Owen Ultach ( ga, Eoghan Ulltach) (died 26 October 1586) was a sixteenth-century Irish physician. He was the ''ollam leighis'' (official physician) to the
O’Donnell clan of
Tyrconnell.
Background
Ultach was born in the sixteenth century to the
Ó Duinnshléibhe
Donlevy is a firstname and surname of Irish origin. Also spelt as MacDonlevy, Donleavy, Dunleavy, MacAleavey, and McAlevey, it derives from the Irish ''Mac Duinnshléibhe'', meaning "son of Donn of the mountain". ''Ó Duinnshléibhe'' is a varia ...
family. Formerly the ruling dynasty of
Ulaid,
by the late-fourteenth century, they were a medical family of physicians to the
O'Donnell clan
The O'Donnell dynasty ( ga, Ó Dónaill or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland. Naming conventions
Or ...
.
Certain family members went by the alternate surname Ultach, after Ulaid.
His father
Donnchadh Donnchadh () is a masculine given name common to the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages. It is composed of the elements ''donn'', meaning "brown" or "dark" from Donn a Gaelic God; and ''chadh'', meaning "chief" or "noble". The name is also written ...
was the ''ollam leighis'' before him.
Ultach may have been named after his paternal grandfather, Owen.
Ultach was, like his father, educated in the medical arts in Paris and known for his general learning. He was considered the finest physician of his time in
Ireland.
[Edward MacLysaght, ''The Surnames of Ireland'', 5th Edition, Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 1980, p 238, 292]
Death
Owen Ultach died on 26 October, 1586. His obituaries in the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' and the ''
Annals of Ulster
The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...
'' read, respectively:
* ''1586 - Owen Ultach (the son of Donough), i.e. the Doctor, died; and this Owen was a doctor in regard of learning, for he excelled the medical doctors of Ireland in the time in which he lived.''
* ''1586 - The 26th day of the month of October, Eoghan Ulltach, son of the doctor, namely, Donchadh, son of Eoghan, unique preceptor and unique sage of Ireland in healing, died this year.''
Ultach is the last recorded ''ollam leighis'' to the O'Donnell clan.
By the early 1600s, Tyrconnell-born
Niall Ó Glacáin
Niall Ó Glacáin, or Nellanus Glacanus (c. 1563–1653) was an Irish physician who worked to treat victims of bubonic plague outbreaks in various places throughout Europe.
Early life and education
Ó Glacáin's date of birth is uncertain. So ...
was working as a physician to the clan.
See also
*
Irish medical families
Irish medical families were hereditary practitioners of professional medicine in Gaelic Ireland, between 1100 and 1700.
Overview
Professional medical practitioners in the Gaelic world of Ireland and Scotland was mainly the preserve of a small n ...
*
Donnchadh mac Eoghan Ó Duinnshléibhe
Donnchadh mac Eoghan Ó Duinnshléibhe, anglicised as Donough MacOwen O'Donlevy (died 30 September 1527) was an Irish physician. He was the ''ollam leighis'' (official physician) of the O'Donnell dynasty from at least 1497 to 1527.
Background
...
, Irish physician, died 1527
*
Muiris mac Donnchadh Ulltach Ó Duinnshléibhe
Muiris mac Donnchadh Ulltach Ó Duinnshléibhe, aka Father Muiris Ulltach, Irish cleric, fl. 1602-1630s.
Father Muiris Ulltach had attended Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill (d. 1602) on his death-bed in Simancas Castle, Spain, with Father Muiris mac Sea ...
, Irish cleric, fl. 1602-1630s
*
Muiris mac Seaán Ulltach Ó Duinnshléibhe
Muiris mac Seaán Ulltach Ó Duinnshléibhe, aka Father Muiris Ulltach, fl. 1602-1630s.
Spain
Ó Duinnshléibhe was one of two Donegal men named Father Muiris Ulltach who attended Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill (d. 1602) on his death-bed in Simancas ...
, Irish cleric, fl. 1602-1630s.
*
Cormac Mac Duinnshléibhe, Irish physician and scribe, fl. c. 1460
References
External links
* http://celt.ucc.ie/publishd.html
16th-century Irish medical doctors
Medical doctors from County Donegal
Year of birth unknown
1586 deaths
{{Ireland-bio-stub