Life and career

Ádhamh Cúisín is the name of one of some ten scribes who compiled the Book of Uí Maine.

His name seems to be of Norman origin, 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...

 noting that King Ruaidrí Ó Gadhra

Ruaidrí Ó Gadhra

Ruaidrí Ó Gadhra, King of Sliabh Lugha and Chief of the Name, died 1256.During Ruaidrí's lifetime the territory of Sliabh Lugha was conquored by the Sheriff of Connacht, Jordan de Exeter , ancestor of the Clan Mac Siúrtáin...

 of Sliabh Lugha was killed in 1256 by "David, son of Richard Cuisin." The Annals of Connacht

Annals of Connacht

The Annals of Connacht, covering the years 1224 to 1544, are drawn from a manuscript compiled in the 15th and 16th centuries by at least three scribes, all believed to be members of the Clan Ó Duibhgeannáin....

 under 1270 records that "The Earl and the Connacht Galls made great raids in Tirerrill on the people of Aed O Conchobair. David Cusin was killed on this raid."

David Cuisin or Cusin possessed a castle and land near Ballaghaderreen

Ballaghaderreen

Ballaghaderreen is a town in County Roscommon. It is located on the N5 National primary road. The town has become a bottleneck on the N5 route in recent years and the opening of the Charlestown bypass down the road has exacerbated the problem...

. Another bearer of the name was Tomás Cúisín, listed under 1462 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 "the best master of law in his time in Armagh

Armagh

Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...

 who had a great school in this year." It is unknown if either of the latter two were related to Ádhamh.

Ádhamh Cúisín has been noted by Ó Muraíle as "the most prolific of the scribes in the portion of the manuscript that still survives - his hand appears on 99 of the extant folios). The manuscript was known to contain 368 folios in the 15th and 16th centuries. Two hundred and fifty years later, Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh

Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh

Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh, also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius was an Irish scribe, translator, historian and genealogist...

 transcribed a seventy page historical-genealogical compilation called Seanchas Síl Ír. His source can be shown to be The Book of Uí Mhaine. Mac Fhirbhisigh's very faithful transcript is especially valuable as four of the original fourteen folios have since been lost.

The book began to be written some time before 1392-1394, and some time after that date. It was written at the behest of Muircheartach Ó Cellaigh, who was Bishop of Clonfert (1378–1393) and Archbishop of Tuam

Archbishop of Tuam

The Archbishop of Tuam is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Roman Catholic Church.-History:...

 till his death in 1407. Bishop Ó Cellaigh was a grandnephew of Uilliam Buidhe Ó Cellaigh, king of Uí Maine from about 1349 to 1381.

The only other scribe of the book known by name is Faolán Mac an Ghabhann na Scéal, who died in 1423. A poet, Mac an Ghabhann's poem Adham ar n-athair uile is penned by Cúisín.