Ogham stone (present location) in Ballynahunt

A cross-inscribed ogham stone (see KE045-008002-), now attached to the gable end of a farmhouse, was found in a trench or drain close to the location marked on the OS maps (OSNB Ballinvoher, 3); this was c. 20 to 30m SE of its present position. Windele (1848, 390) recorded the tradition that it originally came from near a well 'up the mountain east of Ballynahunt' (KE045-008001-). The stone stands 1.5m high, is a maximum of .43m wide and averages .14m thick. An outlined Latin cross with expanded base is carved on one face. The continuous grooves of the arms and shaft outline a square at the crossing and similar square designs are repeated at the terminals of the head and arms. The left arm has been damaged by the metal clamp which fixes the stone to the wall. An ogham inscription runs along both edges of the narrower end of the stone. This reads: DUG(E or U)NNGG[I] MAQI RODDOS, although the M of MAQI is now underground and most of the vowels are badly weathered. Macalister (1945, 164-5) noted that the cross is at the original butt end of the stone, 'inverted with respect to the inscription and certainly of later date'. (Cuppage 1986, no. 797) Compiled by: Nora White Date of upload: 14 January 2017