42 
scribed upon the Barnaan Cuilawn, as well as by the set one which 
was lost, that it was used in the service of the Church since the 
introduction of Christianity, the conclusion is not far fetched to say, 
that the words, Barnaan Cuilawn, (although now but little under- 
stood) originally meant “ the cover of Cuilen’s fire.” 
The popular tradition of the country having been proved, as I 
consider it, to be correct with regard to the name of Saint Cuilen, 
may perhaps be allowed to have some weight in ascertaining the 
age of the curiosity under discussion. That tradition (which is 
further supported by the appellation Obajp na5-naom) says, as I have 
already mentioned, that the Barnaan Cuilawn was made by Saint 
Cuilen’s own hands, and, if that be supposed to be true, fixes the 
time when this relic was formed to the beginning of, or perhaps a 
little anterior to, the tenth century. I have not met with any ac- 
count of the time when Saint Cuilen died; but, as he was the 
brother and contemporary of Cormack, King and Archbishop of 
Cashel, who was killed in the year 908, we may fairly suppose that 
he died about the same period. A corroborating proof of the 
Barnaan Cuilawn’s antiquity presents itself in the antiquated heads 
raised upon its sides, and the like of which I am informed are to 
be found only in buildings prior to the twelfth century. The Runic 
knots and gyrations, into which the inlaying on it is for the most 
part convolved, also demonstrate, that it was fabricated about the 
9th century; and it is remarkable, that ruins are also to be found in 
stone on Cormack’s chapel on the rock of Cashel, the erection of 
which building is attributed to Saint Cuilen’s brother. A further 
evidence of the Barnaan Cuilawn’s having been made about the 
period already mentioned arises from the comparison of the cross 
was a barony in the county Tipperary ; alsoa map of Sleigh in the Record Tower, Dublin Castle, 
which was copied by General Valancey from the original in Paris, which bears date in 1657. 
