Geoffrey Keating (; – ) was an Irish historian. He was born in
County Tipperary
County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
, Ireland, and is buried in
Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of
Ballylooby-Duhill. He became a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
priest and a poet.
Biography
It was generally believed until recently that Keating had been born in Burgess,
County Tipperary
County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
; indeed, a monument to Keating was raised beside the bridge at Burgess, in 1990; but Diarmuid Ó Murchadha writes,
In November 1603, he was one of forty students who sailed for
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
under the charge of the Rev. Diarmaid MacCarthy to begin their studies at the
Irish College which had just been founded in that city by Cardinal
François de Sourdis, Archbishop of Bordeaux. On his arrival in France he wrote ''Farewell to Ireland'', and upon hearing of the
wrote ''Lament on the Sad State of Ireland''. After obtaining the degree of Doctor of Divinity at the
University of Bordeaux
The University of Bordeaux (, ) is a public research university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Talence. There are al ...
he returned about 1610 to Ireland and was appointed to the
cure of souls
''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Gregory ...
at Uachtar Achaidh in the parish of
Knockgraffan, near
Cahir, where he put a stop to the then-common practice of delaying Mass until the neighbouring gentry arrived.
His major works are ''
Foras Feasa ar Éirinn
''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' – literally 'Foundation of Knowledge on Ireland', but most often known in English as 'The History of Ireland' – is a narrative history of Ireland by Geoffrey Keating, written in Irish and completed .Bernadette Cun ...
'' (''Foundation of Knowledge on Ireland'', more usually translated ''History of Ireland''), was written in
Early Modern Irish
Early Modern Irish () represented a transition between Middle Irish and Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used in Ireland and Scotland from the 13th to the 18th century.
Classical Gaelic
Classical Gaelic or Classical Irish ( ...
and completed c. 1634 and ''Trí bior-ghaoithe an bháis'' (''The three shafts of death'') c. 1631.
The ''Foras Feasa'' traced the history of Ireland from the creation of the world to the invasion of the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
in the 12th century, based on the rich native historical and
mythological
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
traditions (including that of the
Milesians),
Irish bardic poetry, monastic annals, and other ecclesiastical records. The ''Foras Feasa'' circulated in
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...
, as Ireland's English administration would not give authority to have it printed because of its pro-Catholic arguments. It was still a time of repression; in 1634 a political campaign for a general reform of
anti-Catholic
Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...
religious persecution
Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...
, known as
the Graces, was denied by the Viceroy.
Having
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
ancestry, Keating held the political view that Ireland's nobility and natural leadership derived from the surviving
Irish clan
Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or in Irish, plural ) included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; howe ...
chiefs and Old English landed families who had remained Catholic. He also accepted the
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...
as lawful kings of Ireland, which had a long-term influence on both Irish
Confederate and
Jacobites until Papal recognition of the Stuart claim finally ended in 1766. Keating continued to influence Irish genealogical writers such as
John O'Hart into the 1800s.
Works
Edited and translated works:
* (For a list of versions see
Foras Feasa ar Éirinn
''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' – literally 'Foundation of Knowledge on Ireland', but most often known in English as 'The History of Ireland' – is a narrative history of Ireland by Geoffrey Keating, written in Irish and completed .Bernadette Cun ...
)
*
*
*
*
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
The History of Ireland (English Translation)with memoir, notes and genealogies at The Ex-Classics Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keating, Geoffrey
Irish chroniclers
Irish poets
16th-century Irish-language poets
17th-century Irish-language poets
17th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests
Irish Catholic poets
Irish-language writers
University of Bordeaux alumni
People of Elizabethan Ireland
Poet priests
Irish people of Norman descent
Scholars and academics from County Tipperary
17th-century deaths
17th-century Irish historians
Irish genealogists
1560s births
1640s deaths
Christian clergy from County Tipperary