Faisi's Grave/Uaigh Fais: A large slab, lying prostrate in a field on the W side of Glenfais, bears a simple incised cross, an ogham inscription and an inscription in half-uncial script.

The stone measures 3.4m long x 1.8m wide x c. 0.5m thick. Rhys (1891, 654) referred to the site as a 'low cromlech', but there is no visible evidence to support this identification.

The ogham inscription extends 1.1m along the upper S edge of the stone. It is still quite legible, although the side scores are reversed (S for C, Q for N etc). Corrected it reads:

CONUNETT MOQI CONu/eRI

Macalister's (1945, 167, no. 176) U of CONURI is uncertain as it is difficult to be sure of the number of vowel notches intended. McManus suggests e/i (1997, 66).

Alongside this is the inscription in half-uncials which Macalister read as:
FECT CUNURI
The C and final U of the 2nd word are difficult to make out. (Cuppage 1986, no. 800)

Compiled by: Nora White

Date of upload: 16 November 2016

References:

1. Cuppage, J. 1986 Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne.
2. Macalister, R.A.S. 1945 Corpus inscriptionum insularum celticarum. Dublin. Stationery Office.
3. McManus, D. 1997 A guide to ogam. Maynooth: Monographs 4. Maynooth. An Sagart.

Annals of the Four Masters

​​​​​​​The Age of the World, 3500.

The fleet of the sone of Milidh came to Ireland at the end of this year, to take it from the Tuatha De Dananns; and they fought the battle of Sliabh Mis with them on the third day after landing. In this battle fell Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh, wife of Milidh; and the grave of Scota is to be seen between Sliabh Mis and the sea. Therein also fell Fas, the wife of Un, son of Uige, from whom is named Gleann Faisi. After this the sons of Milidh fought a battle at Tailtinn, against the three kinge of the Tuatha De Dananns, Mac Cuill, Mac Ceacht, and Mac Greine. The battle lasted for a long time, until Mac Ceacht fell by Eiremhon, Mac Cuill by Eimhear, and Mac Greine by Amhergin.

Their three queens were also slain; Eire by Suirghe, Fodhla by Edan, and Banba by Caicher. The battle was at length gained against the Tuatha De Dananns, and they were slaughtered wherever they were overtaken. There fell from the sons of Milidh, on the other hand, two illustrious chieftains, in following up the rout, namely Fuad at Sliabh Fuaid, and Cuailgne at Sliabh Cuailgne.

Catalogue of The Graves Collection.
Consisting of the correspondence of John O’Donovan, Rev. James Graves, Rev. Charles Graves.

24 O 39/JOD/ 337
4 June 1852, 28 September 1854 - 9 October 1855, 23 August 1858, 23 December 1859
Holograph letters from A. B. Rowan, Belhurst, Tralee and Archdeacon, Killeenbane, 'Camp', Kerry, to John O’Donovan.

..... He asks for the meanings and spellings in old Irish of the placename 'Killgobbin', which is in his parish. He notes that the church of Killgobbin has a number of pillar stones or 'gallanns'. He states that an Ogham Stone has been discovered in  Fais,where he has a little mountain lodge. He asks O'Donovan to check Keating's work in order to determine the correct orthography of names which will be useful in deciphering the stone. He mentions 'good old Father Casey' who has suggested that the stone contains the name of 'Ni or Nighe'. .....

On an Ogham-inscribed Monument in Glen Fais, County Kerry. 
By Richard Rolt Brash, M. R. I. A. [Read November 9, 1868.] 

On November 8th, 1858, a paper of considerable interest was read before the Royal Irish Academy by the late Venerable the Archdeacon of Ardfert, 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 experienced and trustworthy Oghamists.

Being on an antiquarian tour 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 townland 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 glen, and about ten minutes' walk from Camp Post-office ; distant 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 marked. It is an irregular flag-shaped monolith, measuring in length 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 inscription, which is expressed by two short strokes across the line, as 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 monument, being found in the track which our mystic history and traditions assign to the invading Scoti, after their landing at Inbher Sgeine, 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 on it; he accordingly reads it : — 

" So cu uarfmo ni so cu Ni" 

i. e. " Here is martial sun officer Druid Ni, here illustrious alas Ni." 

Mr. Casey states, that Ni is Nighe, oghamically written, the same as Vighe, 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 under the names of Uar and Either.
The original inscription, however, cannot by any means be made to bear out his interpretation. To form the word Uarf, he turns the fifth character, Q,, into an R, and omits the diphthong EA. To bring out the words Ni, he transposes the sixteenth group — namely, the vowel TJ into an ; 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, has examined and copied this inscription, gives the following reading : — 

" Soc huid thiff mon il loco art," 

which he translates, "The saored stone of hosts of mighty men in the place of slaughter." 

The same objection also lies against this rendering in a much greater degree, as to produce it, the original characters are changed, transposed, and subdivided, in an extraordinary manner. Another Irish scholar, now resident in New York, has published a reading as follows : — 

" So cu ceinb-moni; So cu re," 

i. e. " The priest of holy cnnb (or cneph) the priest of the sun." It is quite evident that a foregone conclusion in each of these oases 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 carefully 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 against any arbitrary forcing or dislocation" ("Proc. E.I. A.," vol. vii., p. 105).
Dr. Rowan expresses some doubt as to the value of the six- teenth 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 he 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, recognized it as an TJ. I nowrespectfully offer, for the consideration of the Academy, my reading of it : — 

" So cu Cueaff Moni to cu Hi ;" 
literally rendered : — 

"This is the warrior Cueaf my grief, this is the warrior king." 

So, pron. this here, this is (O'Reilly and O'Brien). 

Cu, stn. a champion, a hero, a warrior (Ibid.). 

Cueaf, a proper name, of the same family as Cuan, Cueaech, Cucaille, Cuisin. 

Moni, an Oghamic form of " Monuar," an interjection — My grief! alas! woe is the day! (O'Reilly). The rest is obvious. 

In this rendering, it will be observed, that I have not in anywise interfered with the integrity of the original. I have not altered or transferred a single score; taking the inscription simply as it stands, it naturally divides itself into the Gaedhelie words I have given. 

The legend itself is of that simple, archaic, and expressive form usual on very ancient monuments, and is quite consistent with the genius and feeling of our people. That this monolith should have been erected over the grave of an arch-chief or king is also consistent with the great size of the stone, and the accuracy with which the characters are cut. The formula, " Warrior King," is found in our ancient MSS. Thus, in the " Wars of the Gaedhil with the G-aill," as edited by the Eev. Dr. Todd, we have the following passage : — 

" Now, this Cathal was the king-soldier and champion of Erinn 
during his career in his own time" (p. 75). 

The same epithet is also applied to this warrior at p. 83 of the same work : — " Great spoils and plunders and ravages were now committed by Mathgamhain in Mumhan. By him great spoils were taken from the TJi Enna of Ane, and there it was that Cathal, son of Feradach, the king-soldier of Erinn, was killed." 

A far more ancient example of the same formula is given by Lawlinson from the concluding portion of the inscription on the tomb of 
Midas, the Phrygian — 

"To Midas the Warrior King." 

We must also observe, that the four concluding characters of this inscription form the name of an ancient chieftain of this immediate district, and whose Caher, or Dun, looks down dark and grim from the lofty summit of Caher Con-righ mountain, on the very spot where lies the great pillar stone. I allude to Curi, or Curoi Mac Daire, of the race of Eremon, who was king of Iar Mumhan about the time of the Incarnation. The following account of the family of Curoi Mac Daire is given by the late Mr. John Windele, in a privately printed paper, en- titled " Cahir Conri" : — " He was the head of the Milesian Ernains of Munster; so called from their original settlement in Brefny, beside the shores of Lough Erne, whence they had dispossessed a Belgic tribe, also denominated Ernains, from the same vicinity. It is curious to observe that, when this Belgic tribe was expelled from Brefny, it located itself in that part of Kerry, from which it was again driven forth by the same Milesian tribe, themselves now exiled from Ulster by the Clanna Ruraidhe, of the race of Ir.
This expulsion took place in or about A. M. 3920, under Deaghaidhe, the son of Suin, descended from Olild Erann, of the line of Fiacha Fer Mara, son of Aengus Turmach, king of Ireland, 150 years B.C. The reigning monarch at this time was Duach, of the race of Heber, known in history by the name of Dalta, or the fostered of Deaghaidhe, who had adopted him.
This prince bestowed upon his foster-father possessions in Luachra, the then general name of Kerry, a large portion of which received from him the name of Luachair Deagaidh The descendants of Deaghaidh gradually extended their power and authority over West Munster, and several of them obtained the sovereignt}' of the whole province, to the exclusion of the Heberian line. As the Ua Deagaidh, or Degadii, they were noticed by Ptolemy, in the second century, in their proper territory in "West Minister, under the name of Udei, or Vodii, which very nearly expresses the pronunciation of Dheaghaidh. 

Better known by the name of Clanna Dheaghaidh, they occupy a prominent place in the military history of the time, as one of the three warrior tribes who represented the rude chivalry of the period. The others were the Oraob Buadh (red hand, or branch), of Ulster, and the Gaman raidhe, of Irrus Domnann, in Mayo. Deghaidh had three sons, 
lar, Daire, and Conal Daire, the second son of Deaghaidh, had by his wife, Maoin, or Moran Mananagh, i. e. of the Isle of Man, Conroi, much celebrated for his valour and prodigious strength : — 

" Moran of Mana of honor pure, 
Was the child of Ir, son of Uinnsidhe, 
The sister of Eochaidh Ecbeol she 
And mother of Curigh, son of Dari." * 

Curoi Mac Daire is the life and soul of Munster romance : the great Cyclopean Caher on the northern spur of Bawr-tri-Gaun (the summit of the three cows), overlooking Glen Fais, is attributed to him, and bears his name. His success in carrying off the fair Blanaidh from his rival Cuchullin, and his death by the hand of the latter, are inexhaustible themes for the story tellers. He is represented as being brave and chivalrous — a hero both on land and sea — having been engaged in many foreign expeditions.
Many ancient historic tales are founded on his exploits, some of which are no longer in existence, as the Cath buadha Conree, mentioned by the bard, Erard Mac Coisi ; also the Aithed Blathnaite ingen Paill Mic Fidaig re Coinchullaind, and 
Argain Cathair Chonrai. In the " Leabhar-na h-TJidhre," we have a tale called " The Mesca Ulladh" (or the inebriety of the TJltonians), who, in a fit of excitement, after a great feast at the royal palace of Emania, made a sudden and furious march into Munster, where they burned the palace of Teamhair Luachra, in Kerry, then the residence of Curoi Mac Daire, king of "West Munster" (O'Curry's Lectures. &c, p. 185). 

Among the historic tales in the Book of Leinster, called Oitte (tragedies), is one, "The Tragical Death of Curoi:" a more ancient version of this curious tale will be found in the MS. Egerton, 88, British Museum. " The Adventures of Curoi," is another historic tale in the Book of Leinster. In Dr. O'Donovan's Battle of Magh Eath is the 
following passage (p. 139): — 

" Oh ! Leth Mogha, who are wont to gain the victory, 
Oppress the Ultonians with eagerness. 
Remember Curi of the Spears, 
And the chiefs of the youths of the Ernaans." 

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. I think that there are strong presumptions in favour of this stone being the monument of Curi, or Curoi Mac Daire : — 

* " Cahir Conri," p. xvii. 

First. The -name on this monument. 

Secondly. Its great size and evident importance, of showing that it was erected to commemorate some distinguished personage. 

Thirdly. 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 — 

" This is the Warrior 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 nature, so that the apparent diificulty vanishes before the probability of 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 Curi or Curoi. In the Book of Leinster it is stated, that the Lecht, or monument of Conri, is on Slieve Mis Mountain. The late Dr. O'Donovan (in Magh Eath) states that it is still to be seen on the north-east shoulder of the mountain (Caher Conri). 

Dr. Rowan, in his paper, has referred at some length to the account given by Keating, from the Book of Invasions, of the landing of the Scoti or Clanna Miledh, at Inbher Sgeine, and has referred to the topography of the district, names of places, the pillar stones, and to the recent discovery of a considerable number of cist-formed graves in GlenFais, as to a certain extent confirmatory of the bardic accounts of that event. 

While I fully agree with the reverend writer that the facts and circumstances he has adduced are evidences that in this district some remarkable transactions occurred at a remote period, and that probably in this identical glen a battle may have been fought between an invading force and the then possessors of the soil. I amnot disposed to accept the circumstances attending the landing of the Scoti and their conquest of Ireland, as set forth by Keating from the Book of Invasions, and other authorities. 
While the main facts of the case are probably true as to the Scoti being a people from the maritime coasts of Spain, their having landed in the south- west of Kerry, and of their having become the dominant race in our island, the details are entirely unworthy of credit. This will be better understood by referring briefly to Keating's narrative: — "Three days after Heber and his followers were got on shore, they were attacked by Eire, the wife of Mac Greine, one of the princesses of the country, at Sliabh-Mis, or the Mountain of Mis. This lady was attended by a strong body of men, and a desperate battle followed, in which many were destroyed on both sides. In this action Fait, the wife of ' Un Mae Vighe,' was slain in a valley at the foot of the mountain, which from her obtained the name of Glen-Fais, which signifies the valley of Fais." 

The death of Fais is thus observed by an old poet : — 

"The valley where the lovely Fais fell, 
From her, as ancient Irish records tell, 
Obtained the name Glen-Fais." 

"Scota, the relict of King Milesius, was likewise slain in this engagement, and was buried in another valley on the north side of Sliabh Mis, adjoining the sea. This valley, which was the place of her interment, was called Glen-Scothian, or the valley of Scota, as an old poet testifies. 
This was the first battle that was fought between the Milesians and the Tuath-De-Dananns, for the empire of this island, as we are informed by the same author. 

"The persons that fell on the side of the Milesians in this action were, the Princess Scota, and the Lady Fais; they likewise lost two of their principal Druids, whose names were Uar and Either, and there was no more than three hundred of the Gadelian soldiers missing after the fight ; notwithstanding, they defeated the Tuath-De-Danans, and slew a thousand of them. 

" Eire, the wife of Mae Greine, one of the princesses of the country, with as many of her flying troops as she could keep together, retired to Tailte. The Milesians continued on the field of battle burying their dead, and celebrating the funeral rites of the two Druids with great solemnity." 

So far, Keating : the narrative which has been received as gospel by many Irish antiquaries has absurdity on the face of it, and will not stand one moment the test of criticism. The country is represented as having been at that time under the dominion of a people called Tuath De Dananns, and who were governed by three kings reigning conjointly at Tailte, in Meath, and named Mac Cuil, Mac Ceacht, and Mac Greine; they seem to have been lazy, cowardly fellows, for they remained at home, and sent out their three wives, Fodhla, Eire, and Banbha, to do battle against the invading Scoti.
The invaders are represented as landing at Inbher Sgeine, which is generally supposed to be the present bay of Kenmare, upon what evidence I am at a loss to conjecture, as all the probabilities are against it. To believe Keating's narrative, we should imagine that the Tuath De Dananns must have had electric telegraphs and railroads radiating from the seat of their power at Tailte into the remote wilds of Dunkerron, or Corcaguiney ; otherwise, how could they, in three days after the landing of a hostile force, not only have had intimation of the same, but actually an organized army, under the command of the wife of one of the reigning kings, ready to confront them in battle, in this remote district?
Again, if the Scoti landed at the bay of Kenmare, what business had they in marching on Sliabh Mis ? "Was not their natural and politic course to march eastward into the rich, level, and fertile heart of the island, if indeed they felt themselves equal to its conquest ? Let us for a moment look at the geography of the district; take the map of Kerry and examine the country lying between the bay of Kenmare and the Sliabh Mis mountains, which run south of Tralee into the remote barony of Corcaguiney, and we find between these points an immense tract of the most rugged, mountainous, and wild moorland country in the three kingdoms, comprising the baronies of Iveragh and Dunkerron, with their mountain ranges, including the Reeks, the highest mountain range in Ireland. To an invading force, ignorant of the district, such a march was an impossibility.
 
Again, did they land at the south side of the bay, and making a detour eastward, skirt round the Killamey mountains and lakes; and then bending to the north-west, make a long and weary march through the great bog district between Killamey and Tralee, could they have accomplished their march, and be in fighting order, within three days after their landing?
Again, what business had they making a long and painful march into a wild and remote district, if their object was the conquest of the island ? As I have stated before, their natural course was to march eastward into the centre of the country, and towards the seat of government. Again, what object had the army of the Tuath De Danans in marching to Sliabh Mis, when their intention was to encounter and cut short the progress of an enemy landing in the bay of Kenmare ? In the former place there was nothing to defend, no strategetic point to cover ; on the contrary, such a proceeding would leave all the passes into the rich and fertile provinces quite open and unprotected. The natural course of the defenders of the country would be to select some strong and defensible position covering the direct route into the heart of the island, and there await the enemy's approach. In truth, the details of the narration are opposed to all probability, and to the physical features of the district. But while I am disposed to reject the details, I am by no means disposed to give up the broad facts upon which they are founded. I accept the statement, that at some remote period an emigrant colony from the maritime coasts of Spain, or north-western Gaul, landed in the western district of Kerry, and who, under the name of Scoti, or Gaedhelians, or Milesians, became the dominant race in Ireland. 

That in remote times such a migration was probable we must admit, if we look back at the history of Spain and Gaul, during the Carthagenian and Roman occupations. "We know that each of these dominant states harassed and oppressed the natives, and where more likely should they flee for shelter but along the shores of Spain and Gaul, into these remote and then undisturbed islands ? Such a migration will account for what has been deemed mythical in our early history, as I firmly believe the pedigree of the Scoti to be Cuthite, and the course of their migration to be from Asia Minor, through Northern Africa, into Spain, and from thence to Ireland. 

The Scoti, then, must have been a seafaring people, and consequently must have attained to a respectable civilization, in accordance with the age : they could not have come to our island in any great numbers, consequently they could not have effected its conquest in the quick and off-hand manner described in the Book of Invasions. That they landed at a place then known as Inbher Sgeine is very probable, and that the names of their leaders, as Eibher, Eremon, Ir, Donn, Colpa, Scota, and Fais, &c, are genuine historical ones, I have no doubt ; for however facts may be disguised, distorted, or invented, names of places and individuals are generally preserved intact, and will hold their ground through ages. I have long been of opinion that the Bay of Kenmare was not the scene of the landing of the Scoti.
I believe that event took place in the Bay of Dingle. Accepting the statement in Keating, that a battle was fought at Sliabh Mis, three days after the landing of the Scoti, it could only be true on the supposition that their landing took place either in [the Bay of Dingle, or that of Tralee. If we examine the map of the district, we find a long narrow peninsula, the present barony of Corcaguiney, stretching out between the above named estuaries, and having a ridge of lofty mountains running through the centre, from Tralee to Brandon Head. At the extremity, on the north side, is the open Bay of Smerwick ; on the south side, are the harbours of Ventry, Dingle, and a small land-locked inlet, now dry at low water, called "Tra-beg," or "the Little Strand," upon the shore of which lies the most remarkable Ogham monument we have.
Dingle is also a land-locked harbour, having a very narrow entrance, but of considerable capacity inside. Now, the ocean current that runs round the south-west shores runs into the Bay of Dingle, striking between Dunmore Head and Ventry Harbour; these currents do not run into Kenmare Bay. This is important in estimating the chances of a fleet of strange adventurers navigating, in their frail barks, seas to them little, if at all known, and landing on our coasts. If it be admitted that our shores were previously known to the invaders, they could not have selected a more suitable locality for an infant colony. Here were safe and sheltered harbours ; a district remote from the centre of power and population; a sea teeming with fish, the mountains and woods with game; a district naturally fortified by the sea, and by mighty mountains, at whose feet were large tracts of fertile soil. 

If, then, the Scoti landed at Ventry or Dingle harbours, they would march along the base of the mountains through the lowlands skirting the bay towards Castlemaine, and the first available pass through which they could penetrate would be Glen Fais. In this pass a battle may have been fought between them and the natives who inhabited the great district of country lying between Tralee and the Shannon. If they had heard of the arrival of the strangers, and were bent on opposing them, the passes of the Sliabh Mis mountains, which terminate at Glen Fais, would be the natural points of defence ; and, accordingly, we find this mountain range handed down to us as the scene of their first battle, and the two principal passes, Glen Fais and Glen Scothian, identified with the names of two of the invading colony — Fais and Scota.
In this view of the case the difficulty as to time vanishes, as the distance between Ventry and the centre of the Sliabh Mis mountains is not more than thirty-five miles, so that an invading force could have landed, marched to that locality, and have fought a battle within three days— a feat utterly impossible had they landed in the bay of Kenmare. 

I am not, however, disposed to accept Keating' s narrative as to time. I think our bardic writers have misrepresented the nature of the Scotic invasion, which, I believe, came more in the capacity of a colony seeking for a permanent settlement, than of an invading army bent on conquest. According to the bardic annals, our island had seen at least two dynasties — the Firbolgs, and the Tuath De Danans — who are represented as having been engaged in a fierce conflict, ere the former were subdued by the latter; therefore an invading force must have been numerous and powerful to effect the subjugation of the country in a short time. Now, the Scoti are stated to have come in thirty ships, thirty men in each ship : this is a moderate computation, and a likely number to form a colony, but quite inadequate to conquer a kingdom, more particularly when we find 300 out of the 900 killed in the first battle, to say nothing of the wounded and missing.
Again, the people, likely to have invaded our island at that remote period were not likely to possess fleets capable of transporting an army equal to the sudden subjugation of a country having a settled government, and large military resources for a semi-civilized people. 

"We must therefore, in my opinion, conclude that the Scoti came as quiet colonists, and selected this remote and favourable district as a place where their infant state might mature unmolested. It is very probable that they ware superior in arms and civilization to the natives; that, increasing in numbers, they pushed their way inland through the counties of Kerry and Cork, occupying the southern and western districts of Munster, and ultimately becoming the dominant race in Erinn. I should not be surprised if future investigations will sustain the view I present of this subject. That a very numerous archaic population occupied this remote barony at a period far back in our pre-historic annals will appear to any person who visits the locality, and investigates its antiquities, as I have done. 

The aboriginal town of Fahan, with its stone-roofed huts, its cashels, forts, and souterrains, the headland fortifications on almost every prominent point, the cromlechs, stone circles, pillar stones, and raths, form a collection of ancient remains, unequalled for number and importance in any other district of our island. The late Mr. Richard Hitchcock, who so thoroughly explored Corcaguiney, in a valuable and interesting paper contributed to the " Transactions of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society" (vol. iii., p. 136, 1852), thus enumerates them: "Eleven stone cahers, three earns, forty cealluraghs, or obsolete burial grounds, where unbaptized children only are interred ; . . . eighteen artificial caves; . . . two hundred and eighteen cloghauns, or bee-hive shaped stone houses; sixteen cromlechs ; .... three hundred and seventy-six earthen forts or raths ; one hundred and thirteen gallauns, or immense rude standing stones, fifty -four monumental pillars, most of them bearing Ogham inscriptions, and seventy-six holy wells."
He further remarks: — "I have made no mention in the above list of the stone circles, so numerous in Corcaguiney. They are to be found in all parts of the barony." That even in Christian times this district was densely populated, we have undeniable evidence. Mr. Hitchcock enumerates the following : — " Twenty-one churches in ruins, ten castles, twelve large stone crosses, fifteen oratories, nine penitential stations, and twenty-nine miscellaneous antiquities" {ibid. p. 137). 

Dr. Smith, who published his " Antient and Present State of the County of Kerry," in 1754, alludes to the number of ecclesiastical ruins as evidence of the existence of a much more numerous population in remote times than existed in his day. He writes : "It contains no less than twenty parishes, which shows that this barony was formerly 
better inhabited than at present ; each parish having had its respective church, most of which were very large, as appears by their ruins" (p. 172). Again he remarks : " In the southern division are also large tracts of mountain, which have formerly been cultivated up to the top. 
Several of them, which are but poor barren rocks, have great numbers of old inclosures and marks of culture on their sides, which are now neglected ; and this is a further circumstance that tends to prove that it hath been better peopled formerly than at present" (p. 173). 

In a paper read before the Royal Irish Academy, Nov. 8th, 1867, I hazarded a conjecture, that from the fact of the Ogham monuments being principally localized in the counties of Kerry, Cork, and Waterford, and particularly along the sea-board of these districts, the probability is, that the character was brought into our island by a colonizing people who landed on our south-western shores.

Further investigation has strengthened that opinion, and I am more than ever disposed to award that honour to the Scoti, or Clanna Meledh, and not to the Tuath De Dannans, to whom the writer in the Book of Ballymote attributes the invention of these letters. It is fatal to the claims of the latter that not a single inscription has been found in those localities looked upon as the special seats of their power — not one on the celebrated field of Magh-Tuireadh, where the Firbolgs are represented as receiving their last and crowning defeat, which gave the sovereignty of the island to "the Mythic race." 

On the contrary, in the very spot assigned by tradition, and our native annals, as the landing-place of the Scoti, they are sown broadcast, while they are also found along the line of their probable occupation. 

This will appear in a very remarkable degree by an examination of the accompanying map (PL XXVIII.), upon which I have coloured the districts where Ogham monuments have been found. It will be seen that they are clustered round the harbours of Ventry, Dingle, and Smerwick ; one on the outermost isle of the Blasquets, one on Dunmore Head; they are found along the southern shores of the barony — one in Glen Fais ; they reappear about Castlemaine — and Kilorglin, in the neighbourhood of the Killarney lakes, about Kenmare ; there is then a considerable hiatus, when we find one at Ballycrovane, near Castletown Berehaveri, county of Cork; one at Bantry ; another hiatus, and we find them about Macroom, and Bandon, and in considerable numbers at the north side of the Lee river as far as Middleton ; here again we have another gap, until they re-appear on the other side of the Blackwater at Grange, Ardmore, and about Dungarvan, in the county of Waterford, and as far as Stradbally, where we again lose them, to re-appear in one" solitary monument found at Hook Point, and again in another at Castletimon, not far from Carnsore ; while up the valley of the Suir we find them at Crihinagh, Ballyquin, and Coolnamuck. Now it is also a singular fact, that while we have not hitherto found any of those inscriptions north of " the Sacred Promontory,"* we find them exactly on the opposite shores of Wales, in the sea-coast counties of Cardigan, Pembroke, and Glamorgan, and one near Brecknock ; in the very districts seized on and held for a considerable period by the Gaedhal, ere they were driven out by the Cymry.
It is a remarkable and a suggestive fact, that many of the inscribed stones of Wales present us with names in Romano-British characters identical with names found on our Ogham monuments in this country — a subject which I hope to illustrate on some future occasion.

* Carnsore Point.