Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 257 



XXXVIII. — On- Paper-casts op Ancient Inscriptions dt the Coun- 

 ties of Galway and Mayo, exhibited and presented on the part 

 of Mr. Bcrchett ; by Samuel Ferguson, LL.D., Q. C, Vice-Pre- 

 sident. "With Plate IX., Pol. Lit. and Antiq. 



[Read 30th November, 1872.] 



Mr. Bprchett (Schools of Art, South. Kensington) has requested rae 

 to present to the Academy the following Paper- casts, made by him, of 

 Inscriptions in the Counties of Galway and Mayo. They are distin- 

 guished by the letter P», and numbered I. to X. : — 



I. Kilbrecan, Arranmore. A fragment of a larger stone, bearing 

 the remains of what probably was a sculptured cross ; on either side 

 of which the inscription is arranged, thus — 



or do | mainach. 



II. Also, from Kilbrecan. The broken flat tombstone stated by 

 Petrie to have been found covering the reputed grave of Brecan, 

 the founder. This interesting inscription is engraved in the Eccl. 

 Arch., p. 139 ; but Petrie's drawing omits what the cast discloses, the 

 remains of the : letter S giving the force of Sci = Sancti to the first 

 group of characters. The inscription occupies the three remaining 

 quadrants formed by a cross, inscribed in a circle, thus — 



Sci 



Ire 

 ni. 



The fourth quadrant being broken away leaves the completion of the 

 name of the holy person to conjecture; but there can be no reason- 

 able doubt that it originally bore the missing syllable ca, making the 

 whole read — 



Sci Brecani. 



For an example of Sci, in a like collocation, reference may 

 be made to Stuart's " Sculp. Stones of Scotland," vol. ii., pi. 77, at 

 Whithorn in Wigtonshire — 



Loc sti Petri Apostoli ; 



where the " Loc'''' may be compared with the same form of "locus" 

 on the Kilnasaggart inscription, near Dundalk. See also, in this con- 

 nexion, what seem to be the words " hoc loco " on the principal 

 inscription on the Newton stone, Aberdeenshire. 



