Brian Rua (c.1648–?) was 17th century "prophet" or
Oracle
An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination.
Descript ...
from
Erris in
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ) 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 Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Papers relating to the life and the prophecies of Brian Rua, known collectively as "''Tarngaireacht Bhriain Ruaidh''" were destroyed, apparently by his own son, who lost his temper with his father when the two had one of their regular disagreements.
Brian Rua lived in the parish of
Kilcommon in the townland of
Inver. Believed to have been born around the year 1648, his story was passed on through
oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from
people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...
in the parish. Brian Rua is reputed to have made a number of
prophecies
In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divi ...
in his lifetime, predicting that "Carriages travelling North and South will have iron wheels and the stones on the roads will be talking" and "The day will come when fire carriages with iron wheels will bring death". In 1894, the first train on the newly created Achill railway line carried the bodies of 32 young people who died in a drowning tragedy in Clew Bay, an event locals suggest fulfilled the prophecy.
In 1906 a renowned Celtic scholar called Michael Timoney from
Lahardane set out to collect the story of Brian Rua and publish it, so that it would not be forgotten. The stories were carried down the generations in the
Irish language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
and published in that language. In 2000, as part of the Millennium Project, the story was translated into English and published as part of the book 'Traditional Cures and Gifted People' by Philomena Cronin.
References
* Rails to Achill by Jonathan Beaumont (Oakwood Press 2002)
* Achill Railway: http://www.realizedvision.com/railways.php
* Cronin, Phil, ''Traditional Cures and Gifted People''. With a translation of Red Brian Carabine's Prophecy' (2000) Crossmolina
Mayo County Library* McDonald T. ''Achill Island. Archaeology-History-Folklore'' (1997) Longford
* Noone, Fr. Sean. ''Where the Sun Sets'' (1991) Erris
* Nolan R. ''Within the Mullet'' (2001) Kildare
* Timoney, Michael.''Tarngaireacht Brian Ruadh'' 1906 Lahardane
{{DEFAULTSORT:O Cearbhain, Brian Ruadh
Social history of Ireland
Connacht
Prophets
Irish folklore
17th-century Irish people
People from County Mayo
Irish-language writers