Ollamh Síol Muireadaigh was a hereditary post, held almost exclusively by members of the

Ó Maolconaire Ó Maolchonaire, more properly Ó Maol Chonaire, sometimes Ó Mhaoilchonaire, Ó Maolconaire, etc., was the surname of a family of professional poets and historians in medieval Ireland. Traditionally it would have been spelled without the 'h', but ...

family, from at latest the 13th century until the 17th century. The

Síol Muireadaigh The Síol Muireadaigh or Síol Muireadhaigh (Anglicized as Sil Murray or Silmurray), was a leading sept of the Connachta group of Gaelic dynasties in medieval Ireland. The name Síol Muireadaigh was also used to refer to the territory occupied b ...

were a dynasty of regional clans, named after King

Muiredach Muillethan Muiredach Muillethan mac Fergusso (or Muiredach Mag Aí) (died 702) was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin Aí branch of the Uí Briúin. He was the grandson of Rogallach mac Uatach (died 649), a previous king. His sobriquet Muillethan me ...

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 ...

(died 702), all of whom lived in north-central

. While many of the ruling chieftains such as the

Ó Conchubhair Donn The O'Conor family (Middle Irish: ''Ó Conchubhair''; Modern ga, Ó Conchúir) are an Irish noble house and were one of the most influential and distinguished royal houses in Ireland. The O'Conor family held the throne of the Kingdom of Co ...

, Ó Conchubhair Ruadh,

Mac Diarmata Mac Diarmada (anglicised as MacDermot or McDermott), also spelled Mac Diarmata, is an Irish surname, and the surname of the ruling dynasty of Moylurg, a kingdom that existed in Connacht from the 10th to 16th centuries. The last ruling king was T ...

, and Ó Flannagain were descendants of this

, the

s are of Laiginian, or mythically of Tuatha Dé Dannan stock, although their Milesian pedigrees claim differently. The Laiginians arrived in Connacht in the 3rd century AD from Leinster, conquering the ruling Fir Bolg and Fomorians, and ruling until conquered by the Gael under the Connachta in the 5th century. An

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 ...

was the highest rank in the learned orders of law, poetry, or history. These educated professionals, today grouped together in the popular consciousness as "

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

s", maintained an

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...

that pre-dated

Christianization Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

of Ireland. It is likely that the post had existed for at least as long as the Síl Muireadaigh dynasty themselves, but earlier

s are unknown. The first of the family so listed was

Dúinnín Ó Maolconaire Dúinnín Ó Maolconaire was a member of the Ó Maolconaire family of Connacht, who served as historians and poets to the Síl Muireadaigh, and their rulers, the Ó Conchubhair Kings of Connacht. He is the first of the family listed as the Ollamh ...

List of Ollamhs

, died 1213 *

Máeleoin Bódur Ó Maolconaire Máeleoin Bódur Ó Maolconaire was a member of the Ó Maolconaire family of Connacht, who served as historians and poets to the Síol Muireadaigh, and their rulers, the Ó Conchubhair Kings of Connacht. He is the second of the family listed as t ...

, died 1266 *

Dubsúilech Ó Maolconaire Dubsúilech Ó Maolconaire was a member of the Ó Maolconaire family of Connacht, who served as historians and poets to the Síol Muireadaigh and their rulers, the Ó Conchubhair Kings of Connacht. He appears to have been chief ''ollamh'' of Conn ...

Tanaide Mor mac Dúinnín Ó Maolconaire Tanaide Mor mac Dúinnín Ó Maolconaire was a member of the Ó Maolconaire family of Connacht, who served as historians and poets to the Síol Muireadaigh, and their rulers, the Ó Conchubhair Kings of Connacht. He became Ollamh in 1270, succeed ...

1270 Year 1270 ( MCCLXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1270th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 270th year of the 2nd millennium, the 70th ...

–

1310 Year 1310 ( MCCCX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Siege of Algeciras: Castilian forces led by King Ferdinand IV (the Summ ...

Mael Sechlainn Ó Domhnalláin Mael Sechlainn Ó Domhnalláin (died 1375) was an Irish poet. Ó Domhnalláin was a member of the Ó Domhnalláin bardic family of Ui Maine (now south-west It is unknown if any examples of his work survive. References See also * Domn ...

, ''Ollav of Sil-Murray in particular in poetry, and the most learned man in all Ireland in the same art, died of Fiolun'' in

1375 Year 1375 ( MCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * April 14 – The Mamluks from Egypt complete their conquest of the Armenian Kingdo ...

. *

Tanaide Ó Maolconaire Tanaide Ó Maolconaire was the Ollamh Síol Muireadaigh for an unknown number of years prior to his death in 1385. Tanaide Mor mac Dúinnín Ó Maolconaire, who died in 1310, was the only such ''Ollamh'' recorded in the annals for the 14th centur ...

, died

1385 Year 1385 ( MCCCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * July 17 – Charles VI of France marries Isabeau of Bavaria; the wedding is celeb ...

Donnchad Baccach Ó Maolconaire Donnchad Baccach Ó Maolconaire, Ollamh Síl Muireadaigh from 1385 to 1404. Very little is known about Donnchad Baccach. The ''Annals of Connacht'' merely relate that he was ''Ollam of the Síol Muireadaigh in history.'' Given that all known past ...

, died

1404 Year 1404 (Roman numerals, MCDIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * April or May – Battle of Blackpool Sands: Local English forces defea ...

Flann Óc mac Séoan Ó Domhnalláin Flann Óc mac Séoan Ó Domhnalláin was ''Ollamh Síol Muireadaigh'' for an unknown time in 1404. The annals record an unusual number of bardic deaths in 1404. Donnchad Baccach Ó Maolconaire died, leaving the office of ga, Ollamh vacant. Hi ...

, died 1404 *

Dauid mac Tanaide Ó Maolconaire Dauid mac Tanaide Ó Maolconaire, Ollamh Síol Muireadaigh, died 1419. The Annals of Connacht state: ''1419. Dauid son of Tanaide O Mailchonaire ollav of the Sil Muiredaig, died of the plague in his own house at Kilmore, after Unction and Penanc ...

, died

1419 Year 1419 ( MCDXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 19 – Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, which br ...

Cormac Ó Domhnalláin Cormac Ó Domhnalláin, Ollamh Síol Muireadaigh, died 1436. The Annals of Connacht state: ''1436:Cormac O Domnallain, ollav of the Sil Murray in Poetry, died.'' Sources *''The Encyclopaedia of Ireland'' 2003; . * ''Mac Dermot of Moylurg: The ...

, died

1436 Year 1436 ( MCDXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 11 – Eric of Pomerania is deposed from the Swedish throne for the second t ...

Mailin mac Tanaide Ó Maolconaire Mailin mac Tanaide Ó Maolconaire, Ollamh Síol Muireadaigh, c.1360–1441. The Annals of Connacht, ''sub anno'' 1441, say of him: Mailin son of Tanaide O Mailchonaire, ollav of the Sil Murray, principal author of the learning of Ireland and Sc ...

, died 1441. *

Sadhbh Ó Mailchonaire In Irish mythology, Sadhbh or Sive ( ) was the mother of Oisín by Fionn mac Cumhail. She is either a daughter of Bodb Derg, king of the Síd of Munster, or may derive in part from Sadb ingen Chuinn, daughter of Conn of the Hundred Battles. T ...

, died

1447 Year 1447 (Roman numerals, MCDXLVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * March 6 – Pope Nicholas V succeeds Pope Eugene IV, to become the 2 ...

. *

Torna Ó Maolconaire Torna Ó Maolconaire was Ollamh Síol Muireadaigh from 1447-1468. The Annals of Connacht The ''Annals of Connacht'' (), covering the years 1224 to 1544, are drawn from a manuscript compiled in the 15th and 16th centuries by at least three sc ...

, died

1468 Year 1468 ( MCDLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December *June 30 – Catherine Cornaro is married by proxy to James II of Cyprus, beginning ...

Urard Ó Maolconaire Urard Ó Maolconaire, Ollamh Síol Muireadaigh, died 1482 in Ireland, 1482. The Annals of Connacht, ''sub anno'' 1482, say of him: ''1482:Urard O Mailchonaire, ollav of Sil Murray in learning and poetry, the chief chronicler of the western world ...

, died 1482 *

Sigraid Ó Maolconaire Sigraid Ó Maolconaire was the Ollamh Síol Muireadaigh, died 1487 in Ireland, 1487. The Annals of Connacht, ''sub anno'' 1487, state: * ''O Mailchonaire, that is Sigraid son of Sean Ruad, died.'' The later compilation known as the Annals of th ...

, died 1487 *Mailin mac Torna Ó Maolconaire, died

1519 __NOTOC__ Year 1519 ( MDXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1519th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 519th year of the 2nd millennium ...

*Torna mac Torna Ó Maolconaire, died

1532 Year 1532 ( MDXXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 22 – São Vicente is established as the first permanent Portuguese settleme ...

*Conchobar mac Domnall Ruad Ó Maolconaire 1532 - 15?? *Muirges mac Paidin Ó Maolconaire?, d. 1543 *Lochlainn mac Paidin Ó Maolconaire, died 1551

Sources

*''The Encyclopaedia of Ireland'' 2003; . * ''Mac Dermot of Moylurg: The Story of a Connacht Family'' Dermot Mac Dermot, 1996. *''A New History of Ireland VIII: A Chronology of Irish History to 1976 - A Companion to Irish History Part I'' edited by T.W. Moody, F.X. Martin and F.J. Byrne, 1982. *''The Celebrated Antiquary'' Nollaig O Muralie, Maynooth, 1996. *''Irish Leaders and Learning Through the Ages'' Fr. Paul Walsh, 2004. (ed. Nollaig O Muralie).

External links

List of Published Texts at CELT
—

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

's ''Corpus of Electronic Texts'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ollamh Siol Muireadaigh Irish chroniclers Medieval Irish poets Medieval Irish historians Irish male poets