Ancient cave wall inscriptions in a remote valley on the Beara Peninsula will come under renewed scrutiny during a local cultural festival next weekend.
The parish of Tuosist, outside Kenmare, in the Co Kerry section of the peninsula, is hosting Eigse Sheain Ui Shuilleabhain, a commemoration of the late scholar and folklorist in his native parish.
As well as the music, song, dance and stories of Beara, a highlight of the programme, for the more energetic among the participants, will be a guided four-hour trek into the desolate Glenrastel Valley to the cave known as Pluais na Scriob. Within it, a rock wall about 20ft long and 9ft high is completely covered in cuneiform writings believed to be a form of ogham, or pre-ogham script dating back millennia.
With the group will be an American expert on Celtic linguistics, Prof Bill Grant, of Edinburgh University, who is to give a talk to the eigse on his attempts to unravel the meaning and origins of the inscriptions on the wall, named locally as Carraig na Scriob.
The Tuosist parish priest, Father Tom Looney, one of the weekend's organisers, says there will be great interest in the theories advanced by Prof Grant, who has already examined the wall.
The mysterious writings have not yet been precisely dated - the parish is seeking grant aid to have an expert forensic geological study carried out - but Prof Grant is believed to have arrived at a preliminary opinion that they could date from between 500BC and AD500. In other words the wall may contain up to 1,000 years of script.
His lecture is in Tuosist parish hall at 9 p.m. on Saturday, and the expedition to the pluais is on Sunday afternoon.
The programme for this, the third annual eigse, also includes workshops on traditional set dancing and on ancient local ballads and stories, as well as social sessions in local pubs. Eoghan O Suilleabhain, of Colaiste Phadraig, Drumcondra, who was born in the parish, will introduce his new colour map of the place names of Tuosist and Adrigole.
The celebration of Beara culture will be opened on Friday evening by the broadcaster Ciaran Mac Mathuna with a bilingual lecture, including recordings from the RTE archives, which will recall his visits to the area collecting traditional music.
Tuosist is an extensive parish which includes three churches, three community centres and two schools with about 100 pupils. A recent report by the local development group attracted considerable attention for its innovative suggestions and its practical approach to the many contemporary problems faced by such an isolated and dispersed rural parish.
The report, Tuosist Facing 2000 - a Profile of a Kerry Parish in the Beara Peninsula, looked at ways of involving the growing numbers of non-nationals living locally in planning.
Visitors seeking to attend the eigse should head for the R571 west of Kenmare. Details of the various events can be had by phoning (064) 83101.