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Or,

Alol reagh Llalalae, for Oliol re Llalalae.

Viz.

Melochlin of Caëlmen, the chief king of Llalalae,

this coin most probably belonging to fome of the Mc. Laughlins, chiefs of Caëlmen in Meath.

No. XI.

On the obverse, a head, with the representation of a hand behind, accompanied with the following inscription in Runic and Ogham characters:

o dh dono gh mea

Or,

Odh Donogh mear, for O Donogh more.

On the reverse, two hands in the oppofite quarter, with the following infcription :

a o doemaghal o n

Or,

Aodoe magh Alon, for Aodha mac Allain.

THIS moft probably was a branch of the O Connor Failie family, and chieftains of Hy Allain, in the counties of Kildare and

King's County.

PLATE I.

No. 11.

PLATE I.

No. II.

No. XII.

No. XII.

ON the obverfe, round the head, is the following infcription

PLATE I. in Latin, Runic and Ogham characters:

No. 12.

onataf mo agh mo co
Or,

Ona Taf Moaghmoeo, for Eana dubh Maghmoe.

On the reverse, two hands in oppofite quarters, with the fol

PLATE I. lowing infcription:

No. 12.

d aon loagh n
Or,

i ca

Daon Loaghniea, for Doin Loch nea.

Whence the entire infcription is,

Eana dubh Maghmoedhoin Loch nea,

this coin belonging to fome of the Mc. Mahons, chiefs of a diftrict near Loch Neagh.

THOUGH all poffible care has been taken in decyphering these coins, yet I am not certain of having always discovered the true name, as the power of the Ogham Croabh characters can only be found by making them accord in fenfe with the Latin and Runic characters; and where the entire infcription confifts of Croabh letters, there is no certainty of their fignification. Several characters also have different powers in different alphabets, which renders it difficult to find from what alphabet they were taken, and confequently their local powers; the only method that can be

followed

followed is to fix upon fome well-known characters, and then to determine the variable by fome of their powers, as fhall agree in fense with the others. Care must likewife be had to the imperfection of feveral of the letters; for as thefe coins were evidently ftruck by the hand, fome of the impressions have not taken, and were afterwards mended, which make them feem at first fight different characters from what they were intended. From these confiderations, I could wish, on a future day, fome of the Royal Irish Academicians would turn their thoughts towards an explanation of those ancient remains, either by the method I have taken or any other; as by that means the dark periods of paft ages may be fully illuftrated, which the endeavours of a single perfon would be unable to effect.

To conduce as much as poffible in my power to fo desirable an end, I send herewith a table of the several alphabets which I made use of in the above explanation.

EXPLICATION of the ALPHABETS in the TABLE.

No. I.. Irish Ogham Croabh characters *, found on coins, ftone- PLATE II. croffes and other monuments from the ninth to the seventeenth century. I fufpect that this alphabet originally contained only four lines; as on fome of the coins, and the oldeft infcriptions I have seen, four answer much better than five.

*Thefe characters feem to have been derived from No. 4.

PLATE II.

No. 2.

Irish Oghams and contractions found in manufcripts and infcriptions.

No. 3. An Irish Ogham, from the book of Ballymote. I have as yet found no infcription in these characters.

No. 4. The Irish Ogham Croabh, as given by Harris, in his edition of Ware's works.

No. 5. Gothic and Runic letters from Wormius, and Magnus Celfus on his explanation of the Runic infcriptions at Helsingland in Sweden, which characters are in the greater part derived from the Latin from the third to the tenth centuries.

No. 6. The Latin letters of the middle ages, that is, from the firft to the eleventh century, taken from Bernard's Tables, and a number of ancient infcriptions discovered in Britain; which characters are evidently derived from the Coptic, Greek and Etrufcan, and used indifcriminately by the Christian clergy during the above periods.

THESE alphabets will, I believe, with care, decypher the oldest infcriptions found in Great Britain and Ireland, compound letters and contractions excepted.

To Jofeph C. Walker, Efq;
Treafury Chambers, Dublin.

I am, Sir,

Your's, &c.

W. BEAUFORD.

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