CIIC 295. Knockboy IV, Co. Waterford

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National Monuments Service Record Number: WA013-034009-

The parish church of Seskinan (WA013-034001-) was probably built on the site of an earlier church. There were traces of an ecclesiastical enclosure in the field to the S and within the graveyard (Brash 1868-9, 127; Power 1898, 84), but this is no longer evident. There is also the site of Toberatemple Well (WA013-032001-) c. 250m to the W (Power 1898, 83). The church is an undifferentiated structure (int. dims. 22.2m E-W; 7.55m N-S) surviving complete (H of long walls c. 2.1-2.5m) with quoins and a double bellcote (now damaged) over the W gable. There are pointed doorways towards the W end of the N and S walls, with a stoup inside the S doorway and an aumbry at the E end of the S wall. Two ogee-headed windows, one above the other, are in the W gable, with another in the E wall, and there are two simple lights towards the E end of the long walls. All the embrasures are lintelled internally except the E window which has a flat arch of dressed voussoirs and ingoings. The square base of a font (WA013-034004-) is also located within the church (Power 1898, 83).

All of the lintels, except one over the N doorway, have ogham inscriptions (Brash 1868-9, 118-30; Macalister 1945, 286-9), and a seventh ogham stone is standing in the NW corner of the church. An eighth ogham stone, said to have also originated here, was recorded by Macalister (1907, 213; 1945, 289) at Salterbridge House, near Cappoquin prior to 1907 but it was missing when he returned in 1940.

Monument

1.88m x 0.27m x 0.25m (converted from Macalister 1945, 287). This is the inner lintel of the south doorway. A hole has been bored through the stone (at the current lower right hand angle) at some point subsequent to the carving of the inscription, as it mutilates one of the letters.

Text

'Inscription faintly scratched rather than cut: B-surface nearly all chipped away... The first C is mutilated by a round hole have being pierced through the stone' (Macalister 1945, 287). Macalister's restorations (in the transcription below) are based on what would fill the gaps.

Transliteration

Q[E]CC[IAS] M[U]C[OI B]R[O]E[NIONAS]

Translation

'of Bróen?'

Commentary

The name BROINIONAS is recorded in three other ogham inscriptions (CIIC 120 Monataggart, Co. Cork; CIIC 151 Ballinrannig, Co. Kerry and CIIC 280 Drumlohan, Co Waterford). However, the reading is only relatively certain in CIIC 151 Ballinrannig, Co. Kerry, which has the expected ending -IONAS and in CIIC 120 Monataggart, Co. Cork, which has BROINIENAS.

Locations

Found

Acting as inner lintel of the south doorway of the ruin of Seskinan parish church (Macalister 1945, 286) in the townland of Knockboy and barony of Decies without Drum.

Original

Find location possibly close to original site

Last Recorded

Still in place above the south door of the church at Knockboy. The present location of this stone may be accessed via the National Monuments Service Historic Environment viewer on www.archaeology.ie. (Publicly accessible. GPS coordinates -7.684968, 52.194711)

History of Recording

discovered in 1851 by G. V. du Noyer (Macalister 1945, 286). This and the six other ogham stones on site were recorded in 3d using photogrammetry by Simon Dowling, thanks to funding from the Heritage Council and support from Waterford County Council and Adopt a Monument Ireland Scheme.