Laavi-or — The Cathach of St. Columha. 391 



At each corner of the case is a small hollow pillar to contain the pins 

 which fastened the lid to the box. 



The base (Plate XXXVI) is the most important part of the Oumdach, as the 

 inscription upon it enables us to determine, within narrow limits, the date at 

 which the shrine was made. As mentioned above, it is a silver plate cut into 

 a pierced cruciform diaper pattern resembling the back of the shrine of 

 St. Patrick's bell (1091-1105 A.D.), of the shrine of St. Molaise's Gospels (early 

 eleventh century), and the base of St. Moedoc's shrine (probably eleventh 

 century). On the two sides and one end (the other being incised with a fret 

 and a chevron pattern) of the edge of the plate the following inscription is 

 engraved in Irish characters : it was recorded by Dr. Peeves,' and later by 

 Dr. Petrie.^ 



[or{]oic DO chachbarjn ua DomNaiw, LasiNDerjNaD in cuincaoh s'a | 

 T Do siccnnic mac meic aeDa Do niSNen Do DoinNaLt mac Robai 

 T?cai5 Do comaRba ceNONsa tasiNDcRNao 



Professor 0. J. Bergin, who kindly examined the inscription on the shrine 

 for the purposes of this appendix, has pointed out, what neither Dr. Peeves 

 nor Dr. Petrie had noticed, the presence of the letter h between the letters 

 C and A in the name c1lAUllbA1x1l, also that the engraver had cut 

 an O instead of the letter C before the ll in the word CUITIUAOllSA. 

 Both these words are in the first line. The upper portions of some of 

 the letters in the first and second lines are broken, but, except in the 

 first word of the first line, the letters can be identified. 



The inscription may be translated thus : — 



" A prayer for Cathbarr Ua Domnaill by whom this Eeliquary was made 

 and for Sitric son of Mac Aedha who made it, and for Domnall Mac 

 Eobartaigh coarb of Kells by whom it was made." 



Dr. Peeves identified the persons named as follows* : — 



Cathbarr O'Donnell was the son of Gillachrist who died in 1038 a.d. 

 He died in 1106 a.d. Sitric was the son of Mac Aedha who is called Cerd, 

 that is " Artificer " in the Irish charters in the Book of Kells.* Domnall Mac 

 Eobartaigh was the successor of Columba at Kells ; he followed Gillachrist Ua 



1 Reeves, p. 319. 



2 " Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language," vol. ii, pi. xlii, fig. 90. 



^A rivet has been driven through the letter S ; but portions of it can still be seen, 

 (This is correctly represented by Dr. Petrie, op. eit. supra.) 

 * P. 320. 

 ^ Miscellany of the Irish Archaeological Society, vol. i, p. 141. 



