188 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



No. 2. 



A pillar of clay-slate, rough and irregular in form, 7 ft. 4 in. in 

 length, 18 in. by 9 in. at bottom, and 15 in. by 14^ in. at top. The 

 inscription commences on the left angle, 2 ft. 6 in. from tbe lower 

 end, and is completed on the front angle of the head, as follows : — 



-■ nm/ " '*//' urn ii i ii/ 1 "" """//n' rnn rrni 



A N" 31 T G A N N X A C D EGLA5T K" 



The principal part of this inscription is perfect, boldly and deeply 

 cut, the first four characters alone being partially damaged. The a is 

 perfect. Only one score of the n remains, the rest being carried away 

 by a fracture. The m is perfect, and also the i. A copy made by Mr. 

 Windele previous to its removal shows the formula axm as then per- 

 fect. It is probable that severity miles of land- carriage, from Kilor- 

 glin to Cork, on a common cart, over hilly roads, and rough handling 

 with crow-bars, may have damaged the inscriptions on these venerable 

 monuments. We have next the x character, fulfilling no function 

 that I can discern excepting that of dividing the inscription, as after 

 it we have the name of the individual commemorated, gaxx, a name 

 of the mythic period. He was a king of the Firbolg dynasty, and 

 one of the five chiefs of that people when they invaded Ireland. They 

 were "brethren, and their names are given as Slainge, Euraidhe, Gann, 

 Geanann, and Seangann. They were sons of Dela, the son of Loich, and 

 their pedigree is given in the Book of Lecain, up to Xeimhid. 



A passage from the Book of Ballymote, as translated by the late 

 Professor Connellan, states, that Gann and Seangann landed at Inbher 

 Dubhglaise, in the county Kerry, with 2,000 men, and that in the 

 division of Ireland among the five chiefs, the province of Munster fell 

 to the lot of Gann and Seangann ; the former possessing the land from 

 Comar-na-attri-nUisge, "The Confluence of the Three Waters," now 

 "Waterford Harbour, to Bealach Conglais, now Cork Harbour; and the 

 latter having his dominions from thence to Limerick (B. B. fol. 16, 

 L. L. fol. 277). The bardic traditions thus connect the name of Gann 

 with the southern districts of Munster ; and as it probably became a 

 usual one, we need not be surprised at meeting with it on one of those 

 archaic memorials. 



It will also be remembered that in a paper read before the 

 Academy on January 23rd, 1871, "On an Ogham-inscribed stone at 

 Kilbonane, county of Kerry," I gave some evidence of the existence 

 of the name Gann, in one of the inscriptions to be found on that re- 

 markable monument (R. I. A. Proc, Ser. ii. vol. 1, p. 27). The name 

 is also preserved in several land denominations, as Scartagannon, near 

 Doneraile, county Cork. In the Index INoniinum of the "Annals of 

 the Pour Masters'' we meet the name but once in the above form. 



