"Mention of the use of Ogham frequently occurs in the ancient Irish myths. In the
Immrain Brain or Voyage of Bran, the surviving text of which is dated to the eighth century AD but with the story clearly of pre-Christian origin, Bran son of Febal is said to have written down fifty or sixty quatrains of poety in Ogham. In the
Tain Bo Cuailnge, Cuchulainn writes warnings and challenges to his enemies in Ogham. Druids put down magic incantations and spells in Ogham. In the story of Midir the Proud, a Druid named Dalan informs Eochaidh Airemh that his wife Etain has been carried off to Bri Leigh. He is able to write in Ogham. Thre is clearly a tradtion being demonstrated.
More importantly, in the story of Baile MacBuain we are told of a library of 'rods of Fili' on which ancient stories and sagas are inscribed. The Ogham was cut on bark or on wands of hazel and aspen. These libraries or TEch Screpta are also mentioned in the
Leabhar na Nuachonghbala, the Book of Leinster, compiled about 1150 AD by Fionn Mac Gormain of Glendalough. Certainly such libraries existed from the sixty century AD, following the inroduction of Christianity, but did the Tech Screpta of Ireland exist in pagan times?
A clue exists in the
Leabhar Buidhe Lecain (Yellow Book of Lecan), compiled about 1400 by Giolla Iosa Mor Mac Firbis, containing many earlier texts such as another copy of the
Leabhar na gCeart (Book of Rights), a political treatise on the constitutions of the Irish kingdoms, compiled, it is said in the fifth century AD by Benignus. The work records that Patrick, in his missionary zeal, burned 180 books of the Druids. This destruction of books by the zealous Patrick, adds Mac Firbis, 'set the converted Christians to work in all parts, until in the end all remains of the Druidic superstition were utterly destroyed'. Mac Firbis writes approvingly as a Christian. His work contains much early material copied from the period in which the books were said to have been destroyed. Therefore we can be fairly certain that Mac Firbis was copying contemporary sources. In corroboration of which, in Murchu Moccu Machteni's seventh century AD
Life of Patrick, and repeated in the ninth century AD
Tripartite Life, we hear of Patrick contesting with the Druids at Tara before the High King Laoghaire. The king proposes that one of Patrick's Chrisitan books and a Druidical book be thrown into some water as an ordeal. After a while, the books would be taken out of the water and whichever book remained readable, the owner of that book would be declared purveyor of the truth.
The Irish Christian sources are fairly clear that books existed in Ireland before the arrival of Christianity and that Christian missionaries caused these 'pagan works' to be burnt..." - quoted from "The Druids" by Peter Berresford Ellis (ppg. 164-165)
Me... Burning of pagan and heathen texts, idols and other symbols was a standard course in early Christianity, as taught by our own churches. Anything not Christian was seen as the work of the devil and it was considered a holy act to destroy such works. Given the added presumption in many books on druids, that Rome saw them as the intelligensia and to subdue and destroy them would also subdue the masses, it makes sense to me that these works would have all existed and then been destroyed.