Life

Máel Muire Othain held the post of Chief Ollam of Ireland

Chief Ollam of Ireland

The Ollamh Érenn or Chief Ollam of Ireland was a professional title of Gaelic Ireland.-Background:An ollam was a poet or bard of literature and history. Each chief or tuath had its own ollam...

. He died in 887 A.D. His nickname ‘Othna’, referred to him being a member of the monastery of Othain at Fahan

Fahan

Fahan is a district of Inishowen, in County Donegal, located five kilometres south of Buncrana. In Irish, Fahan is named after its patron saint, St...

, County Donegal

County Donegal

County Donegal 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 Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...

. He was amongst the early poets and historians who produced various parts of Lebor Gabála Érenn

Lebor Gabála Érenn

Lebor Gabála Érenn is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages...

.
Edward O'Reilly gives a full account of Máel Muru’s works in his Irish Writers, LXXXII sq.; d. anno 884.

Death

His obit is given in the Annals of Ulster

Annals of Ulster

The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...

 as follows- “U887.5 Mael Muru, chief poet of Ireland, died.
1. The choice earth has not covered,
To Temair's multitudes there shall not come,
Ireland of the great territories(?) shall not contain
A man like the pure and gentle Mael Muru.
2. There has never tasted death fearlessly,
Nor reached the known dead,
The cultivator's soil has never covered
A more wonderful keeper of tradition.”

His obit is given in 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'...

 as follows- “Annal CS887
Kalends. Mael Muire, the learned poet of the Irish, rested.”

His obit is given in 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...

 as follows- “M884.12 Maelmura, the learned and truly intelligent poet, the erudite historian of the Scotic language, died. It is of him this testimony was given:
1. There trod not the charming earth,
there never flourished at affluent Teamhair,
The great and fertile Ireland never produced
a man like the mild fine Maelmura.
2. There sipped not death without sorrow,
there mixed not a nobler face with the dead,
The habitable earth was not closed
over a historian more illustrious.”

External links

• http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/index.html