'Formerly a corner-stone (?) [quoin] in a now ruined structure called Legan Castle: at present (1942) prostrate at its door, and liable to injury through the heaping of farm appliances upon it from time to time' (Macalister 1945, 38; Barry 1896, 126-7). Legan Castle Farmhouse is now a guesthouse at which the castle ruins, including the re-erected ogham stone, are preserved. The townland name (An Liagán) contains the element lia (also: liag) 'stone, pillar-stone', which perhaps refers to this moument.

Monument

'Grit', 2.03m x 0.51m x 0.42m (Converted from Macalister 1945, 38). A plain cross is pocked on the inscribed face of the stone.

Text

Up-top-down. 'Inscription pocked and much worn... The vowels are all faint, and some of them are flaked away... including the final I, after which the whole sinister angle is chipped. There is no trace of any writing after the letters specified, and I do not think there ever was any. 2C is very difficult to trace: the N scores are oblique, but they certainly do not form part of an R' (Macalister 1945, 38-9).

Transliteration

Barry (1896, 126): LOBB[I] KOI MAQQI MUC/CỌỊ ỊR/ẸỊ

Macalister (1945, 38-9): LOBB[I] K[OI] MAQQI MUC/̣C̣ỌỊ R/[I]N[I]

McManus (1991, 67): [ ̣ ̣ ? ̣ ̣]LL[ ̣ ̣ ? ̣ ̣] MAQQ[I] ṃ[U]C/[COI ̣ ̣ ? ̣ ̣]

Translation

'(of Lob here) son of the descendant of (Renn?)'

Commentary

If Barry's and Macalister's reading is correct with LOBBI, this may be an example of the element LOBA- found in other ogham inscriptions, for example, LOBACCONA in CIIC 266 from Dromore, Co. Waterford. This element may be related to OIr. Lobur/Lobor 'weak' (dil.ie/30409). Although much less certain, if the ancestor name Macalister read as RINI is correct, it may be equated with the word renn 'swift, fast' (dil.ie/35118) (Ziegler 1994, 111, 88).

Locations

Found

Re-used as building material in a now ruined structure called Legan Castle in the townland of Legan and barony of Gowran. (Private land. Approx. GPS coordinates -7.162888, 52.534804).

Original

Find location probably original site.

Last recorded

Set upright in the courtyard beside the entrance arch at Legan Castle. The present location of this stone may be accessed via the National Monuments Service Historic Environment viewer on www.archaeology.ie.

History of Recording

'recognised, 1891 Moore, J.' (Macalister 1945, 38). According to Barry (1896, 126), the ogham stone 'projected in relief from a wall at Legan Castle, until the fall of that wall a few years ago'. Some time after 1945 it was set in concrete at the front of the remains of the castle. It was recorded in 3d (in collaboration with Digital Heritage Age) in June 2020 as an action of the County Kilkenny Heritage Plan Programme, funded by the Heritage Office of Kilkenny County Council and the Heritage Council.