John Fergus was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

man of letters An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

, c.1700 – c.1761.

Biography

A descendant of the Ó Fearghuis medical family 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 ...

, Doctor Fergus a native of

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

but moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

city early in his adult life. He was a scribe, and book collector, as well as a member of the Ó Neachtáin literary circle in early 18th century

. He amassed a huge library of Irish manuscripts, which included the ''

Liber Flavus Fergusiorum The ''Liber Flavus Fergusiorum'' ("Yellow Book of the Ó Fearghuis"; RIA MS 23 O 48 a-b) is a medieval Irish text (dated to c. 1437-40) authored by the Ó Fearghuis, an Irish medical family of Connacht who were hereditary physicians to the Iris ...

'', a medical text created by his ancestors in the 14th century.

Sources

* ''John Fergus MD: Eighteenth-century Doctor, Book Collector and Irish Scholar'', by Diarmaid O Cathain, in ''Journal of the

Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is a learned society based in Ireland, whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquit ...

'', pp. 139–163, volume 118, 1988.

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20120508201733/http://www.ria.ie/Library/Special-Collections/Manuscripts/Liber-Flavus-Fergusiorum.aspx 18th-century Irish writers 18th-century Irish male writers 18th-century Irish medical doctors Scholars and academics from County Mayo Medical doctors from Dublin (city) Irish scribes Irish book and manuscript collectors 1700s births 1760s deaths Irish-language writers {{Ireland-writer-stub

Biography

Sources

See also

External links