Ogham, the earliest known form of written Irish, works by encoding letters as a series of notches and strokes cut along a central stem line, typically along the edge of a standing stone. This particular example arrived in Dublin having already lost much of its original story, and the gaps in that story are at least as interesting as what survives.

The stone is recorded as coming from Ballinvoher in County Kerry, but there is a complication: no townland of that name actually exists. It is possible the stone originated from, or somewhere near, Ballinvoher graveyard, which sits in the townland of Rathduff, and where two other ogham stones are also recorded. The inscription it carries, studied by R. A. S. Macalister in 1945 and by Damian McManus in 1997, reads COIMAGNI MAQI VITALIN, translating as "of Cóemán son of Vitalinus". The personal name Vitalinus is of Latin origin, a reminder that early medieval Ireland was not isolated from broader Romano-British naming conventions, and that the people commemorated on ogham stones sometimes had names that crossed cultural lines. The stone measures 1.22 metres high by 0.47 metres wide and 0.10 metres deep. It has since been digitally recorded as part of the Ogham in 3D project run by the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, which means detailed records are publicly accessible online at ogham.celt.dias.ie regardless of where the physical stone currently resides.

The present location within Dublin south city is not specified in the available records, which means a visit requires a little preliminary research. The Ogham in 3D project database, searchable under reference CIIC 166, is the most reliable starting point and includes three-dimensional imaging that lets you examine the inscription closely without needing to track down the stone itself. For those who do want to see it in person, reaching out to the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies or consulting the National Monuments Service records would be the sensible next step before making a journey.