Provenance
Discovery: First recognised in 1782 by Pelham and recorded by Vallancey (1804, 226; Macalister 1945, 144). Exposed by a storm at a probable early ecclesiastical site known as Cillvickillane (Cill Mhic Uíleáin), along with six other ogham stones, a possible fragment of an 8th ogham stone, a cross-inscribed stone, a number of graves and quantities of bone, and the ruins of several houses. Windele’s sketch of the site shows the ogham stones set out in a rough semi-circle on top of the mound with a slab-lined grave positioned nearby. Chatterton describes the houses as being beyond the mound nearer the sea. Windele interpreted these as the remains of an ancient village, but it has also been suggested that one of the structures, roughly 20 feet x 12 feet (6 x 3.7m), was a church (Cuppage 1986, 250). Lord Ventry removed six of the ogham stones from the site in the mid-19th century; nos. 1 to 4 now line the driveway to Burnham House/Colaiste Íde, between Dingle and Ventry, and nos. 5 and 6 are preserved in the grounds of Chute Hall near Tralee. Only this ogham stone remains on site.
Findspot: Ballinrannig (Baile an Reannaigh), Co. Kerry, Ireland (ITM coordinates (approximate - location of remaining stone): 436682, 605700)
Last recorded location(s): Re-erected at the findspot. This stone was recorded using photogrammetry in the Summer of 2016 by Emmy Van Den Berg, a participant on the Corca Dhuibhne 3d project.
Support
National Monuments Service SMR ID: KE042-057003-
Object type: Pillar
Material: Sandstone
Dimensions: H 1.73 × W 0.51 × D 0.18 m
Condition: Some damage evident at the top of the stone.
Inscription
Text field: The inscription is on two angles of the eastern face (up-down).
Letters: Pocked and rubbed. Strokes mainly evenly spaced except the BB of CORBBI where extra space is left between the R, B and B. Macalister (1945, 149) states the inscription is ‘in good condition except that the last name had been chipped away, all but the final S’.
Edition
Transcription: CUNAMAQQI COR[vac.]B[vac.]BI MAQQ[I MUCCOI DOVVINIA]S
Translation
of Conmac of Corb son of [the descendants of Duibne]?
Commentary
This is one of the inscriptions listed by McManus (1991, 93-94) to be among the earliest in the corpus showing no trace of vowel affection. It may be dated to the first half, or the early second half, of the fifth century (McManus 1991, 97).
Here we have one of very few examples were parentage/lineage is indicated through the use of the possessive genitive (CUNAMAQQI CORBBI ‘of Conmac [son] of Corb’), rather than through use of the word MAQQI ‘son’ or AVI ‘grandson, descendant’ (cf. CIIC 162 CUNAMAQQI AVI CORBBI at Ballintaggart). McManus (1991, 51, 171 n. 12) also notes that ‘it may be significant that several of the instances of the omission of the word for “son” occur before or after the name element MAQ(Q)I-, -MAQ(Q)I’.
References
- Bennett, Uí Shíthigh, Holden, and Ó Bric 1995, 7-8
- Cuppage 1986, 250-252
- Macalister 1945, 144, 149-150
- McManus 1991, 51, 66, 94, 97, 102, 107
- Vallancey 1804, 226