Seán Mac Aoidh (a.k.a. Sean McHugh),
Irish poet, fl. 1820s.
Mac Aoidh was a native of
Islandeady, near
Castlebar,
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 ...
, who was married to Sail Óg Rua Ní Mháille (Sally O'Malley), who died early in their marriage. His in-laws suspected him of killing Sail Óg, and approached his house one night intending to kill him. However, upon hearing his lament for his wife, ''
Sail Óg Rua'', they concluded he was innocent, and let him be. Another account has him composing it in Castlebar or Dolliwista jail as proof of his innocence.
In "County Mayo in Gaelic Folksong" (1982),
Brian O'Rourke states "All one can say is that if, in addition to being a murderer, Mac Aoidh was a cynical
hypocrite, then he was a brilliant one, for 'Sail Óg Rua' has all the accents of genuine grief".
["County Mayo in Gaelic Folksong", Brian O'Rourke, pp. 183–85, ''Mayo: Aspects of its Heritage'', ed. Bernard O'Hara, 1982.]
References
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Irish folklore
Irish folk songs
19th-century Irish-language poets
Writers from County Mayo