Getting close to the Ballycrovane Ogham stone on the Béarra Peninsula in Co. Cork shows how striking it is.
I was here to follow the Dichotomy of Béarra: in this one small bay on the peninsula, this standing stone sits probably within sight of the Hag of Béarra: the cailleach.
From the sea shore, you walk up a little hill, past a friendly cottage (you may leave a donation in the box of the well-kept gate and respect the private land), and turn up a corner. The stone sits strikingly above you. It’s within a glen, with hills and the shoreline around it.
The clean corners and smoothness of the rock are striking.
Ogham is the alphabet composed of notches that is the oldest method we know of for writing down Gaeilge. Gaeilge Gach Lá members previously had a workshop on Ogham – Stones, sticks and origins.
Far from being of human height, it reaches a height of 5.3m (17ft) (see Monumental Ireland, other sources cite its height to be 4.7m).
The stone is a standing stone, the tallest standing stone in Ireland.
The placename Ballycrovane is Béal an Churraigh Bháin in Gaeilge (see logainm.ie), which means approximately “the opening of the white marsh”.
It’s likely that the standing stone is pre-historic, and that the Ogham was inscribed on it later (Ogham in 3D project). This hypothesis would mean that the stone was standing there possibly for a good deal of time before the Ogham was inscribed.
I’m curious about whether the people who erected the standing stone spoke an old form of the language. It would seem that the early medieval people inscribing Ogham on the stone certainly spoke the Gaeilge of the time.
The span of time between the stone being erected and then being inscribed with Ogham would mean that the people who inscribed onto it were marking their claim on something that was standing there long before they came to be. If this standing stone embodies the masculine energy, then An Chailleach Bhéarra / The Hag of Béarra across the Ballycrovane bay embodies the feminine.
It is these contrasts and contradictions that give a taste of Béarra. It’s a place that’s hard to define, and its story shows that your Irish language journey is rooted in many layers through time.
You, too, are standing on something older than you, inscribing your own marks on a language that was here long before you.
Also see:
Images copyright 2026 Eoin Ó Conchúir.
i live in the Netherlands and are very interested in the modern irish but also in the old historic language.
i learner in my life ofcourse Dutch
but also English German French russian Hungarian spanish and italian
i studied a little on other languages like turkish
i think that the history of your language
but also of the authentic folk music, songs and instruments tell a lot of the history of our ancestors.
etymologie and the similarities between languages help as well
thereby i do believe that the academical putcomes are not always the best ones, the path of words is not always so obvious. you can do a lot of discoveries when you can dig in other languages and of course the pronunciation is important.
surely the irish writin of today too does not help. it is so complicating.
since i know nobody here who speaks irish i find it extra hard to discover the rules for the changes in the words depending of there status in the sentence
but
it keeps my mind busy and when i feel tired by it i take up the violin and play or sing music.
someone visiting the Netherlands
the south
near the city of Maastricht
let me know perhaps we can help each other
Judith
You’re right, Judith! Well done for keeping busy, it can only do you good 🙂
a hEoin go raibh maith agat an sceal seo a hinsint duinn – (nota > nil fhios agam conas a chuireann “fada” ar litir sa focal anseo ar an laptop) ??? chuireann na scealta athas im chroi
Padraicin
Sometimes holding down the letter on your phone keyboard brings up accented characters including the fada. Ach ar an ríomhaire tá sé níos deacra agus braitheann sé ar na socruithe ar do ríomhaire.
Eoin
wonderful xx
Go raibh maith agat, Patricia.
Eoin
A Cara. I know that the Ogham Stone is a very old form of Gaelic communication, (loved the photos) but the I’ve hear it was a Roman who first recorded the Irish language and history, is it true. ? Charles (Cathal).
A Chathail,
the origins are only hypotheses, to my understanding. One hypothesis is that it came ‘out of political or military necessity’ that it was not understandable to those who understood Latin.
Eoin
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41483602?seq=1
Niall Mac Coitir citing James Carney
“THE OGHAM ALPHABET—A MILITARY ORIGIN?”
Niall Mac Coitir
Archaeology Ireland
Vol. 26, No. 1 (Spring 2012), pp. 22-25 (4 pages)
An bhfuil fios ag aon duine cad ata a scriobh air an cloc?
Ceist mhaith! Sean-Ghaeilge atá ann, agus an t-aistriúchán ná “of Mac-Deichet, descendant of Tornae”, ar thug Ogham in 3D:
https://ogham.celt.dias.ie/I-COR-014
Eoin
‘ You, too, are standing on something older than you, inscribing your own marks on a language that was here long before you.’ Go hálainn, a Eoin!
Go raibh maith agat, a Debbie, a chara!
Eoin
I love learning so much through this newsletter. It makes me feel connected to Ireland, even from so far away.
I love that you’re appreciating our Gaeilge Gach Lá Newsletter 💚 For someone else reading this, here’s how to sign up: https://www.bitesize.irish/newsletter/
Eoin
I love the history of Ireland and of my family that came from there. I have and am still reading books on the history of Ireland.
Lean ort George, keep it up.
Eoin
Go raibh mile maith agaibh.Ta suim agam sa Cloch Ogham mar is as Béarra ( Baile Caisleán Beara) mise, ach tá me i mo chónaí sa Breatain Beag.
Is an-álainn ar fad an áit sin go háirithe nuair a bhíonn an gréine ag taitneamh!
Álainn a chloisteáil gurb as Béarra duit! An bhfuil sléibhte mórthimpeall ort sa Bhreatain Bheag?
Eoin
Absolutely fantastic 😃 Thank you so much for sharing this with us all.
I want to go to Killarney to see the place of my great grandparents. So I’m putting a trip to see the Ballycrovane Ogham stone on my ‘to do while in Ireland’ wishlist too!
Go hálainn Samantha. I hope you make the trip and get good meaning from it.
Eoin
Dia duit Eoin,
Go raibh maith agat, Eoin. Am I correct in thinking the Munster dialect is the dialect used in Killarney?
Haigh Samantha, great question. Killarney is in County Kerry which is in Munster.
Bitesize Irish courses do not focus on any particular dialect – the core learning materials are broadly based on An Caighdeán Oifigiúil (the official standard Irish that’s based on all three dialects). Most of our recordings do have a Munster dialect slant, and Ulster recordings are marked with /U/ in the phonetic guide.
Some more info on our courses here:
https://www.bitesize.irish/learn/courses-info/
Eoin
Thank you, love the photos and article, interesting thoughts to ponder 🪨
I’m glad you enjoyed it Erin 🪨
Eoin
Breath taking. Thanks so much!
Tá fáilte romhat, Linda 💚 Thanks for reading.
Eoin