Provenance
Discovery: Formerly in the middle of a field opposite the Protestant church, to the west of the probable early ecclesiastical site of Ard Ferta (Breanainn) (Macalister 1945, 132). Remains inside the walled burial ground include a cathedral building (St Brendan’s), dated variously from the 11th to the 17th century, based on a study of its architecture. There are two other churches on the site, a late 12th-century church called ‘Templenahoe’ and a 15th-century chapel called ‘Templenagriffin’. It is also the site of a round tower, which fell during a storm in 1771, and two ogham stones (Moore, 2007, 11, 37-38). Ardfert 2 (I-KER-002) was more recently discovered incorporated in the fabric of the N wall of Templenagriffin chapel (Moore 2007, 37).
Findspot: Ardfert (Ard Fhearta), Co. Kerry, Ireland (approximate)
Last recorded location(s): On display in Ardfert Cathedral where it was examined and recorded for the Ogham in 3D project in 2014.
Support
National Monuments Service SMR ID: KE020-046029-
Object type: Pillar
Material: Micaceous grit
Dimensions: H 1.22 × W 0.30 × D 0.28 m
Condition: Macalister (1945, 132-133) recorded the height of the stone as 1.22m (4ft.). 1.19m (3ft. 11in.) is the current height above the plinth. Macalister also recorded that the inscription has been ‘rendered unintelligible by someone who has chamfered most of it away’. Since Macalister’s description a further small section appears to have broken away at the end of the recorded inscription. Two small depressions are found near the top of the opposite side of the pillar.
Inscription
Text field: What little survives (distal ends of strokes on the left arris) is on two angles and on the top of the pillar (up-top-down?).
Letters: The inscription is pocked in bold, widely-spaced strokes.
Edition
Transcription: [---]CT[.. ? ..]Ṿ[---]QLỌG̣[---]
Critical apparatus:
- The only difference here to Macalister’s (1945, 132-133) reading is that he reads 4 strokes (N) for the third letter where only 3 strokes (V) are legible. 2. There may be letters lost before the inital C and/or after the final G.
References
- Macalister 1945, 132-133
- Moore 2007, 37-38