Ogham is an ancient Irish alphabet likely created between the second and fourth centuries AD and is the oldest recorded form of written Irish. Ogham is read from bottom to top, with each notch or series of notches representing a sound in the Irish language. It is most
commonly found written along the edges of standing stones, of which Munster has the highest concentration of documented sites.
Alder (Alnus Glutinosa) is the third consonant of the Ogham Alphabet and the sound equivalent of our letter âFâ. According to an old Irish tradition it was believed that the first man sprang from an alder tree. However despite this the tree was considered unlucky and an ill omen to pass while travelling, possibly due to the colour change
of the wood once felled, which turns from white to a bloodlike red.