CIIC no. 148

Location and history:

According to Macalister, CIIC, a group of seven stones all in all was discovered "in an ancient burial ground, called Kilvickillane, on the shore of Smerwick Bay" when "a storm blew away an accumulation of sand" in 1782. The storm and its effects were for the first time depicted by Henry Pelham (in Vallancey, Collectanea 6/2, 226; n.v.) who "erroneously names Ballineanig, the next townland on the landward side, as the site of the ancient burial-place. This error was corrected by Hitchcock in his notebook, in the R.I.A. Library, who gives an account of the uncovering of the stones" (Macalister, CIIC I, 144).

According to BrOIM, 208, Pelham "appears to have discovered five of the inscribed stones" at the site which he "represents .. as a low Cairn flat on the top, the stones being in a circle". Human bones were found "on digging round their bases", as Hitchcock reported (in Ulster Journal Arch. V, I, 104; n.v.). The site was accordingly mentioned in Brash, JRSAI 16, 1884, 128 because of being a "pagan cemetery". Ferguson, however, stated that it could not be determined "whether the site was a cealluragh or a cemetery attached to a church" (OI, 42). Cill-vickillane means "The Graves of the Youths" according to Brash, OIM 208; but the Irish name given as Cill Mhic Uíleáin in DPAS, no. 792, p. 252 and OSDP, 7 speaks in favour of the former existence of a Christian cell (cf. the discussion about this in DPAS, 251).

The site was visited by Windele in 1838 who "found on the Cairn seven inscribed stones" (Brash, OIM) and made a "highly characteristic sketch" of the place (cf. Ferguson, OI 42 and DPAS, 251, according to whom it "shows the ogham stones set out in a rough semi-circle on top of the mound with a slab-lined grave positioned near-by".). By his second visit, in 1848, three of the stones {148, 149, 150} had been removed by Lord Ventry to his seat in Burnham, where they are still today, together with a fourth one {151} that had been stored in "Lough near Ballintaggart" until 1870 at least (cf. Ferguson, OI 43 and Brash, OIM 210, according to whom this was at "Lough House, within a quarter of a mile from Dingle, the residence of the Rev. Richard Chute) and with two stones from different localities [{147} and {175}]. Two other stones from Ballinrannig [{152}, {153}] were transferred to Chute Hall near Tralee, the (later) residence of Lord Ventry's son-in-law, Richard Chute. The seventh stone {154} remained on the site: "it was for long buried in sand" (so that it was not visible to Macalister when preparing Epig. 1: cf. p. 27), but was later "re-erected on a knoll, at or near the original site". - Brash visited Burnham in July 1868 (but not the original location in Ballinrannig, it seems).

Another "(fragmentary) stone" from the Ballinrannig site was recorded in Hitchcock's and Graves's notebooks; it was assigned {154A} in Macalister's CIIC.

The present stone ({148}) and nrs. {149}, {150}, and {151} have remained in the grounds of Lord Ventry's residence in Burnham until today (1998); the residence, however, has meanwhile become the site of a Girls' College (the Coláiste Íde) run by the Sisters of Mercy.

Size according to Brash, OIM 208 (no. 1): 3'10" above ground, x 13" x 8"

Size according to Macalister, CIIC: 3'5 1/2" x 1'10 1/2" x 0'8"

Size according to DPAS, no. 792 (2), p. 251: .99m x .33m x. .22m

Published illustrations:

Brash, OIM pl. XXVI, no. 1 ( draft)

Macalister, CIIC I, 145 ( draft).

Reading Brash, OIM 208:

Left angle:

ᚉᚐᚏᚏᚔᚉᚓᚄ

CARRICES

Right angle:

ᚋᚐᚊᚊᚔᚈᚓᚅᚐᚊ

MAQQITENAC

"CARRICES THE SON OF TENAC"

("There is a flake off the left angle, by which portions of the first two scores of the C have been removed; the first two scores of the last letter, S, are much worn". - "There is some evidence of the existence of the terminal I after TENAC." - The reading agrees with the copies made by James Brenan of Cork and by J. Windele (in 1848) who read Arrices as against a reading published by S. Ferguson [where?] who "appears to have identified only three letters of" the inscription, viz. "L RRA, which he proposes to fill up as follows: [Gil]l[amu]rra, his object evidently being to produce Gillamuire (Servant of Mary)". - "Caricis, alias Careticus, was king of Wales and Cornwall for 25 years, A.D. 586".)

Reading Ferguson, OI 44 (64.):

MAQQITENAC

GILLAMURRas

("The Christian form of Gillamurras excited much controversy. It still seems to me the likeliest reconstruction of the text .. it depends altogether on whether the second digit of what otherwise would be an i of five notches hast not extended on both sides of the arris, turning i into amu.")

Reading Macalister, Epig. 1, 27 (6.):

Left:

ᚉᚐᚏᚏᚔᚉᚐᚔ

CARRICAI

Right:

ᚋᚐᚊᚊᚔᚈᚓᚅᚐᚉᚒ..

MAQQITENACi

(The inscription is "difficult to decipher". Carricc- "is a unique name in Ogham nomenclature, but is, no doubt, the Cairech of the MSS; it is found as a female name in the Four Masters".)

Reading Macalister, CIIC:

DUBONIRRAS MAQQI TENAC[I]

(The inscription is "unusually disposed (down dexter-up sinister)". - "The reading is absolutely certain .. At first sight the D might seem to be C, but the two additional scores which would have to be used are mere scratches and do not reach the angle. The S is faint .. The final C is faint but traceable .. the top bears three apparent vowel-notches, reduced to evanescence, which might be the last three notches of the missing final I .. But they are rather far away from the C".)

Interpretation Korolev, DP 76:

DUBONIRRAS/MAQQI TENACIἅ

(Only the last letter is very damaged. The inscription belongs to an early period.)

Reading McManus, Guide 65:

DUBONIRRAS MAQQI TENACi

Reading DPAS, no. 792 (2), p. 251 (and OSDP, 8):

DUBONIRRAS MAQQI TENAC(I)

"The inscription runs along both angles of the S face ... The final 2 letters are damaged".

Reading Gippert (1978/1998):

Dexter angle down (?) - Sinister angle up:

(DUB)[A](N)IRR(A)[ ] || MAQQI TE(N)[A](C)[

(ᚇᚒᚁ)[ᚐ](ᚅ)ᚔᚏᚏ(ᚐ)[ ] || ᚋᚐᚊᚊᚔᚈᚓᚂ(ᚃ)[ᚐ](ᚉ)[

(ᚆᚆᚐᚐᚐᚁ)[ᚐ](ᚁᚁ)ᚁᚁᚁᚐᚐᚐᚐᚐᚋᚋᚋᚋᚋ᚞ᚋᚋᚋᚋᚋ(ᚐ)[ ] || ᚋᚐᚆᚆᚆᚆᚆᚐᚐᚐᚐᚐᚆᚆᚆᚐᚐᚐᚐᚁᚁᚁᚁ(ᚁ)[ᚐ](ᚆᚆᚆᚆ)[

(Note that the unsual direction of reading, dexter-down - sinister-up, is mostly determined by the interpretation of the B on the dexter angle which cannot be regarded as certain though; the letter seems a little bit slanted so that one might think of a M instead. The four characters in the upper half of the dexter angle are severely damaged; the N looks rather like a V, the space between its presumed fourth and fifth scores being broken. Considering this in connection with Macalister's reading of an O-vowel which can hardly be ascertained, we might think of a reading DUBAVVIR[I] instead of DUBONIRRA[ as proposed by Macalister. Note that there are no traces whatsoever of the presumed ending, -S. - As against Macalister's draft (in CIIC I, 145), the C (or Q?) of TENAC seems to be arranged at the top rather than the sinister angle. There is room for more than one vowel notch between N and C.)

Additional literature:

Vallancey, Collectanea 6, 226: H. Pelham
Windele, MS 12 C 11;
Chatterton, Rambles (1839, 190).
Ulster Journ.Arch. V. I. p. 104: Hitchcock (acc. to Brash, OIM 208)

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