Uses of the Round Towers of Ireland, fyc. 217 



the terms themselves seem clearly to be of foreign, and most probably ecclesi- 

 astical, introduction into the Irish language. It appears, however, that the Irish 

 had also two vernacular terms which they applied to a piece or denomination 

 of the same weight, namely the words puincne and oifing, or oiffing, as thus 

 stated in Cormac's Glossary under the word puincne : 



" puincne, .1. pcpepall meoi inBice, ip 6 pm pcpepall 5 aeDa l o' n ' oipinj." 



" Puincne, i. e. the screpall of the notched beam, i. e. the screpall of the Gaels, i. e. oifing." 



Thus also in O'Clery's Vocabulary of Ancient Irish Words, under the word 

 puincne : 



" puincne, .1. pjjpeaball .1. epi pmjinne." 

 " Puincne, i. e. a screball, i. e. three pence." 



And hence the word screaball is explained in Shaw's and O'Reilly's Dic- 

 tionaries as " a three-penny piece," and the word oiffing, by O'Reilly, as " a 

 tribute of three-pence." 



Seeing then, that the screpall contained three pinginns, and weighed 

 twenty-four grains, it would follow that the pinginn should weigh eight grains ; 

 and such is the weight assigned to it in an ancient tract of the Brehon Laws, 

 on vellum, preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, H. 4, 22, foL 

 66, in which the following curious passage occurs : 



" t)mnpu, .1. eomup. Dinnpa clapaije, .1. comup bip con luce claioep in claip, 01 umji ipe 

 pil inn, .1. boinjib mem in uma. t)mnpa cepoa DO oepj uma ; pe umji ann, 7 pcpepall a 

 loj. pmjinn ip piu in umji pinn lima; 7 leir-pinjinn tp piu an umji oepj uma; 7 corhlo^ in 

 oepj; uma 7 in poan, 7 occ n-j^panni cpuirneacca comrpom na plnjinni aipjro ; 7 ceirpe oinnpa 

 oo luaioi ap oinnpa pinn uma, ap ip DO luaibe oo nichep in each." 



" Dinnra, i. e. a weight [measure, or share]. Thedinnra of the delver, that is, the share which 

 those who dig the pit do get, that is, those who dig the copper ore, contains two ounces. The 

 dinnra of the cerd [artificer] is of red copper [or bronze] ; contains six ounces, and is worth a 

 screpall. A pinginn is the value of an ounce of fair copper [or bronze] ; and half a pinginn is the 

 value of an ounce of red copper [or bronze] ; and the red copper is of the same value as the sdan 

 [tin] ; and eight grains of wheat is the weight of the pinginn of silver ; and four dinnras of lead 

 are of the same value as one dinnra of fair copper, for it is of the lead the tath [solder ?] is made." 



From the preceding evidences it at least appears certain that while the 

 Irish had in use amongst them, from a very remote period, a mode of estimating 

 the value of animals, and other property, by ingots or rings of gold and silver 



VOL. xx. 2 F 



