54 



Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Comhgcm. In the Martyrology of Donegal we have a long list of 



Saints with the 

 title Cruimther, 

 andthreeComgans. 

 The fracture at the 

 top of the stone 

 deprives us of a 

 few strokes which 

 would have ena- 

 bled us to connect 

 the two parts of 

 the inscription. 



' ' It maybe a little 

 provoking to me to 

 see this first an- 

 nouncement made 

 by others to the 

 Academy of results 

 which have been 

 known to me for 

 years, and which I 

 hold to be of capital 

 importance in this 

 branch of archaeo- 

 logical study. But 

 for this I have no 

 one to blame but 

 myself. I should 

 have done more 

 wisely if I had put 

 forth, even in the 

 briefest and most 

 fragmentary form, 

 the leading results 

 which I had ar- 

 rived at. But those 

 who know the pleasure of doing things completely, and the pain of 

 tiirning out imperfect work, will at least make some allowance for me. 

 In any case it is satisfactory to me to see you concurring in, or at least 

 approximating towards, the general conclusions which I have repeat- 

 edly stated in the Academy ; and in which I differ from the great 

 majority of those who have written about Oghams. 



"One of the rules of deciphering which you have correctly adopted 

 is the indentification of the final agnus with the Irish dn. I have 

 completely established this. 



' ' I add woodcuts of two of the inscriptions which you have noticed 

 in your paper, to prove that I had not fallen into the errors from 

 which vour examination of the monuments has saved vou. On the 



