Donell Dubh Ó Cathail aniel Duff O'Cahill(c.1580–c.1660) was an Irish musician, a performer on the

Irish harp The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring grea ...

Family

Ó Cathail was the son of a Cormac Ó Cathail, and a nephew or close relative of the Donell Óge Ó Cathail, harper to

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

. Harping seems to have been the family profession. The family may not have been native to

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

, as Ó Cathail is the name of unrelated families which originated separately in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

, Clare,

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

and

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

. His wife was Ellen (alive 1664), daughter of Charles MacCarthy and a granddaughter of Richard Barry of Ballinaltig. His known children were: * David Óg (1586–1604), who had a son, David fitz David Ó Cathail, born 10 March 1605. The child's mother was Ellis, daughter of Richard, Lord Poer. * James (died 1609) * Ellen, married Garret fitz John Barry of Leamlara; their descendants were still extant in the 1900s. * Lodowick, fl. 1621-c.1654. * Daniel Óge, fl. 1635–1663. * Richard, fl. 1637. * Michael, a minor in the 1650s, alive in the 1690s.

Employments

Ó Cathail had a number of successive employments as a household or court harper in Ireland and England. He probably commenced his career in the service of

David de Barry, 5th Viscount Buttevant David Fitz-James de Barry, 18th Baron Barry, 5th Viscount Buttevant (1550–1617), sided initially with fitz Maurice, the rebel, in the 1st Desmond rebellion but changed sides and fought against the rebels. He also fought for the crown in the ...

Barryscourt Castle Barryscourt Castle (''Caisleán Chúirt an Bharraigh'' in Irish) is a castle located in eastern County Cork in southern Ireland, close to the town of Carrigtwohill. History The site on which Barryscourt castle now stands has been occupied for ...

. He spent the years 1607 to 1642 in England. Between 1607 and 1619 he was harper to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...

, wife of the English king

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

in London. He was subsequently with

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

, wife of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, between 1629 and 1642. From his income and pensions he was able to buy land in County Cork and parts of the province of

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 Del ...

, to where he returned to retire.Donnelly (2000), pp. 12–15.

Bibliography

* Seán Donnelly: "A Cork Musician at the Early Stuart Court: Daniel Duff O'Cahill (c.1580-c.1660), 'The Queen's Harper'", in ''Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society'', vol. 105 (2000), pp. 1–26. * Ann Buckley: "Music in Ireland to c.1500", in ''A New History of Ireland'', vol. 1, ed. by Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (Oxford, 2005), pp. 744–813.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OCathail, Donell Dubh 17th-century Irish male musicians Irish male harpists Musicians from County Cork 17th-century Irish harpists

Family

Employments

See also

Bibliography

References