Cearbhall Óg Ó Dálaigh (; fl. 1630), sometimes spelt in English as Carroll Oge O'Daly, was a 17th-century

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

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 ...

and

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

ist, who composed the song "". Cearbhall (Carroll) was a common name amongst people of the

Ó Dálaigh The Ó Dálaigh () were a learned Irish Bardic poetry, bardic family who first came to prominence early in the 12th century, when Cú Connacht Ó Dálaigh was described as "The first ''Ollamh'' of poetry in all Ireland" (''ollamh'' is the title g ...

(O'Daly,

Daly Daly or DALY may refer to: Places Australia * County of Daly, a cadastral division in South Australia * Daly River, Northern Territory, a locality * Electoral division of Daly, an electorate in the Northern Territory * Daly, Northern Territory, ...

) surname, and more than one poet of that surname bore the name. The Cearbhall Óg who composed "Eileanóir a Rún" was from Pallas, near

Gorey Gorey () is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is beside the main M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the railway network along the same route. Local newspapers include the ''Gorey Guardian''. As a growi ...

in County

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

. The Eileanóir of the poem was the daughter of Sir Morgan Kavanagh of Clonmullen in

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

. In

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, Cearbhall is presented as a womaniser and trickster similar to the

Gobán Saor The Gobán Saor was a highly skilled smith or architect in Irish history and legend. Gobban Saer (Gobban the Builder) is a figure regarded in Irish traditional lore as an architect of the seventh century, and popularly canonized as St. Gobban. ...

Eileanóir a Rún

Irish folklore recounts how Eileanóir Chaomhánach (Eleanor Kavanagh) eloped with Cearbhall (Carroll) the day she was about to marry another man. Cearbhall arrived at the wedding to play music at the wedding feast, and fell in love with the bride. He composed the song Eileanoir a Rún to woo the bride.

Other Songs and Poems

Another song, in the style of the crosántacht, ''Seachrán Chearbhaill'', is ascribed to Cearbhall Óg. Both, a poem by the Dominican priest Pádraigín Haicéad. addressed to Cearbhall, and Cearbhall's poem in response, survive in a 17th-century manuscript. The story ''Mac na Míchomhairle'' (The Son of Poor Council) has been ascribed to him in

, but current scholarship casts doubt on this ascription.

Cearbhall Óg Ó Dálaigh in Recordings

A version of Seachrán Chearbhaill by Joe Éinniu

Seosamh Ó hÉanaí Joe Heaney (AKA Joe Éinniú; Irish: Seosamh Ó hÉanaí) (1 October 1919 – 1 May 1984) was an Irish traditional (Sean-nós singing, sean nós) singer from County Galway, Ireland. He spent most of his adult life abroad, living in England, Scot ...

is available on a CD with the book ''Joe Éinniu: Nár fhágha mé Bás Choíche'' by

Liam Mac Con Iomaire Liam Mac Con Iomaire (born 1937, Casla, County Galway – died 2019) was a highly respected Irish writer, journalist and broadcaster. He was a newsreader on RTÉ. He was author of a number of books and some translations, mainly concerning Connema ...

(Cló Iarchonnachta 2007); and a later recording of an earlier version of the song on Peadar Ó Ceannabháin's CD, ''Mo Chuid den tSaol'' (Cló-Iarchonnachta). There are many commercially available recordings of Eleanór a Rún. Both songs are recognised as part of the traditional Irish language repertoire of unaccompanied ballads known as ' sean-nós song'.

Cearbhall Óg Ó Dálaigh in Literature

Cearbhall Óg Ó Dálaigh appears as an historical character in

Darach Ó Scolaí Darach Ó Scolaí is an Irish novelist, playwright, publisher, and artist living in the County Galway Gaeltacht of Connemara. He was awarded the Oireachtas Prize for Literature in 2007 for his novel,'' An Cléireach''. Writing His 2007 novel' ...

's Irish language novel

An Cléireach ''An Cléireach'' (Gaelic: The Clerk) is a novel by the Irish writer Darach Ó Scolaí, published in 2007 and winner of the 2007 ''Oireachtas Prize for Literature''. It also won Gradam Uí Shúilleabháin in 2008. Set during the English Civil War ...

, as a soldier in the Royalist army in 1650 and in the Spanish

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as late as 1662.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

The song "Eileanóir na Rún" sung ''sean nós'' (un-accompanied)
{{DEFAULTSORT:ODalaigh, Cearbhall Og 17th-century Irish people Irish poets Irish harpists Irish folk music Irish folk musicians Irish folk harpists Irish-language poets Medieval Irish writers Musicians from County Wexford