Máire Bhuí Ní Laoghaire 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...

 poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

.

Laoghaire was born in Túirín na nÉan in Uibh Laoghaire (Iveleary), near Ballingeary, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

. In 1792, she married Séamus de Búrca, a Skibbereen

Skibbereen

Skibbereen , is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is the most southerly town in Ireland. It is located on the N71 national secondary road.The name "Skibbereen" means "little boat harbour." The River Ilen which runs through the town reaches the sea at Baltimore.-History:Prior to 1600 most of the...

 horsetrader and the couple settled on a holding they purchased near Céim an Fhia/Keimaneigh, living in some prosperity.

Career

She was illiterate but her songs and poems survived via the oral folk tradition of the area, as did compositions by her contemporaries such as Antoine Ó Raifteiri

Antoine Ó Raifteiri

Antoine Ó Raifteiri was an Irish language poet who is often called the last of the wandering bards.-Biography:...

.

Her best known composition is Cath Chéim an Fhia (The Battle of Keimaneigh), which graphically records a fight between the local yeoman militia and the Whiteboys

Whiteboys

The Whiteboys were a secret Irish agrarian organization in 18th-century Ireland which used violent tactics to defend tenant farmer land rights for subsistence farming...

in 1822.