Celtic Bogwoods - The History of Ogham

Celtic bogwoods bogland near Killarney, Kerry, Ireland

Sunday September 5th,2010

Did you know that Ogham predates the pyramids of Egypt?

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Ogham is the earliest form of Irish writing

university college cork has the largest collection of ogham stones in the world

Ogham Stone at University College Cork

Ogham writing is the earliest known form of written Irish.
The alphabet pre dates the 5th century.

It consists of an alphabet of twenty letters used for stone and wood inscriptions in Celtic Ireland. The letters consist of one to five perpendicular or angled strokes meeting or crossing a center line.The form of the letters allows them to be carved easily on objects of wood and stone. Ogham was carved and read from bottom to top.

Ogham is sometimes referred to as the Celtic Tree Language as each letter was named after a tree the people were familiar with, and used.Ogham inscriptions consist almost exclusively of personal names and marks, possibly indicating land ownership, though some appear to be memorials to the dead.

Any wood Ogham inscription have, of course, long vanished. However, there are roughly 400 Ogham inscriptions in stone found to date, of which 330 are from Ireland. The other Ogham stones have been found in England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man and Shetland.

The Irish had no other written alphabet until Christian missionaries introduced Latin. Ogham ceased to be used after the first few centuries of the Christian era, as the use of inscription language was reviled as a pagan practice.

Link of interest - the history of Irish bogwoods

Our studio at the old creamery, Killumney, Ovens, Co. Cork, Ireland.

The Old Creamery,
Ovens, Co. Cork.