Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
Encyclopedia
Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh, (ˈd̪ˠʊwəl̪ˠt̪ˠəx mak ˈɪɾʲəvʲɪʃiː) also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius (fl.
1643–January 1671) was an Irish
scribe
, translator
, historian
and genealogist. Active during the years c.1640 to 1671, he was one of the last traditionally trained Irish Gaelic
scholars, and was a member of the Clan MacFhirbhisigh
, a leading family of northern Connacht
. His best-known work is the Leabhar na nGenealach
, which was published in 2004 as The Great Book of Irish Genealogies, more than 300 years after it had been written.
writes:
It's possible that he had received some sort of formal education in Galway
, studying English, Latin and some Greek. This is inferred from his use of all three languages in his works. There is also the possibility that he received additional training at the Mac Aodhagain bardic school located at Ballymacegan, Lough Derg, County Tipperary
, which was run by noted scholar, Flann Mac Aodhagain.
Friends and acquaintances included Flann Mac Aodhagain, John Lynch (Gratianus Lucius)
, Patrick Darcy
, Mary Bonaventure Browne
, Dathi Og O Dubhda, Sir James Ware
, Sir Diarmuid Ó Seachnasaigh, Eoin Ó Gnímh and Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh
. His contemporaries include Peregrine O'Duignan
, Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
, Richard Martyn
, Daibhidh Ó Duibhgheannáin
, Fr. Pádraig Ó Fiannachta, and Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim.
Mac Fhirbhisigh's career as a scholar overlapped with a devastating period of war, famine, and plague in Ireland (the Irish Confederate Wars
of 1641-1653) but, curiously, Mac Fhirbisigh never mentions contemporary politics or events in his works.
. According to a Latin note prefixed to the manuscript, it was made for Rev. Dr. John Lynch
, then Archdeacon of Tuam
. It may also have being in 1643 that he transcribed Beatha Neimheadh Deidheanach (a legal tract) and the Chronicon Scotorum
. Both of these may have being further copies made by Mac Fhirbhisigh at the behest of John Lynch.
, where in April 1645 he completed a transcription of the seventy page historical-genealogical compilation called Seanchas Síl Ír. His source can be shown to be the late 14th century manuscript called The Book of Uí Mhaine (also known as the Book of Ó Dubhagáin). Dubhaltach's very faithful transcript is especially valuable as four of the original fourteen folios have since been lost.
, Abbess of the Order of the Poor Clares in Galway. The initial section had been copied by Brother Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
in 1636, and it was left to Mac Fhirbhisigh to complete it. He states in a note that his place of writing was the "College of Galway", most probably the college-house of the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, Galway. The college house was demolished in 1836, though the church itself is still in regular use. The Poor Clares are now based on Nun's Island in Galway city centre.
, Leabhar na nGenealach
, or the Book of Genealogies. Nollaig Ó Muraíle
describes it as "a compilation of Irish genealogical lore relating to the principal Gaelic and Anglo-Norman families of Ireland and covering the period from pre-Christian times to the mid-17th century and collected from a variety of sources." The fact that many of these sources no longer exist adds considerably to the value of Mac Fhirbhisigh's work. This is particularly true of items held at Lackan by the Mac Fhirbhisigh's.
It is not known how long Dubhaltach spent collecting the necessary materials and planning the book's layout. Nor is it known when he commenced writing; he does note that on the "13 April, in Galway, 1649," he had completed a fifty page tract on the genealogies of the Ui Bhruin down to "do shlioch Brian mc Eathach Muighmheadhoin/the lineage of Brian son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin." That August saw him complete a catalogue of the Kings of Ireland, from Parthalón to Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair
, entitled Réim Ríoghraidhe Éireann. He names the source of this material as Leabhar Airisean Fhearghail Uí Ghadhra, an alternative name for the Annals of the Four Masters
. Exactly how this work reached Galway has never being explained.
Réim Ríoghraidhe Éireann was completed on 8 August 1649, just as the Bubonic plague
entered Galway on a Spanish ship. Over the next nine months it killed some three thousand seven hundred of the town's inhabitants. Of Dubhaltach's whereabouts and activities in this period, Ó Muraíle has the following to say:
In fact Dubhaltach's only remark thought to be connected with this time is what Ó Muraíle calles a "breathtaking understatement" that Dubhaltach writes in the Díonbhrollach (preface):
With most of the text compiled, Dubhaltach added an index of just under three thousand entries, an index being rare in a Gaelic manuscript. This was completed on the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December 1650) just as English parliamentary forces, completing the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
, crossed the Shannon
. In July, these forces, under Sir Charles Coote, began a nine month siege
of Galway which ended in the town's surrender in April 1652. As in earlier periods of his life, Dubhaltach's activities in this period are unknown.
In July 1653 at an unknown location, perhaps still in County Galway
, he added further material, along with a separate index to the book's list of Saint's pedigrees. Ó Muraíle identifies one of his probable sources for this material as "one of two early-12th-century manuscript-recensions of the work known as the Irish Liber Hynorum, while another was the great early-15th-century manuscript now known as the Leabhar Breac (formerly Leabhar More Duna Daighre)." As the latter seems to have been held during the length of the 17th century at the Franciscan convent of Ceineal Fheichin, Abby, County Galway
, it may hold a clue to Mac Fhirbhisigh's location at some point after the fall of Galway.
In October 1657 - on a Sunday - Dubhaltach was writing in Sligo
town, beside the ruined Dominican Abbey. His presence there was in direct contravention of a Cromwellian edict that forbade Catholics to approach or enter towns such as Sligo. Added to that, his working on a Sunday would have further aroused Puritan
ire. His labour was adding further material to Leabhar na nGenealach from manuscripts no longer extant. The tracts included Séanadh Saighre and Do Fhorshloinntibh Éireann. After this he disappears until around 1662 when it is named in an official report as liable to pay hearth-tax for a dwelling in Castletown, just a few miles north of his native Lackan. Also around this time, he is mentioned in print for the only time in his life, in Cambrensis Eversus, by John Lynch
.
, providing him with English translations of parts of certain Irish tracts. These included extracts from the Annals of Inisfallen
and the Annals of Tigernach
for the years 1174-1281 and 1172–1178, respectively. From the archives of the Clan MacFhirbhisigh he drew upon documents and sources to write a tract, in English, on early and medieval Irish bishops. Few of his sources are now in existence. Much of this was used for Ware's final work, De Praesulibus Hiberniae, a history of Irish bishops published in 1665.
, an ambitious, revised abridgement (or in Irish, cumire) of Leabhar na nGenealach. He continued work on the project into the summer but it is not known if he ever completed it as the original was lost and two surviving copies appear incomplete.
, seeking patronage from Diarmuid Ó Seachnasaigh (Sir Dermot O Shaughnessey), as indicated by a poem he apparently composed in 1667. It is thought that also in this year or shortly after he obtained a copy of the important early Irish law tract, Senchas Már. It seems he also travelled to Larne
in County Antrim
, seeking patronage from Randall MacDonnell, Marquess of Antrim. Here it seems he left or sold about twelve or more manuscripts to a local bard, Eoin Ó Gnímh.
Nothing more is known of Mac Fhirbhisigh until January 1671, when his friend, Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh
, noted in a manuscript: "1670/1 mense Janu: Dualdus Firbisius obiit, a Thoma Croftono occisus." Mac Fhirbhisigh was stabbed to death by local man, Thomas Crofton, at a shebeen near the village of Skreen
, County Sligo. The precise circumstances leading to his death have never been determined, though tradition relates that Crofton killed Mac Fhirbhisigh when the latter was defending a maid. He appears to have being buried at his local church, Kilglass (Cill Molaise).
- as noted by Edward Lhuyd
- Dubhaltach's manuscripts passed on his death to his lord, David O Dowd. Ó Flaithbheartaigh himself obtained Dubhaltach's transcript of Chronicum Scotorum. William O Sullivan believed that his law manuscripts were passed on to John Conry via the library of Tadhg O'Roddy.
In 1702 Dubhaltach's genealogical works were in the possession of merchant and part-time scribe, Henry MacCarrick of Sligo. Leabhar na nGenealach was in this possession till 1705, while the Cuimre disappears after 1706, fate unknown (there exists a possibility that it was in the possession of Richard Tipper of Dublin, scribe, in the years 1710-30, as he made a copy of it).
Leabhar na nGenealach next came into the hands of Seamus Bacach Mag Uidhir of An Leargaidh (Dowra
-Blacklion
area) who made a copy in 1715-July 1716 at Stranamart, north-west County Cavan
. It is of poor value overall. A transcript of Réim Ríoghraidhe Éireann was made by him at Doobally in 1713. It next appeared in Dublin, held by John Conry, who penned extracts from it on the 24 July 1723. He may have obtained it from the library of Tadhg O Rodaighe (Thady Roddy of Crossfield, County Leitrim
). It was sold in 1731 to Dr. John Fergus (Eoin O Fearghusa) of Jervis Street, Dublin, though originally from County Mayo
. Dr. Fergus also acquired the anonymous copy of the Cuimre. Following his death and that of his son, Dr. Fergus's daughter put his extensive library up for auction at their home in Abbey Street, Dublin, on the 3 February 1766. Leabhar na nGenealach was purchased by Robert Jocelyn ( who became 1st Earl of Roden
in 1771) for £7.1.0. For much of the next hundred and fifty years it was placed at the Jocelyn family home of Tollymore House
, Newcastle
, County Down
, who were in part descended through a female line from the local Magennis
clan.
During this time extensive use of Leabhar na nGenealach was made by Charles O'Conor
(1770s), Thady Connellan
(1830s), John O'Donovan
(MacCarrick's version) and Eugene O'Curry
, who transcribed in between March 1836 and February 1837. Upon the death of the 6th Earl of Roden in 1911, it was included in a list of items sold to cover his death duties. The auction was held at Sotheby's
of London
on the 10 November 1911, and the manuscript was purchased by Dublin physician, Michael F. Cox, for £79.00. Dr. Cox died on the 20 February 1926 and his son, Dublin solicitor Arthur Cox
, oversaw his father's bequest of the manuscript to University College Dublin
on the 23 March 1926, "to be perpetually preserved in its library." During the 20th century it was consulted by several scholars such as Eoin MacNeill
, Eleanor Knott, Michael V. Duignan, Toirdehealbhach O Raithbhearthaigh, Margaret Emmeline Dobbs and most especially by Father Paul Walsh
. In 1971 study of it commenced by Mayoman Nollaig Ó Muraíle
, a process that ended with its publication in five volume by De Burca books in 2004.
In 1842, a letter (dated 15 August 1842, Dublin) was received by the Royal Irish Academy
from one John Mac Firbis, a farmer, "in a humble state of poverty," from the parish of Lackan, County Sligo. He stated that he was "fifth in descent from the younger and only brother [sic] of Duald Mac Firbis," that, "the sisters of the said Duald ... retired into Spain, where they ended their lives in a convent." Having been informed that works by Dubhaltach and his family were in the possession of the R.I.A., Mac Firbis stated that he "humbly hopes, from the honor and humanity of the Noblemen and Gentlemen composing the Royal Irish Academy, that he will be allowed some consideration for those works of his ancestors." Mac Firbis is listed as John Forbes in the 1834 Tithe Allotments but there is no trace of him or his family in the 1856 Griffith's Evaluations. O Muralie suggests that as the letter was written in Dublin, Mac Firbis and his family may have being seeking financial aid while emigrating from Ireland.
Under the Anglicised surname Forbes, descendants of the Clan MacFhirbhisigh
are still to be found in small numbers in north Mayo, mainly in and about the town of Ballina
.
. Yet it is especially astonishing as it was written by just one man, without any known patron, while the Four Masters was written by a team funded by Feargal O'Gara.
Yet even beyond this, his importance as a collector and transmitter as been noted by the likes of William O Sullivan and Tomas O Concheannain. Nollaig Ó Muraíle sums up his career as follows:
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1643–January 1671) was an Irish
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...
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...
, translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and genealogist. Active during the years c.1640 to 1671, he was one of the last traditionally trained Irish Gaelic
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
scholars, and was a member of the Clan MacFhirbhisigh
Clan MacFhirbhisigh
Mac Fhirbhisigh was the surname of a family of Irish hereditary historians based for much of their known history at Leckan, Tireagh, Co. Sligo. They claimed descent from Dathí , said to be one of the last pagan Kings of Connacht, and were thus one of the many families who sprang from the Uí...
, a leading family of northern Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
. His best-known work is the Leabhar na nGenealach
Leabhar na nGenealach
Leabhar na nGenealach is a massive genealogical collection written mainly in the years 1649 to 1650, at the college-house of St. Nicholas's church, Galway, by Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh. He continued to add material until at least 1666, five years before he was murdered in 1671...
, which was published in 2004 as The Great Book of Irish Genealogies, more than 300 years after it had been written.
Family and education
MacFhirbhisigh was most likely born at the family castle, in the parish of Lackan, Tireragh, County Sligo, sometime in the first quarter of the 17th century. He was originally known as Dubhaltach Og ("young Dubhaltach") to distinguish him from his grandfather, Dubhaltach Mór ("big Dubhaltach"). He was the eldest of four sons born to Giolla Iosa Mor Mac Fhirbhisigh and an unnamed daughter of Eoghan Gruamadha Mac Diarmada of the Sliocht Cormaic Oig Mac Diarmada of Tireagh. It is unknown if he, himself was married or had children. On page nine of his Introduction to The Great Book of Irish Genealogies, Nollaig Ó MuraíleNollaig Ó Muraíle
Nollaig Ó Muraíle is an Irish scholar. He published an acclaimed edition of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's Leabhar na nGenealach in 2004. He was conferred with the honour of admittance to the Royal Irish Academy in 2009.-Life and career:...
writes:
It's possible that he had received some sort of formal education in Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
, studying English, Latin and some Greek. This is inferred from his use of all three languages in his works. There is also the possibility that he received additional training at the Mac Aodhagain bardic school located at Ballymacegan, Lough Derg, County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
, which was run by noted scholar, Flann Mac Aodhagain.
Friends and acquaintances included Flann Mac Aodhagain, John Lynch (Gratianus Lucius)
John Lynch (Gratianus Lucius)
John Lynch, pseudonym Gratianus Lucius, D.D., was an Irish Roman Catholic priest, known as a historian and Archdeacon of Tuam.-Life:...
, Patrick Darcy
Patrick Darcy
Patrick Darcy is the name of:* Patrick D'Arcy , Irish nationalist* Pat Darcy , American baseball player...
, Mary Bonaventure Browne
Mary Bonaventure Browne
Mother Mary Bonaventure Browne, Poor Clare and Irish historian, born after 1610, died after 1670.-Background:A daughter of Andrew Browne fitz Oliver, a wealthy merchant and a member of The Tribes of Galway. She was a niece of Martin Browne, whose townhouse doorway, the Browne doorway, now stands in...
, Dathi Og O Dubhda, Sir James Ware
Sir James Ware
Sir James Ware was an Irish historian.-Early life:Born at Castle Street, Dublin, Ware was the eldest son of James Ware, who arrived in Ireland in 1588 as a secretary to Lord Deputy FitzWilliam. His father was knighted by King James I, was elected M.P...
, Sir Diarmuid Ó Seachnasaigh, Eoin Ó Gnímh and Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh
Ruaidhri Ó Flaithbheartaigh
Ruaidhri Ó Flaithbheartaigh, King of Iar Connacht and Chief of the Name, fl. 1244-1273.-Biography:Ruaidhri was a brother of the preceding chief, Morogh...
. His contemporaries include Peregrine O'Duignan
Peregrine O'Duignan
Peregrine O'Duignan was an Irish clergyman and historian.Born Cú Coigriche mac Tuathal Ó Duibhgeannain, presumably about or after 1590, his name was Latinized to Pereginus when he took holy orders in the Franciscan Order based at Leuven...
, Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh , sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the Annals of the Four Masters, assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Peregrinus Ó Duibhgeannain.-Background and early life:Grandson of Tuathal...
, Richard Martyn
Richard Martyn
Richard Martyn was a leading figure in early New Hampshire, in business, church and government.Martyn was a merchant, and in 1671, he was one of the founders of the first church in Portsmouth. He served as Selectman, as Commissioner for the Trial of Small Causes, and as Deputy to the General...
, Daibhidh Ó Duibhgheannáin
Daibhidh Ó Duibhgheannáin
Dáibhídh Ó Duibhgeannáin Dáibhídh mac Matthew Glas Ó Duibhgeannáin, or Dáibhídh Bacach as he sometimes called himself, was an active scribe, compiler and poet between the years 1651 and 1696. In the earliest of his known works, Royal Irish Academy Ms...
, Fr. Pádraig Ó Fiannachta, and Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim.
Mac Fhirbhisigh's career as a scholar overlapped with a devastating period of war, famine, and plague in Ireland (the Irish Confederate Wars
Irish Confederate Wars
This article is concerned with the military history of Ireland from 1641-53. For the political context of this conflict, see Confederate Ireland....
of 1641-1653) but, curiously, Mac Fhirbisigh never mentions contemporary politics or events in his works.
Emergence in 1643
The first certain date that can be associated with Dubhaltach is 5 May 1643, when he was situated at Ballymacegan translating the ancient glossary Duil Laithne ("the book of Latin"). In that year he transcribed from an old Mac Aodhagan manuscript what is now known as the Fragmentary Annals of IrelandFragmentary Annals of Ireland
The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland are a Middle Irish combination of chronicle from various Irish annals and narrative history. They were compiled in the kingdom of Osraige, probably in the lifetime of Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic , king of Osraige and of king of Leinster.The Fragmentary Annals were...
. According to a Latin note prefixed to the manuscript, it was made for Rev. Dr. John Lynch
John Lynch (Gratianus Lucius)
John Lynch, pseudonym Gratianus Lucius, D.D., was an Irish Roman Catholic priest, known as a historian and Archdeacon of Tuam.-Life:...
, then Archdeacon of Tuam
Tuam
Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...
. It may also have being in 1643 that he transcribed Beatha Neimheadh Deidheanach (a legal tract) and the Chronicon Scotorum
Chronicon Scotorum
Chronicon Scotorum is a medieval Irish chronicle.According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is "a collection of annals belonging to the 'Clonmacnoise group', covering the period from prehistoric times to 1150 but with some gaps, closely related to the 'Annals of Tigernach'...
. Both of these may have being further copies made by Mac Fhirbhisigh at the behest of John Lynch.
Seanchas Síl Ír
At some point between 1643 and early 1645, Dubhaltach moved to the town of GalwayGalway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
, where in April 1645 he completed a transcription of the seventy page historical-genealogical compilation called Seanchas Síl Ír. His source can be shown to be the late 14th century manuscript called The Book of Uí Mhaine (also known as the Book of Ó Dubhagáin). Dubhaltach's very faithful transcript is especially valuable as four of the original fourteen folios have since been lost.
Work for the Poor Clares
On 8 December 1647 Dubhaltach noted that he had completed the translation - from English into Irish - of part of one book and all of a second concerning the Rule of St. Clare, and related matters. This translation was commissioned by Mother Mary Bonaventure BrowneMary Bonaventure Browne
Mother Mary Bonaventure Browne, Poor Clare and Irish historian, born after 1610, died after 1670.-Background:A daughter of Andrew Browne fitz Oliver, a wealthy merchant and a member of The Tribes of Galway. She was a niece of Martin Browne, whose townhouse doorway, the Browne doorway, now stands in...
, Abbess of the Order of the Poor Clares in Galway. The initial section had been copied by Brother Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh , sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the Annals of the Four Masters, assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Peregrinus Ó Duibhgeannain.-Background and early life:Grandson of Tuathal...
in 1636, and it was left to Mac Fhirbhisigh to complete it. He states in a note that his place of writing was the "College of Galway", most probably the college-house of the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, Galway. The college house was demolished in 1836, though the church itself is still in regular use. The Poor Clares are now based on Nun's Island in Galway city centre.
Leabhar na nGenealach
In April 1649 Mac Fhirbhisigh was working on what would come to be considered his magnum opusMasterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....
, Leabhar na nGenealach
Leabhar na nGenealach
Leabhar na nGenealach is a massive genealogical collection written mainly in the years 1649 to 1650, at the college-house of St. Nicholas's church, Galway, by Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh. He continued to add material until at least 1666, five years before he was murdered in 1671...
, or the Book of Genealogies. Nollaig Ó Muraíle
Nollaig Ó Muraíle
Nollaig Ó Muraíle is an Irish scholar. He published an acclaimed edition of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's Leabhar na nGenealach in 2004. He was conferred with the honour of admittance to the Royal Irish Academy in 2009.-Life and career:...
describes it as "a compilation of Irish genealogical lore relating to the principal Gaelic and Anglo-Norman families of Ireland and covering the period from pre-Christian times to the mid-17th century and collected from a variety of sources." The fact that many of these sources no longer exist adds considerably to the value of Mac Fhirbhisigh's work. This is particularly true of items held at Lackan by the Mac Fhirbhisigh's.
It is not known how long Dubhaltach spent collecting the necessary materials and planning the book's layout. Nor is it known when he commenced writing; he does note that on the "13 April, in Galway, 1649," he had completed a fifty page tract on the genealogies of the Ui Bhruin down to "do shlioch Brian mc Eathach Muighmheadhoin/the lineage of Brian son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin." That August saw him complete a catalogue of the Kings of Ireland, from Parthalón to Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair
Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair
Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair , often anglicised Rory O'Connor, reigned as King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and from 1166 to 1198 was the last High King before the Norman invasion of Ireland .Ruaidrí was one of over twenty sons of King...
, entitled Réim Ríoghraidhe Éireann. He names the source of this material as Leabhar Airisean Fhearghail Uí Ghadhra, an alternative name for the Annals of the Four Masters
Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
. Exactly how this work reached Galway has never being explained.
Réim Ríoghraidhe Éireann was completed on 8 August 1649, just as the Bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
entered Galway on a Spanish ship. Over the next nine months it killed some three thousand seven hundred of the town's inhabitants. Of Dubhaltach's whereabouts and activities in this period, Ó Muraíle has the following to say:
In fact Dubhaltach's only remark thought to be connected with this time is what Ó Muraíle calles a "breathtaking understatement" that Dubhaltach writes in the Díonbhrollach (preface):
With most of the text compiled, Dubhaltach added an index of just under three thousand entries, an index being rare in a Gaelic manuscript. This was completed on the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December 1650) just as English parliamentary forces, completing the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
, crossed the Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
. In July, these forces, under Sir Charles Coote, began a nine month siege
Siege of Galway
The Siege of Galway took place from August 1651 to May 1652 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Galway was the last city held by Irish Catholic forces in Ireland and its fall signalled the end to most organised resistance to the Parliamentarian conquest of the country.The English...
of Galway which ended in the town's surrender in April 1652. As in earlier periods of his life, Dubhaltach's activities in this period are unknown.
In July 1653 at an unknown location, perhaps still in 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 added further material, along with a separate index to the book's list of Saint's pedigrees. Ó Muraíle identifies one of his probable sources for this material as "one of two early-12th-century manuscript-recensions of the work known as the Irish Liber Hynorum, while another was the great early-15th-century manuscript now known as the Leabhar Breac (formerly Leabhar More Duna Daighre)." As the latter seems to have been held during the length of the 17th century at the Franciscan convent of Ceineal Fheichin, Abby, 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...
, it may hold a clue to Mac Fhirbhisigh's location at some point after the fall of Galway.
1656 to 1662
In April 1656, Dubhaltach acted as a witness to his hereditary lord, Dathi Og O Dubhda (David O Dowd) upon his marriage to Dorothy O Down. He may have drafted the "Articles of Agreement" or marriage articles, in English. Two other Mac Fhirbihisgh's, his brother Seamus and cousin Myles, are also listed as witnesses. In the same year he compiled a work on legendary Irish authors. It is now lost apart from a partial copy begun in May 1657. The final part of it, comprising about a third of the total, was only completed in the spring of 1666.In October 1657 - on a Sunday - Dubhaltach was writing in Sligo
Sligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
town, beside the ruined Dominican Abbey. His presence there was in direct contravention of a Cromwellian edict that forbade Catholics to approach or enter towns such as Sligo. Added to that, his working on a Sunday would have further aroused Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
ire. His labour was adding further material to Leabhar na nGenealach from manuscripts no longer extant. The tracts included Séanadh Saighre and Do Fhorshloinntibh Éireann. After this he disappears until around 1662 when it is named in an official report as liable to pay hearth-tax for a dwelling in Castletown, just a few miles north of his native Lackan. Also around this time, he is mentioned in print for the only time in his life, in Cambrensis Eversus, by John Lynch
John Lynch (Gratianus Lucius)
John Lynch, pseudonym Gratianus Lucius, D.D., was an Irish Roman Catholic priest, known as a historian and Archdeacon of Tuam.-Life:...
.
Sir James Ware
During 1665 and 1666, Dubhaltach was employed in Dublin by Sir James WareSir James Ware
Sir James Ware was an Irish historian.-Early life:Born at Castle Street, Dublin, Ware was the eldest son of James Ware, who arrived in Ireland in 1588 as a secretary to Lord Deputy FitzWilliam. His father was knighted by King James I, was elected M.P...
, providing him with English translations of parts of certain Irish tracts. These included extracts from the Annals of Inisfallen
Annals of Inisfallen
The Annals of Inisfallen are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between AD 433 and AD 1450, but it is believed to have been written between the 12th and 15th centuries...
and the Annals of Tigernach
Annals of Tigernach
The Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish....
for the years 1174-1281 and 1172–1178, respectively. From the archives of the Clan MacFhirbhisigh he drew upon documents and sources to write a tract, in English, on early and medieval Irish bishops. Few of his sources are now in existence. Much of this was used for Ware's final work, De Praesulibus Hiberniae, a history of Irish bishops published in 1665.
Cuimre na nGenealach
The following spring Mac Fhirbhisigh had returned home to Tireragh. On St. Patrick's Day he began compiling a catalogue, in Irish, of early Bishops and extinct Irish bishoprics. On Monday 2 April 1666 he began work on the Cuimre na nGenealachCuimre na nGenealach
Cuimre na nGenealach is an abridgment of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's Leabhar na nGenealach, written at his home in County Sligo in the spring and summer of 1666.-Origins and background:...
, an ambitious, revised abridgement (or in Irish, cumire) of Leabhar na nGenealach. He continued work on the project into the summer but it is not known if he ever completed it as the original was lost and two surviving copies appear incomplete.
Return to Dublin
Mac Fhirbhisigh had returned to work for Ware in Dublin by early November. On the 6 November 1666 he commenced a translation, into English, of part of the Annals of Lackan. This work too is lost, and his translation of the years 1443-68 is almost all that survives of a work compiled by members of his own family since before 1397. With the death of Sir James on the 1 December, Dubhaltach's employment and time in Dublin came to an end.Final years and death
After the death of Sir James, Mac Fhirbhisigh may have travelled to GortGort
Gort is a town in south County Galway in the west of Ireland. An Gort is the official Irish name for the town, as defined by the Placenames Commission. In spoken Irish, however, the town is known by its traditional name Gort Inse Guaire. It lies just north of the border with County Clare on the...
, seeking patronage from Diarmuid Ó Seachnasaigh (Sir Dermot O Shaughnessey), as indicated by a poem he apparently composed in 1667. It is thought that also in this year or shortly after he obtained a copy of the important early Irish law tract, Senchas Már. It seems he also travelled to Larne
Larne
Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
in County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, seeking patronage from Randall MacDonnell, Marquess of Antrim. Here it seems he left or sold about twelve or more manuscripts to a local bard, Eoin Ó Gnímh.
Nothing more is known of Mac Fhirbhisigh until January 1671, when his friend, Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh
Ruaidhri Ó Flaithbheartaigh
Ruaidhri Ó Flaithbheartaigh, King of Iar Connacht and Chief of the Name, fl. 1244-1273.-Biography:Ruaidhri was a brother of the preceding chief, Morogh...
, noted in a manuscript: "1670/1 mense Janu: Dualdus Firbisius obiit, a Thoma Croftono occisus." Mac Fhirbhisigh was stabbed to death by local man, Thomas Crofton, at a shebeen near the village of Skreen
Skreen
Skreen is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. It is the birthplace of the poet Thady Connellan and the mathematician and physicist Sir George Gabriel Stokes . It shares its name with a village in County Meath which is locally spelt Skryne.- External links :* -See also:*List of towns and villages...
, County Sligo. The precise circumstances leading to his death have never been determined, though tradition relates that Crofton killed Mac Fhirbhisigh when the latter was defending a maid. He appears to have being buried at his local church, Kilglass (Cill Molaise).
Fate of his manuscripts
According to Ruaidhrí Ó FlaithbheartaighRuaidhri Ó Flaithbheartaigh
Ruaidhri Ó Flaithbheartaigh, King of Iar Connacht and Chief of the Name, fl. 1244-1273.-Biography:Ruaidhri was a brother of the preceding chief, Morogh...
- as noted by Edward Lhuyd
Edward Lhuyd
Edward Lhuyd was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also known by the Latinized form of his name, Eduardus Luidius....
- Dubhaltach's manuscripts passed on his death to his lord, David O Dowd. Ó Flaithbheartaigh himself obtained Dubhaltach's transcript of Chronicum Scotorum. William O Sullivan believed that his law manuscripts were passed on to John Conry via the library of Tadhg O'Roddy.
In 1702 Dubhaltach's genealogical works were in the possession of merchant and part-time scribe, Henry MacCarrick of Sligo. Leabhar na nGenealach was in this possession till 1705, while the Cuimre disappears after 1706, fate unknown (there exists a possibility that it was in the possession of Richard Tipper of Dublin, scribe, in the years 1710-30, as he made a copy of it).
Leabhar na nGenealach next came into the hands of Seamus Bacach Mag Uidhir of An Leargaidh (Dowra
Dowra
Dowra is a small village in northwest County Cavan, Ireland. It is the first village on, and marks the most uppermost navigable point of, the River Shannon. On one side of its bridge is County Cavan; on the other is County Leitrim...
-Blacklion
Blacklion
Blacklion is a border village in west County Cavan, Ireland. It is situated on the N16 national primary road, just across the border from the County Fermanagh village of Belcoo.- History :The village is within the townland of Tuam...
area) who made a copy in 1715-July 1716 at Stranamart, north-west County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
. It is of poor value overall. A transcript of Réim Ríoghraidhe Éireann was made by him at Doobally in 1713. It next appeared in Dublin, held by John Conry, who penned extracts from it on the 24 July 1723. He may have obtained it from the library of Tadhg O Rodaighe (Thady Roddy of Crossfield, County Leitrim
County Leitrim
County Leitrim 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 village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...
). It was sold in 1731 to Dr. John Fergus (Eoin O Fearghusa) of Jervis Street, Dublin, though originally from County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo 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 village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
. Dr. Fergus also acquired the anonymous copy of the Cuimre. Following his death and that of his son, Dr. Fergus's daughter put his extensive library up for auction at their home in Abbey Street, Dublin, on the 3 February 1766. Leabhar na nGenealach was purchased by Robert Jocelyn ( who became 1st Earl of Roden
Earl of Roden
Earl of Roden is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1771 for Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Viscount Jocelyn. This branch of the Jocelyn family descends from the 1st Viscount, prominent Irish lawyer and politician Robert Jocelyn, the son of Thomas Jocelyn, third son of Sir Robert Jocelyn,...
in 1771) for £7.1.0. For much of the next hundred and fifty years it was placed at the Jocelyn family home of Tollymore House
Tollymore Forest Park
Tollymore Forest Park was the first state forest park in Northern Ireland, established on the 2 June 1955. It is located at Bryansford, near the town of Newcastle. Covering an area of at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, the forest park offers panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and the...
, Newcastle
Newcastle, County Down
Newcastle is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 7,444 people recorded in the 2001 Census. The seaside resort lies on the Irish Sea coast at the base of Slieve Donard, one of the Mourne Mountains, and is known for its sandy beach and the Royal County Down Golf Club...
, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
, who were in part descended through a female line from the local Magennis
Magennis
Magennis is an Irish surname, derived from or the Sons of Angus, sometimes also spelt as Maginnis. The most famous branch controlled west County Down, particularly the Iveagh baronies, and occasionally Dundrum Castle to the east. The Magennis, Lords of Iveagh, are descendants of the Uí Echach Cobo...
clan.
During this time extensive use of Leabhar na nGenealach was made by Charles O'Conor
Charles O'Conor (historian)
Charles O'Conor Don, The O'Conor Don, Prince of Connacht of Belanagare was an Irish writer and antiquarian who was enormously influential as a protagonist for the preservation of Irish culture and history in the eighteenth century...
(1770s), Thady Connellan
Thady Connellan
Thady Connellan was an Irish school-teacher, poet and historian.-Life:He was born in Skreen, County Sligo, and was a relative of the scholar Owen Connellan. He started a school of his own, but had more success when he became principal of a school established by Albert Blest, a Baptist, in...
(1830s), John O'Donovan
John O'Donovan (scholar)
John O'Donovan , from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford, was an Irish language scholar from Ireland.-Life:...
(MacCarrick's version) and Eugene O'Curry
Eugene O'Curry
-Life:He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and his wife Cáit. Eoghan had spent some time as a travelling pedlar and had developed an interest in Irish folklore and music. Unusually for someone of his background, he appears to have been...
, who transcribed in between March 1836 and February 1837. Upon the death of the 6th Earl of Roden in 1911, it was included in a list of items sold to cover his death duties. The auction was held at Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on the 10 November 1911, and the manuscript was purchased by Dublin physician, Michael F. Cox, for £79.00. Dr. Cox died on the 20 February 1926 and his son, Dublin solicitor Arthur Cox
Arthur Cox
Arthur Cox , is a British actor of television and film.His most regular role was as George, the driver of Jim Hacker in the comedy Yes Minister. His other television credits include The Avengers, Terry and June, and Harbour Lights...
, oversaw his father's bequest of the manuscript to University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
on the 23 March 1926, "to be perpetually preserved in its library." During the 20th century it was consulted by several scholars such as Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, nationalist, revolutionary and politician. MacNeill is regarded as the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history. He was a co-founder of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture, going on to establish the Irish Volunteers...
, Eleanor Knott, Michael V. Duignan, Toirdehealbhach O Raithbhearthaigh, Margaret Emmeline Dobbs and most especially by Father Paul Walsh
Paul Walsh
Paul Anthony Walsh is a retired English footballer.Walsh was a diminutive and pacy centre forward who shot to fame in the 1980s during spells with Charlton, Luton, Liverpool and Tottenham.-Charlton Athletic:...
. In 1971 study of it commenced by Mayoman Nollaig Ó Muraíle
Nollaig Ó Muraíle
Nollaig Ó Muraíle is an Irish scholar. He published an acclaimed edition of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's Leabhar na nGenealach in 2004. He was conferred with the honour of admittance to the Royal Irish Academy in 2009.-Life and career:...
, a process that ended with its publication in five volume by De Burca books in 2004.
Personal life
There are no substantial surviving details of Dubhaltach's personal life. It is unknown if he married or ever had children. His brothers were Padraig (fl. 1663), Diarmaid, and Seamus (fl. 1656) but no sisters are mentioned. Nor does he record the year his father died, or even his mother's name. During the 1690s, one "Dudley Forbissy, Ardneere, clerk, commonly called Prior of the Abbey of Ardnaree" appears on a list of persons "Outlawed for Foreign Treason". However, the precise identity of this Father Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh of the Order of St. Augustine is not known.In 1842, a letter (dated 15 August 1842, Dublin) was received by the Royal Irish Academy
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
from one John Mac Firbis, a farmer, "in a humble state of poverty," from the parish of Lackan, County Sligo. He stated that he was "fifth in descent from the younger and only brother [sic] of Duald Mac Firbis," that, "the sisters of the said Duald ... retired into Spain, where they ended their lives in a convent." Having been informed that works by Dubhaltach and his family were in the possession of the R.I.A., Mac Firbis stated that he "humbly hopes, from the honor and humanity of the Noblemen and Gentlemen composing the Royal Irish Academy, that he will be allowed some consideration for those works of his ancestors." Mac Firbis is listed as John Forbes in the 1834 Tithe Allotments but there is no trace of him or his family in the 1856 Griffith's Evaluations. O Muralie suggests that as the letter was written in Dublin, Mac Firbis and his family may have being seeking financial aid while emigrating from Ireland.
Under the Anglicised surname Forbes, descendants of the Clan MacFhirbhisigh
Clan MacFhirbhisigh
Mac Fhirbhisigh was the surname of a family of Irish hereditary historians based for much of their known history at Leckan, Tireagh, Co. Sligo. They claimed descent from Dathí , said to be one of the last pagan Kings of Connacht, and were thus one of the many families who sprang from the Uí...
are still to be found in small numbers in north Mayo, mainly in and about the town of Ballina
Ballina, County Mayo
Ballina is a large town in north County Mayo in Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountain range to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west...
.
Legacy
MacFhirbhisigh's endeavours ensured the survival of several invaluably important sources of medieval and early Irish history. These include three annals, an early Irish law tract, material on ecclesiastical matters, and translations. His supreme achievement however remains Leabhar na nGenealach, which together with the Cuimre, is comparable in size and scope to the Annals of the Four MastersAnnals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
. Yet it is especially astonishing as it was written by just one man, without any known patron, while the Four Masters was written by a team funded by Feargal O'Gara.
Yet even beyond this, his importance as a collector and transmitter as been noted by the likes of William O Sullivan and Tomas O Concheannain. Nollaig Ó Muraíle sums up his career as follows:
Writings by Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
The following list appears in Appendix B, pages 370-71 of "The Learned Antiquary."- c.1640: Chronicum Scotorum, T.C.D. H.1.18 (except last four pp.) (Hennessey 1866).
- 1643: Duil Laithne, Trinity College,Dublin Ms 1317 H.2.15B (stokes 1872; Meyer 1909; MacAlister 1935). Fragmentary Annals of Ireland [autograph lost; copy in Bibliotheque Royale, Brussels, MS 5301-20]. (O'Donovan 1860; Radner 1978.). Bretha Nemed DéidenachBretha Nemed DéidenachBretha Nemed Déidenach is the late title of an Early Irish law text dating from the eighth century.-Overview:Bretha Nemed Déidenach is one of the two principal surviving remnants of the celebrated Old Irish Bretha Nemed law "school", believed to have been composed early in the eighth century in...
, T.C.D. H.2.15B (Gwynn 1942; D. A. BinchyD. A. BinchyDaniel Anthony Binchy was a scholar of Irish linguistics and Early Irish law.From 1919-20 he was Auditor of the Literary and Historical Society...
1978). Miscellaneous items, portions of glossaries, notes, emendations, etc. T.C.D H.2.15B. Draft "Early Irish Law Glossary", T.C.D. H.5.30 - now fragmentary. - c.1644: Minor additions and emedations to R.I.A. i.3 (Book of Mac Dermot/Leabhar Cloinne Maoil RuanaidhLeabhar Cloinne Maoil RuanaidhLeabhar Cloinne Maoil Ruanaidh, or the Book of Mac Dermot, is the title given by Nollaig Ó Muraíle to "a collection of genealogies sometimes referred to as 'The Book of Mac Dermot' ..." which now forms the fourth and most significant part - 'd' - of RIA MS 539 [D i 3].A colophon on folio 43r reads...
) - 1645: Seanchas Sil Ir.
- 1647: Part of "Rule of St. Clare" and associated documents, R.I.A. D.i.2 (Knott 1948-50).
- 1649-50: Leabhar na nGenealach, UCD Add. Ir. MS 14. Final four pages of Chronicum Scotorum.
- 1653: Portion of Leabhar na nGenealach; final pp of saints genealogies, with index.
- 1656: O Dowd marriage articles (O'Donovan 1844). Ughdair Ereann (first draft, now lost)
- 1657: Part of Ughdair Ereann; Rawlinson B 480.55r-61r (Carney 1946). Seanadh Saighre, De Fhorshloinntibh Erann, etc.
- 1664: Portions of Leabhar na nGenealach.
- 1665: Genealach Chloinne Fheorais, TCD F.1.18. Translation of Annals of InisfallenAnnals of InisfallenThe Annals of Inisfallen are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between AD 433 and AD 1450, but it is believed to have been written between the 12th and 15th centuries...
1174-1281, BL Add MS 4779.3r-12v. Translation of the Annals of TigernachAnnals of TigernachThe Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish....
1172-78, BL Add MS 4779.13r-17r. List of Irish Bishops and extinct bishopics, BL Add MS 4779.18r-21r. - 1666: Portion of Ughdair Ereann, Rawl B 480, 61r-62v (Carney 1946). Cuimre ar aroile do Easbocaibh Ereann, Rawl. B. 480 63r-8v. (Kelly 1870). Cuimre [autograph lost; two 18th century copies, B 8 by Henry MacCarrick, c.1705, and RIA 24 N 2]. Annals of Ireland 1443-68, BL Add. MS 4799 45r-70v. Notes on Sir James Ware's De Praesulibus Hiberniae (1665), TCD Early Printed Books Press, C.2.12A.
- 1667: "Poem to O Seachnasaigh", 1667 - Ceileabhrach do Chloinn Fhiachrach [autograph lost; 18th century - imperfect copy, RIA 23 N 12].
See also
- Irish genealogies
- Tadhg Og Ó Cianáin
- Peregrine Ó Duibhgeannain
- Lughaidh Ó CléirighLughaidh Ó CléirighLughaidh Ó Cléirigh , sometimes anglicised as Lewey O'Clery, was an Irish Gaelic poet and historian. He is best known today as the author of Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Uí Dhomhnaill, a biography of Red Hugh O'Donnell.-Life:...
- Mícheál Ó CléirighMícheál Ó CléirighMícheál Ó Cléirigh , sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the Annals of the Four Masters, assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Peregrinus Ó Duibhgeannain.-Background and early life:Grandson of Tuathal...
- James UssherJames UssherJames Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
- Sir James WareSir James WareSir James Ware was an Irish historian.-Early life:Born at Castle Street, Dublin, Ware was the eldest son of James Ware, who arrived in Ireland in 1588 as a secretary to Lord Deputy FitzWilliam. His father was knighted by King James I, was elected M.P...
- Mary Bonaventure BrowneMary Bonaventure BrowneMother Mary Bonaventure Browne, Poor Clare and Irish historian, born after 1610, died after 1670.-Background:A daughter of Andrew Browne fitz Oliver, a wealthy merchant and a member of The Tribes of Galway. She was a niece of Martin Browne, whose townhouse doorway, the Browne doorway, now stands in...
- Ruaidhrí Ó FlaithbheartaighRuaidhri Ó FlaithbheartaighRuaidhri Ó Flaithbheartaigh, King of Iar Connacht and Chief of the Name, fl. 1244-1273.-Biography:Ruaidhri was a brother of the preceding chief, Morogh...
- Uilliam Ó DuinnínUilliam Ó DuinnínUilliam Ó Duinnín was an Irish scribe.The son of Domhnall Óg Ó Duinnín, Uilliam was the owner of MS 1336, which he may have sold to Edward Lhuyd...
- Charles O'Conor (historian)Charles O'Conor (historian)Charles O'Conor Don, The O'Conor Don, Prince of Connacht of Belanagare was an Irish writer and antiquarian who was enormously influential as a protagonist for the preservation of Irish culture and history in the eighteenth century...
- Eugene O'CurryEugene O'Curry-Life:He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and his wife Cáit. Eoghan had spent some time as a travelling pedlar and had developed an interest in Irish folklore and music. Unusually for someone of his background, he appears to have been...
- John O'Donovan (scholar)John O'Donovan (scholar)John O'Donovan , from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford, was an Irish language scholar from Ireland.-Life:...
Sources
- Ó Muraíle, Nollaig (1996). The Celebrated Antiquary. Maynooth.
- MacFhirbhisigh, Dubhaltach; Ó Muraíle, Nollaig, editor (2003–2004). Leabhar Genealach. The Great Book of Irish Genealogies. Dublin: DeBurca. (Alternate names by which it may be referenced include Leabhar Mor nGenealach, and Leabhar Mor na nGenealach)
External links
- http://www.deburcararebooks.com/geneal.htm
- http://www.isos.dias.ie/english/index.html