Aed mac Conchbair Mac Aodhagáin
Encyclopedia
Aed mac Conchbair Mac Aodhagáin, Irish
bard
, 1330-1359.
Mac Aodhagáin
was a member of a bardic family who originated from Park, in north County Galway
. He was a scribe
of Leabhar Ua Maine
(The Book of Uí Maine), and based in Dún Daighre, (Duniry), County Galway
, and was a ollamh in law for the Clanricarde
. His genealogy was Aed mac Conchbair mac Gilla na Naem mic Duinn Sleibhe Mac Aodhagáin .
He is notable for, along with John Clyn
(fl. 1332-1349), one of the few Irish chroniclers to leave a personal note of the Black Death
. A marginal note in the book states:
Beneath the above note is a second, dated a year later, Christmas night 1351:
He is believed to have attended the great poetic festival held in 1351:
Aed died in 1359, and was noted as "the best of the Brehon
s of Ireland."
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
, 1330-1359.
Mac Aodhagáin
Mac Aodhagáin
Mac Aodhagáin was the name of an Irish family of Brehons who were hereditary lawyers - firstly to the Ó Conchobhair Kings of Connacht, and later to the Burkes of Clanricarde....
was a member of a bardic family who originated from Park, in north County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
. He was a scribe
Scribe
A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession and helps the city keep track of its records. The profession, previously found in all literate cultures in some form, lost most of its importance and status with the advent of printing...
of Leabhar Ua Maine
Leabhar Ua Maine
Leabhar Ua Maine is an Irish genealogical compilation, created c...
(The Book of Uí Maine), and based in Dún Daighre, (Duniry), County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
, and was a ollamh in law for the Clanricarde
Clanricarde
Clanricarde was a term meaning both a territory and a title in Ireland between the 13th and early 20th centuries.-Territory:The territory, in what is now County Galway, Ireland, stretched from the barony of County Clare in the north-west along the borders of County Mayo, to the River Shannon in the...
. His genealogy was Aed mac Conchbair mac Gilla na Naem mic Duinn Sleibhe Mac Aodhagáin .
He is notable for, along with John Clyn
John Clyn
John Clyn of the Friars Minor, Kilkenny, was a 14th century Irish monk and chronicler who lived at the time of the Black Death.-Background:...
(fl. 1332-1349), one of the few Irish chroniclers to leave a personal note of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
. A marginal note in the book states:
"One thousand three hundred and fifty years from the birth of ChristChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
to this night and this is the second year since the coming of the plagueBlack DeathThe Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
to IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. I have written this in the twentieth year of my age. I am Aed mac Conchbair Mac Aodhagáin and whoever reads it let him offer a prayer for my soul. This is ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
night. On this night I place myself under the protection of the king of HeavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, beseeching that he will bring me and my friends safe through this plague and restore us once more to joy and gladness. Aed mac Conchbair Mac Aodhagáin who wrote this in the year of the great plague."
Beneath the above note is a second, dated a year later, Christmas night 1351:
"It is just a year tonight since I wroter the lines on the margin below and if it be God's will, may I reach the anniversary of this night many times, amen."
He is believed to have attended the great poetic festival held in 1351:
"at Christmas by William, the son of Donough Muimhneach O'Kelly, to the learned of Ireland, travellers, the poor and the indigent, and they were all served to their satisfaction, both good and bad, noble and ignoble, so that they were all thankful to him and his son, Melaghlin."
Aed died in 1359, and was noted as "the best of the Brehon
Brehon
Brehon is the term in Gaelic-Irish culture for a judge. The Brehons were part of the system of "Brehon Law". The Brehons wore yellow robes when delivering verdicts. Several dozen families were recognised as hereditary brehon clans.-See also:* Mac an Bhaird...
s of Ireland."
See also
- Redwood CastleRedwood CastleRedwood Castle is a Norman castle in Lorrha, North Tipperary, Ireland.The castle was built by the Normans around 1200 AD, and was occupied by them until c.1350, when the Mac Aodhagáin were installed on the lands.As hereditary Brehons or lawyers, the Mac Aodhagáin clan established a school of...
- Baothghalach Mór Mac AodhagáinBaothghalach Mór Mac AodhagáinBaothghalach Mór Mac Aodhagáin was an Irish poet.Reputedly from Duniry, he was of the Mac Aodhagáin clan of poets. In his lifetime, his family were keepers of Leabhar Breac. His poems were edited by Lambert McKenna in 1939.-References:...
(1550–1600), poet. - Boetius EganBoetius EganBoetius Egan was a Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland.-Biography:Egan was born near Tuam, Ireland, 1734, to a family owning large estates in the County Galway. His family was reduced in position and means, and British penal laws made it then difficult for an Irish...
(1734–1798), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam. - John Egan (Canadian politician)John Egan (Canadian politician)John Egan was an Irish-Canadian businessman and political figure in the Ottawa region.He was born near Aughrim, Ireland, in 1811. He came to Aylmer, Lower Canada, Canada, in 1830. After working with a lumber company on the upper Ottawa River, he entered the business himself near Bytown...
(1811–1857), businessman and politicion. - Tom Egan (Athenry), (died November 1920), murder victim.