348 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



II. — Vowels. 



1. In the initial syllable, a long vowel is represented hy the same vowel 

 in early MS. Irish. A short vowel regularly remains unchanged in ms. Irish, 

 or is regularly changed, according to the class of vowel which, in the early 

 Ogham formation, follows the succeeding consonant. 



2. In the other syllables, all vowels that survive in MS. Irish follow the 

 rules of permanence or change which govern sliort vowels in the initial 

 syllable. 



3. In late Ogham forms, the regular vowel changes are sometimes noted, 

 sometimes not. Even in early forms, the changes are not unfrequently 

 noted in unstressed syllables. Hence it would appear that the changes were 

 in process of taking place during the Ogham period, but the possibility of 

 archaistic restorations based on traditional study makes the evidence some- 

 what doubtful. 



4. Two values must be assumed for e and two for 5, viz., e which remains e 

 throughout all later periods, and e which becomes ia in late Old Irish; o 

 which remains o throughout all later periods, and 5 which becomes ua in late 

 Old Irish. As a rule, e and 5 which arise from compensatory lengthening 

 are permanent, e and 5 which do not so arise become ia and ua. 



5. ia. = e and ua. = o are not noted in Adamnan, but have begun to appear 

 in L. Arm., where, however, they are less frequent than e and o. There is no 

 instance of them in the Ogham inscriptions. Maqi-Iari = ( Ui) Maic loAr^ 

 not Eir, therefore lar has two syllables = *Iveros, eponym of the Iverni = 

 lar mac Dedad in genealogy of the Erainn, Clanda Dedad.^ 



6. Instances of e and o : 



Cedattoq 95 (Macalister has Cedattoqa, but quotes Graves and Barry for 

 readings without the final a) late Ogham for *Cedattoqi = CctadacJi nom. 

 AU 849. Cf. Feradach, Di'madacli. Muiredach, ada, Meyer, "Contributions." 

 Here d = Celtic rd, whether ced- = ' first ' or ' hundred.' 



S[e]daiii 45, Sedaii[i] J, 1895, p. 133, = fietni, Adamnan, L. Arm., nom. Seine, 

 later Setna, modern Sead'iut = *Sentanios. 



Veqoanai 199 = Fiachna. 



Vecrec 117, Veqreq 189, = Fiaclirach. 



derai 78, 79 = Giara, eponym of Ciarraige. 



Drogno 58 = Drona {Ui D. =^' Idrone ' barony). 



Gossucttias 41 = Giiasaclita. 



1 The t\ro forms Tar, Er-, point to existence side by side of Ivcr- and Icr-. Cf. ^lovepvia and 

 'Upvos TTOTa/xS^ in Ptolemy. As in reduplicated yerb-forms, i of Icr- would disappear. In modern 

 Irish, such pronunciations as Suivne and Su'ine [Suibhne) have coexisted for three or four centuries. 

 In the Aran dialect (Gahvay) both pronunciations are commonly heard in cuimhne, etc. 



