Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh ( fl. 1603 – 1616), sometimes anglicised as Lewey O'Clery, 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 ...

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

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

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 ...

. He is best known today as the author of ''Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Uí Dhomhnaill'', a biography of

Red Hugh O'Donnell Hugh Roe O'Donnell (Irish: ''Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill''), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell (30 October 1572 – 10 September 1602), was a sixteenth-century leader of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. He became Chief of the Name of Clan O'Donn ...

Life

Born in Tír Conaill (modern-day

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

), Lughaidh was the cousin of renowned Gaelic historian

Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (), sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the ''Annals of the Four Masters,'' assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Per ...

and one of five sons of Maccon Ó Cléirigh, a court poet to the O'Donnells. The Ó Cléirighs had a long tradition as one of Gaelic Ireland's foremost learned families, and the Tír Conaill branch had served the O'Donnells for over two hundred years. Lughaidh and his brothers are the last generation of their sept to be included in the Ó Cléirigh genealogies of the 17th-century. In the lead up to the

Ulster Plantation The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the set ...

, he was involved as a juror and commissioner in the land surveys in Donegal. Lughaidh participated in the

Contention of the bards The contention of the bards ( Irish: ''Iomarbhágh na bhFileadh'') was a literary controversy of early 17th century Gaelic Ireland, lasting from 1616 to 1624, probably peaking in 1617. The principal bardic poets of the country wrote polemical v ...

, an event which probably took place between 1616 and 1624. Of the thirty poems produced by the participants, four were reportedly written by Ó Cléirigh. The 19th-century historian John O'Donovan believed that Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh was the father of the annalist Cucoigriche (Peregrine) Ó Cléirigh, but this has since been disputed. The date of Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh's death is unknown.

''Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Uí Dhomhnaill''

Ó Cléirigh is best known as the author of ''Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Uí Dhomhnaill'' (Life of

), a biography of Red Hugh, a leader in 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 work was a major source for the account of the period given in the ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...

'' and is the fullest contemporary source for O'Donnell's life and career. Lughaidh's work is identified in the ''Annals'' merely as the book of Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh. The vagueness of the description led many early scholars to conclude that Cucoigriche Ó Cléirigh had authored the work. In his 1851 edition of the ''Annals'' O'Donovan cited Cucoigriche as the author of the ''Beatha'', believing it to be a different text to the work attributed to Lughaidh by the annalists.

Eugene O'Curry Eugene O'Curry ( ga, Eoghan Ó Comhraí or Eoghan Ó Comhraidhe, 20 November 179430 July 1862) was an Irish philologist and antiquary. Life He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and hi ...

was the first to attribute the ''Beatha'' to Lughaidh, suggesting that Cucoigriche was merely the scribe. ''Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Uí Dhomhnaill'' is composed in ornate and archaic form of Irish. Unsurprisingly it has a strong Donegal bias. The text survives in one contemporary manuscript, Dublin, Royal Irish Academy MS 23 P 24, written in the hand of Cucoigriche Ó Cléirigh. The work was first edited and translated by Denis Murphy in 1895. A fuller Irish Texts Society edition by

Paul Walsh Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

was published in two volumes in 1948 and 1957.

References

External links

Catalogue description and digital images of the manuscript at ''Irish Script on Screen''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocleirigh, Lughaidh 17th-century Irish historians People of Elizabethan Ireland People from County Donegal Irish-language poets Irish chroniclers Irish scribes

Life

''Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Uí Dhomhnaill''

See also

References

External links