Tomás Ó Caiside, aka An Caisideach Bán, (c. 1709 – 1773?), was an Irish

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

, soldier, and poet.

Biography

Ó Caiside's family was of

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 King ...

stock, his parents settling in Drishacaun townland, parish of Kilmurry, Castleplunkett,

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

. What is known of his life is told in ''Eachtra Thomáis Uí Chaiside'' ("The Adventures of Tomás Ó Caiside") which he wrote himself. Two surviving copies, one by his friend and contemporary Brian Ó Fearghail, are kept in the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

and the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. He was dismissed from the friary of

Ballyhaunis Ballyhaunis () is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is at the crossroads of the N60 and N83 National secondary roads and on the railway line linking Dublin to Westport and Ballina. It is thought that the town grew up around St Mary's Augus ...

"on account of a bad senseless marriage" and spent the rest of his life travelling all over Ireland and Britain, as well as central Europe. In 1733 he served in the

Duke of Berwick Duke of Berwick () ''()'' is a title that was created in the Peerage of England on 19 March 1687 for James FitzJames, the illegitimate son of James II and VII, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland and Arabella Churchill. The title's name ...

's regiment and was later pressed into the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

, where he encountered the

Potsdam Giants The Potsdam Giants was the name given to Prussian infantry regiment No 6. The regiment was composed of taller-than-average soldiers, and was founded in 1675. It was eventually dissolved in 1806, after the Prussians were defeated by Napoleon. Throug ...

, alongside fellow-Irishman James Kirkland (Irish giant). He mentions having been in the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

; the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

;

Sandhausen Sandhausen () is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of Heidelberg. Geography Location Sandhausen belongs to the Rhein-Neckar Metropolitan region. It is known for its sand ...

;

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

;

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

; Brunswick;

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

; and

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

. His poems include: * ''An Caisideach Bán'' * ''Béal Átha hAmhnais'' * ''Máire Bhéal Átha hAmhnais'' * ''Faoisdin Uí Chaiside'' (''Ó Caiside's Confession'') * ''Bríd Ní Bheirn'' * ''An Bráithrín Buartha'' (''The Troubled Friar'')

References

* ''Religious Songs of Connacht'',

Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...

* ''An Caisideach Bán:The Songs and Adventures of Tomás Ó Caiside'', translated from the Irish by Adrian Kenny, GREENsprint,

, 1993. . {{DEFAULTSORT:O Caiside, Tomas Irish poets Irish soldiers 18th-century Irish writers Irish soldiers in the British Army People from County Roscommon Irish expatriates in France Irish expatriates in Germany Irish expatriates in Poland Irish expatriates in England 18th-century soldiers Irish-language writers Irish-language singers