Ogham, the early medieval writing system used mainly between the fourth and seventh centuries, works through a series of notches and strokes cut along a central stemline, often the edge of a stone. This particular stone was found upright in the field, which suggests it may have been set deliberately in the ground, possibly as a grave marker or territorial inscription, though the record does not specify further.

The inscription reads MAILAGNI MAQI GAMATI, carved by a technique described as pocking along the sinister edge of the south face, meaning the left-hand edge when the stone is read upright. In ogham convention, MAQI means "son of", so the text records a man named Mailagni, son of Gamati. These are personal names in Old Irish, and the formula is typical of the commemorative or genealogical function that many ogham stones appear to have served. The stone measures 1.47 metres in height, 0.46 metres in width, and 0.275 metres in depth, dimensions recorded by the scholar R. A. S. Macalister, who catalogued it in 1945 as number 258 in his corpus of Irish ogham inscriptions. Macalister remains the foundational reference for this class of monument, and his measurements have been confirmed in more recent work compiled by Nora White.

For those who want to examine the stone without travelling to County Limerick, a three-dimensional model created by the archaeology department at University College Cork is available through the Sketchfab platform at skfb.ly/MzzG. The model allows close inspection of the pocked lettering, which can be difficult to read on worn sandstone in poor light. Anyone visiting the physical site should be aware that the stone is located on private land beside Ballingarry House, so access would require prior arrangement. The inscription itself is on the south face, and the ogham marks run along the left edge of that face when you stand in front of it.