Amhlaoibh Mór mac Fir Bhisigh, Irish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, cleric and

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 stu ...

, died 1138.

Biography

The Annals of Tigernach, ''sub anno'', give his

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

: ''1138. Amlaim Mor mac Firbisigh, ollam O Fiachrach uile re senchus & re filidhecht, & sái clerigh co m-bethaigthib ecailsi imda, & togha do Cunga, & a ec and iar m-buaidh ongtha & aithrige.'' Nollaig Ó Muraíle (1996, p. 2) writes that "The terms used in the obit ... are interesting: he is described as '

ollam An or ollamh (; anglicised as ollave or ollav), plural ollomain, in early Irish literature, is a member of the highest rank of filí. The term is used to refer to the highest member of any group; thus an ''ollam brithem'' would be the highest ...

of all Ui Fhiachrach in ''senchus'' and ''filigheacht'', as a wise cleric holding many livings and, finally, as 'the choice of he monastic community of Cong.' This combination of professions of historian and poet with a clerical post of some eminence may have significance to the thorny question of the origin of the

hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

learned families of late medieval Gaelic Ireland. Apart from Amlaoimh, however ... we have little evidence of an ecclesiastical dimension to Clann Fhir Bhisigh or its antecedents before its rise to prominence in the field of traditional learning." His collateral descendant Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (died 1671) recorded that he had brothers Giolla Pádraig mac Fir Bhisigh, ancestor of the Clann Fhir Bhisigh and of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, and possibly Lachtna, who is given as the ancestor of the Ó Lachtna / Loftus / Loughney family in Connacht. The abbey at Cong had been refounded by King Tairrdelbach of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

(1088–1156) sometime about 1130, having become an

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

at the Synod of Ráth Breasail in 1111. Its canons were of the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

order. It was attacked and burned in 1114, 1135 and 1137.

References

* ''The Celebrated Antiquary: Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (c.1600-1671) - His Life, Lineage and Learning'', pp. 2–3, Nollaig Ó Muraíle, An Sagart, Maynooth, 1996; reprinted 2003. ; . Year of birth unknown 1138 deaths 12th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests 12th-century Irish historians People from County Mayo Christian clergy from County Galway 12th-century Irish poets Irish male poets {{Ireland-historian-stub

Biography

See also

References