Ruaidhri Ó Cianáin (died 1387) was an Irish historian. Described upon his death as "a learned historian without fault", "professor of Oirghialla in history", "chiefe Chronicler of the territory of Uriell". A member of the learned

Ó Cianáin Ó Cianáin was the name of a Gaels, Gaelic-Irish people, Irish Brehon family. They were originally erenaghs of the parish of Cleenish, Lough Erne, but who had served for several centuries as historians to McGuire (disambiguation), Mag Uidir of Fer ...

( Keenan) family, Ruaidhri was the scribe and compiler of ''Dunaire Mheig Shamhradháin'' (''Book of Maguran''), also known as ''Leabhar Meig Shamradhain.'' In the possession for many centuries of the Ó Conor Don family of Clonalis, Castlerea,

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

, but since 1972

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

MS G 1200. A colophon in it reads ''Ruaidri O Cianan do sgrib in duanairsea do Thomas mac Brian meic Dondchaid meic Gille na Naem'' ag Shamradhain("Ruaidhri Ó Cianáin who penned this poembook of Tomas son of Brian son of Donnchad son of Gilla na Naomh"). This Tomás was chief of Tulach Eachach (

Tullyhaw Tullyhaw (, which means 'the Territory of Eochaidh', an ancestor of the McGoverns, who lived ) is a Barony in County Cavan in Ireland. The area has been in constant occupation since pre-4000 BC. Located in the northwest of the county, it h ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

, who died in 1343, so Ruaidhri was writing this ''dunaire'' in his lifetime. It is among the earliest post-Norman

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 ...

manuscripts of any kind to survive, though the compilers, including Ruaidhri, do not seem to have been trained poets.

References

* ''The Learned Family of Ó Cianáin/Keenan'', by

Nollaig Ó Muraíle Nollaig Ó Muraíle is an Irish scholar. He published an edition of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's ''Leabhar na nGenealach'' in 2004. He was admitted to the Royal Irish Academy in 2009. Life and career A native of Knock, County Mayo, Ó Muraíle ...

, in Clougher Record, pp. 396–402, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ocianain, Ruaidhri People from County Cavan 14th-century Irish historians 1387 deaths Irish book and manuscript collectors Irish-language writers Year of birth unknown