of effectively securing the receptacle underneath. The larger one, of which I give a rude drawing, was covered by at least two large slabs, the end one of which still remains in its original position. The other has been broken into fragments, some of which have been removed; but one large one yet remains, leaning against and over topping the supporting stones, several of which have also disappeared.
I have been informed that there are some other monuments of a similar description scattered over the district; but I did not find it convenient to visit or examine them; neither could I ascertain that there are any interesting local traditions or legends connected with them.
The peasantry of the district can give no account of them further than the name handed down from one generation to another, and which is probably correct. They do not seem to take any interest in them; and only it fortunately happens that they do not occupy any valuable ground, being erected on rocky ground, wholly unfitted for the purposes of cultivation, they would probably have been long since removed. As an and inattention that exists as to these anti instance of the indifference relics of the olden time, even amongst the more intelligent portion of the people, I may refer to a circumstance that occurred to me last summer.
Having visited some schools in the county of Fermanagh, I drove to the Kesh Railway station, on the shores of Lower Lough Erne, for the Being rather early for the
purpose of proceeding to Ballyshannon. was anything worth seeing in the neighbourhood, I inquired if there . The answer was, "Nothing, except the lake." Happening to west of the station, and look down the line, I observed in a field, a little on the northern side of the railway, one of those pillar-stones on which Ogham inscriptions are frequently found. I went down to examine it, and found my conjecture perfectly correct; for near one of its edges, though nearly obliterated by the action of the weather, I could plainly observe the long vertical line,with the short horizontal lines at right angles to it on each side; but, not being an adept in deciphering such inscriptions, I could make nothing of it. On my return, I asked the
station-master, the police, and some intelligent inhabitants of the village, if they had ever heard anything particular in connection with this stone.
They all answered, " Nothing whatever-only they supposed it was a set rubbing-stone up for the accommodation of the cattle." If so, it was rather a Cyclopean one; but the fact that a much smaller and easier erected one would serve their supposed object equally well never appeared to occur to their minds.
This ignorance and indifference is liable to be attended by very injurious effects, in the wanton destruction of those memorials of a former age, and of a race now passed away, as the people cannot be supposed to venerate and preserve things of which they do not understand the origin or historic interest. I have often observed with the deepest pain the total disregard, and even wanton destruction, to which things
that should be objects of national care are allowed to be subjected, and the base uses to which their materials are applied. It is only a few years since I observed a portion of the ancient stone cross of Dunnamaggin, county of Kilkenny, lying in the dirt at the door of a labourer's hovel. I trust that some one, with a due veneration for such relics, may have since rescued it from its dishonoured position. It is no uncommon thing to see the stones of some venerable abbey or old feudal castle, where no pious hand is stretched forth to stay the desecration, employed by some boorish farmer to build a byre or a pigstye. I trust that the labours of the Academy may have the effect of establishing a more creditable and satisfactory state of things for the
future.
The Rivers od Ireland and their Derivations
By OWEN CONNELLAN, Queen's College, Cork.
The names of the oldest rivers in this country have been collected from the Books of Lecan and Ballymote, from O'Clery's copy of the Book of Conquests, and from the Annals of Ireland.
There are only four rivers described in the Book of Dinnseanchzus, and the derivations of their names are legendary;
These four rivers are the Barrow, Boyne, Shannon, and the Raven River in the west of Kerry. The legend of the Shannon is given in full, literally translated; and it may be remarked, that there are some words in the original Irish which are not to be found in our printed Irish Dictionaries. The names of lakes, however, in the
Dinnseanchus, are numerous.
The writers of the Book of Conquests endeavour to determine the different periods at which these old rivers were first discovered, or began to flow over the land; and they ascribe many of these circumstances to the times of the earliest colonies that came into Ireland.
The greater part of the Book of Conquests is considered by some to be the oldest written composition in the Irish language. It is the History of Ireland from the remotest times to the 12th century of the Christian era, and there are several very old copies of it still extant.
As in all other countries in this world, these names are all significant. The most of them are very apparent and simple in their meanings.
On an Ogham Stone in Glen Fais, County Kerry Author(s): Richard Rolt Brash
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy (1836-1869), Vol. 10 (1866 - 1869), pp. 384-395
[1868.]
ON November 8th, 1858, a paper of considerable interest was read before the Royal Irish Academy by the late Venerable the Archdeacon Dr. Rowan, giving an account of the discovery by that gentleman of a remarkable inscribed monument in Glen Fais, and of the historic locality in which it was found.
As the readings given in the Archdeacon's paper appeared to me unsatisfactory, as also those given in other publications, I was anxious to obtain a personal inspection of the stone in question, to ascertain if the published copies, as well as others in my possession, were correct, as I have had abundant reason to distrust copies of Ogham inscriptions,unless made by very Oghamists. Being on an antiquarian tour experienced and trustworthy in the barony of Corcaguiney, in July of the present year, I had an opportunity of gratifying my desire, by visiting the locality of the monument, which I found lying prostrate in a grass field in the town land of Camp, a portion of Glen Fais, or, as it is locally pronounced, Glenaish, under the west face of Caher Conrigh mountain. It lies about twenty yards inside the fence, to the left of the public road winding up the Camp Post-office; distant from glen, and about ten minutes' walk from Tralee nine miles. The locality will be found on sheet No. 37 of the Ordnance Survey of Kerry, on which, however, the monument is not monolith, measuring in length It is an irregular flag-shaped marked.
Eleven feet five inches, and in extreme breadth five feet nine inches, and varying in thickness from ten to eighteen inches; it is a hard, compact, close-grained red sandstone, the inscription being on an obtuse angle on the face of the stone towards the left, and about midway in the length of the monolith. The engraving which
accompanied Dr. Rowan's paper (" Proc. R.I. A.," vol. vii. p. 104),
is a fair representation of the stone, while the inscription is, I am happy to say, accurately copied. The line on which the characters run is more of a natural ridge on the face of the stone than an actual angle.
The letters are sharply and clearly cut, and are all perfectly legible, so that, comparing my own copy with those of Dr. Rowan, Mr. Windele, and others, I found no difference. The consonants are marked by short strokes, deep and broad; the vowels, with one exception, by oval dots, well sunk-that exception is the first
vowel, 0, the second letter of the which is expressed by two short strokes across the line, as inscription, if an error of the engraver, or as if he changed his mode of representing the vowels. This peculiarity has been noticed by Dr. Rowan.
We find also in this inscription the Ogham equivalent for the diphthong EA, which is the only character of that class yet found on these monuments, and only on a few, as on Nos. 1 and 10 of the Collection of inscribed Ogham stones in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy; on a stone from Tinahely, county Kerry; on one at St. Olan's churchyard, county Cork; and from the Rath of Roovesmore, same county, but now in the British Museum.
Dr. Rowan has inserted in his paper a translation of this inscription by the late Rev. John Casey, formerly of Dingle, a well-known Irish scholar, and one intimately conversant with the antiquities of this district; but one whose enthusiasm sometimes got the better of his judgment, particularly in dealing with inscriptions of this class. This which our mystic history and traditions assign to the invading Scoti, after their landing at Inbbergeine Monument , being found in the track , the rev. gentleman conceived it probable that it marked the grave of some one of the fallen chiefs, or captains of the invaders, and that the name of such might be found he accordingly
reads it:
Druid Ni , here illustrious alas Ni." is martial sun officer.
According to Keating, the father-in-law of the Amazon Fais, who was slain in the battle at Sliabh Mis, that he was one of the Druids whom our Irish Livy designates . The original inscription, however, cannot by any means be he made to bear out his interpretation. To form the word f/arf, turns To the fifth character, Q, into an R, and omits the diphthong EA. bring out the words 0 Ni, he transposes the sixteenth group-namely, the vowel IL into an 0; and the seventeeth letter,which is a palpable R, being five strokes across the stem line, into an N. I need not remark, that a translation, founded upon such an unwarrantable mutilation of the original inscription, cannot be accepted as of the slightest philological value.
Mr. W. Williams, of Dungarvan, who, I am informed, gives the following reading
has examined and copied this inscription,
" The sacred stone of hosts of mighty men in the place of slaughter."
Another Irish scholar, now resident in New York, has published a reading as
follows:
" So cu ceinb-moni; So cu re,"
" The priest of holy cnnb (or eneph) the priest of the sun."
It is quite evident that a foregone conclusion in each of these cases suggested, in a great degree, the translation; and, consequently, we find that the original letters have been made to minister to these views. In reference to such arbitrary modes of dealing with ancient inscriptions, I would here repeat that sound canon of criticism, recommended by the late Mr. John Windele in a similar case
" I confess I dislike arbitrary dealing with the letters,where we find a group of scores well defined, and so unconnected with any others at either sides-so isolated as to warrant the conviction that it has been care fully and well expressed; or, where its direction, whether vertical or oblique, is expressed with similar care, I am disposed to be very jealous of any intermeddling with it, and am disposed to protest or against any arbitrary forcing dislocation" (" Proc. R. I. A.," vol. vii., p. 105).
Dr. Rowan expresses some doubt as to the value of the sixteenth group of dots; he writes- -" The sixteenth group is cut where a natural inequality in the stone renders it doubtful whether the points are to be read as two vowels or one" (Ibid.).
This point I paid particular attention to; the dots are equidistant, and there is no doubt that the group composes one letter, U.
Mr.Windele, who, I believe, never attempted a rendering of this inscription of the Academy now respectfully offer, for the consideration, recognized it as an U.
my reading of it:
So cu Cueaff Moni so cu Ri
literally rendered: "This is the warrior Cueaff my grief, this is the warrior king."
"So", Pronounced. "this here", "this is " (O'Reilly and O'Brien).
"Cu", small. a champion, a hero, a warrior (Rbid.).
"Cueaff", a proper name, of the same family as Cuan, Cucaech, Cucaille, Cuisin.
"Moni," an Oghamic form of Monuar," an interjection "My grief! alas! woe is the day!" (O'Reilly)
The rest is obvious.
It is worthy of remark that the orthography of the name in the above passage is the same as that on the stone at Glen Fais. that there are strong presumptions in favour of this stone being the monument of Curi, or Curoi Mac Daire:
1st The name on this monument.
2nd. Its great size and evident importance,of showing that it was erected to commemorate some distinguished personage.
3rd . The finding of this stone in close proximity to the reputed palace, or Dun of Curoi Mac Daire, who was king of the whole district, and who was treacherously slain by Cuchulainn, in the very locality.
Should we then conclude that the four last letters on the Glen Fais Monument present to us the name of this provincial monarch and warrior, the inscription will stand thus
Warrior "' This is the of Cueaff My grief, this is Curi."
An apparent difficulty arises from the presence of two proper names, but this may be fairly accounted for by the fact that many of our ancient celebrities bore more than one name, thus Nuadhat, king of the Tuath De' Dananns, was also called ' Airgetlamh," or " of the Silver Hand." Finn Mac Cumhaill, bore also the name of " Mongan." The monarch Con was surnamed " Cead Cathach ;" and the celebrated Niall had also the name of Naoighiallach, " or of the Nine Hostages."
Numerous other examples will be found in our ancient MSS. of a similar vanishes before the probability of nature, so that the apparent difficulty both the names in the inscription being applied to the same personage, though, as far as I have been able to ascertain, he is only known to us by that of Guri or Curoi. In the Book of Leinster it is stated, that the techt, or monument of Conri, is on Slieve Mis Mountain. The late Dr. O'Donovan (in Magh Rath> states that it is still to be seen on the
north-east shoulder of the mountain (Caher Conri).
By theRev. J. F. SHEARMAN. [Read June 8, 1868.] No. I
ln the month of April, 1865, the foundations for the new Protestant church of Howth were excavated. An immense quantity of human bones, some also of the horse, &c., were turnedup. So numerous were the human remains, that in every barrowful of earth was at least one skull. During the progress of these works, being on the look-out for objects of Antiquarian interest, I selected two skulls now presented to
the Royal Irish Academy. On the 15th of April, a curious ring was turned up. It is made of a substance resembling jet; its diameter is 23 inches. It seems to have been hand-made, and is not perfectly circular. What its use was is doubtful, unless it belonged to some very ancient horse furniture. This church replaces one built in
1816: before that time a dog kennel was kept here. When the foundations were then opened, from 2 feet to 18 inches of the upper soil was removed; bones, old coins, sword blades, &c., were turned up.
The excavation of 1865 reached about two feet deeper still, from which the remains described were turned up. The constant tradition of the oldest inhabitants points to this place, and the field between it and the town, as the site of the various battles of which Howth was the theatre in ages long passed away. Ivora Bridge, called also the Ivy Bridge, was nearer to the town of Howth; it spanned a brook called " the Bloody
Stream," which takes its name perhaps from some long-lost legend of the
Battle of Howth.
Here is a village and parish in the West of Tipperary, on the shore many of LoughDerg, now called Terryglass; its Irish name, as used in of Irish authorities, is Tir-da-ghlas, the territory the two streams; and the identity of this with the modern Terryglass is placed beyond all doubt by a passage in the "' Life of St. Fintan of Clonenagh," which describes Tir-da-glas as "in terra Mumonihe juxta fiuvium Sinna."
The great antiquity of this name is proved by the fact that it is mentioned by Adamnan in his " Life of St. Columba" (Lib. II., cap. xxxvi.),
written in the end of the seventh century; but according to his usual custom, instead of the Irish name he gives the Latin equivalent: in the heading of this chapter it is called Ager duorum rivorum (" De ecclesime Duorum agri rivorum simili reclusione") , and in the text, rivulorum inmonasterio Duum ruris rivulorum"),
(" -of which is a correct translation of Tir-da-ghlas)
There is a sub division of the town land of Clogher, in the parish of Kilnoe, Clare,
One of the three Collas who conquered Ulster in the fourth century was called
Colla-da-chrich, Colla of the two territories. Da-chrich was a favourite soubriquet, and no doubt, in case of each individual, it records the fact of his connexion, either by possession or residence, with two countries or districts; in case of Colla, it most probably refers to two territories in Ireland and Scotland, in the latter of which
he lived some years in a state of banishment before his invasion of Ulster.
In the Martyrology of Donegal there are nine different persons mentioned, called Ferdachrich, the man of the two territories.
The word Dubh applied to a dark-visaged person is often followed by da; thus the Four Masters mention two persons named Dubh da bharc, the black (man) of the two ships; four named Dubhdachrich; eight, Dubhdabhoireann (of the two stony districts?); two, Dubhdainbher, of the two estuaries; one, Dubhdaingean, of the two daughters; four, Dubhdaleithe, of the two sides or parties; and two, Dubhdathuath, of the two districts or cantreds.
In the genealogy of Corcaluidhe we find Dubhdambagh, of the two plains; and in the Martyrology of Donegal, Dubhdalocha, of the two lakes.
Fiacha Muilleathan, King of Munster in the third century, was man of the two sorrows, because his mother died called Fear-da-liach, and his father was killed in the battle of Magh Mocroimhe on the day of his birth. The father of M'aine Mor, the ancestor of the liy Many, was Eochaidh, surnamed Fer-da-ghiall, the man of the two hostages. Many more names might be cited, if it were necessary, to extend this
list; and while the number Two is so common, we meet with very few names involving any other number.
The Four Masters at A. D. 528, record a battle fought at a place called
Luachair-mor-etir-da-inbhir, the large rushy place between two river mouths, otherwise called Ailbhe, or Cluain-Ailbhe, now Clonalvy, in the county Meath.
With glaise (a stream), instead of Abhainn, we have Ederdaglass, the name of two town lands in Fermanagh, meaning (a place) between two streams; and Drumederglass, in Cavan, the ridge between two streams.
Though all trace of da is lost in this name, it is preserved in the Down Survey, where the place is called Drumaderdaglass. Ederdacurragh, in Fermanagh, means (a place) between two marshes; Aderavoher,
in Sligo, is in Irish Eadar-dha-bhothair (a place) between two roads, an idea that is otherwise expressed in Gouldavoher, near Mungret, Limerick, the fork of the two roads.
Drumdiralough, in Kerry, the ridge between two lakes; and Drumederalena, in Sligo, the ridge between the two lenas, or meadows; Inchideraille near Inchageelagh, is in Irish Inis-idir-dha-fhaill, the island or river holm between two cliffs ; a similar position has given name to Derdaoil or Dariel, alittle village in the parish of Kilmastulla, Tipperary,which is shortened from the Irish Idir-da-fhaill, between two cliffs; Cloonaderavally, in Sligo, the cloon or meadow between the two batlies, or townlands.
Crockada, in the parish of Clones, Fermanagh, is only a part of the Irish name Cnoc-eadar-da-ghreueh, the hill between the two marshy flats; the true form of thepresent name would be Knockadder. Mogh, the name of a town land in the parish of Rathlynin, Tipperary, is also an abbreviation of a longer name; the inhabitants call it Magh-idir dha-abhainn, the plain between two rivers.
The well known old church of Aghadoe, near Killarney, which gives name to a parish, is called by the Four Masters, at 1581, Achadh-da-eo, the field of the two yew trees, which must have been growing near each other, and must have been sufficiently large and remarkable to attract general attention. Part of the townland of Drumharkan Glebe, in the parish of Cloone, Leitrim, is caled Cooldao, the back of the two yews.
In the town land of Cornagee, parish of Killinagh, Cavan, there is a deep cavern, into which a stream sinks; it is called Polla-daossan, the hole of the two bushes.
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