In Ireland we don’t have many activities that are well known or uniquely Irish. But one that I certainly loved in school was history, especially early Irish History. Early Irish history is amazing as it combines a lot of unique quirks like the Viking invasion of Ireland, Celtic gods and goddesses (there is a Celtic goddess eriu who’s known to have inspired the word Eirè which in Irish translates to Ireland) and the story of the man who brought potatoes to Ireland from Argentina. One thing that has stood out to me since I was younger was ogham writing. Ogham writing is an early medieval alphabet that was used to primarily write the early Irish language in the 4th century (2300-2400 years ago)

The writing is unique as it is a series of lines inscribed on a standing stone in a continuous line. It is usually written on the outside of the stone and goes from left to right

To write Ogham you will need the following:

• An A4 or A3 sheet of paper
• A pencil
• A rubber/eraser
• Ruler
• Table or desk
• Now it’s time to draw ogham

To draw the Ogham follow these steps

1. Mark a straight line down the middle of the page about as long as you desire
2. Write out your name in plain English or your first language on the right side of the page small or medium sized if your name is long like Brendan/Michelle or short like Zac/Kim adjust the line from step one
3. Look at the alphabet sheet attached and mark the lines with your ruler on the straight line from step one
4. When marking your first initial of your name make sure there is a space of about 3cm between the first letter and second letter
5. Continue until your name is done
6. Well done you have just written ogham and it’s gonna look cool
7. You can frame the ogham or hang it on your wall

Hope you guys have had fun and believe me this is a great way to spend a couple of mins and will make a great gift as it’s unique and one of a kind,

Bríon