Lissadell () is the name attached to three townlands in north

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

on Magherow peninsula west of

Benbulben Benbulbin ( ga, Binn Ghulbain), sometimes Benbulben or Ben Bulben, is a large flat-topped nunatak rock formation in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called "Yeats Country". Benbulbin is a protecte ...

. Until the late 16th century Lissadell was part of the tuath of

Cairbre Drom Cliabh Cairbre Drom Cliabh (meaning "Ui Cairbre (the descendants of Cairbre mac Néill, Cairbre) of Drumcliff"), was an Irish ''túath'' in the ancient confederation of Íochtar Connacht (Lower Connacht), now County Sligo in the west of Ireland. It is no ...

under the Lords of Sligo,

Ó Conchobhair Sligigh Ó Conchobhair Sligigh (anglicised O'Conor Sligo), Gaelic-Irish family and Chief of the Name. The Ó Conchobhair Sligigh were a branch of the Ó Conchobhair Kings of Connacht. They were descended from Brian Luighnech Ua Conchobhair (k.1181), a so ...

. Lissadell is also now the name of the

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

which is attached to

Lissadell House Lissadell House is a neo-classical Greek revivalist style country house in County Sligo, Ireland. The house was built between 1830 and 1835 for Sir Robert Gore-Booth, 4th Baronet (1784–1835) by London architect Francis Goodwin. Sir Robert ...

History

The land was attached to Drumcliff monastery from the 6th century, and was under the Ó Beóllán erenachs of Drumcliff. With the dissolution of the monasteries act coming into force in the west of Ireland after the

Nine Years War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

the land was granted to Sir Paul Gore, a cavalry officer in the Elizabethan army. He built a fortified house at Ardtermon on the

termon Termon () is a village in the north of County Donegal, Ireland. Geography Termon is located eight miles from Letterkenny, Donegal's main town and seven miles from Creeslough. Termon is made up of many townlands including Currin, Doon, Drumlaur ...

lands belonging to Drumcliff and is the ancestor of the Gore Booths of Lissadell house. His career is recounted in the Lissadell papers held in the northern Ireland Records Office. "Paul, the founding Gore in Ireland, '... was commander of a troop of horse under

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, Earl of Essex. He was ordered by Mountjoy to escort the last two Irish chieftains,

Rory O'Donnell Rory O'Donnell (; 1575 – 30 July 1608), younger brother of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, was the last King of Tyrconnell and 1st Earl of Tyrconnell.An apparent original of the letters patent of the Earldom were in the possession of Count Maximilian Ka ...

and

Sir Donough O'Connor ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

, to submit to Queen Elizabeth. He delivered them safely to Athlone and, in recognition, he was granted lands by the Queen. In 1608 he was ordered to take Tory Island which was occupied by a large number of Irish. He had only a small force but he contrived to set the Irish fighting among themselves and then massacred the victors. He was awarded more lands by James I in appreciation, created a baronet of Ireland in 1622 nd died in 1629"Lissadell Papers
proni.gov.uk; accessed 19 January 2016.

Muireadhach Albanach Ó Dálaigh

Lissadell was the location in the 13th century of the important

Ollamh 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 Poetry to the King of

Tir Conaill Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Co ...

Muireadhach Albanach Ó Dálaigh Muireadhach Albanach Ó Dálaigh ("Scottish Muireadhach") was a Gaelic poet and crusader and member of the Ó Dálaigh bardic family. Early career '' The Annals of the Four Masters of Ireland'', s.a. 1213, tells us that he was the ollamh (high po ...

who killed a tax collector for his insolence with an axe here in 1213. He was forced into exile and fled to Scotland where he went on to found the MacVurich schools of poetry. It is believed he went on the fifth crusade to

Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easter ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He was an early master of the formal

Dán Díreach Dán Díreach (; Irish for "direct verse") is a style of poetry developed in Ireland from the 12th century until the destruction of Gaelic society in the mid 17th century. It was a complex form of recitative designed to be chanted to the accompanim ...

style of poetry. His presence here indicates a school of poetry was in existence in the 12th and early 13th century.

References

{{coord missing, County Sligo

Lissadell Lissadell () is the name attached to three townlands in north County Sligo on Magherow peninsula west of Benbulben. Until the late 16th century Lissadell was part of the tuath of Cairbre Drom Cliabh under the Lords of Sligo, Ó Conchobhair Sligi ...

Townlands of County Sligo