''Leabhar Adhamh Ó Cianáin'' or ''The Book of Adhamh Ó Cianáin'', now G 2-3 NLI (

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 ...

), is a book written in or about the 1340s by Adhamh Ó Cianáin by and for himself, and out of the book of his teacher,

Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin (died 1372) was an Irish Gaelic poet. Background Ó Dubhagáinn was among the first notable members of the bardic family Baile Uí Dhubhagáin (Ballyduggan), near Loughrea, County Galway. He was accorded the rank o ...

Kenneth Nicholls Kenneth W. Nicholls (1934 or 1935 – 25 May 2025) was an Irish academic and historian, notable for his work on the late medieval and early modern period. He was the subject of a festschrift in 2014. Work Nicholls worked at the Dublin Institut ...

has suggested that Adhamh wrote the book's

genealogies Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

between 1328 and 1350, which occur in the first half of the manuscript, which also contains the metrical

Banshenchas ''An Banshenchas'' (literally "the woman lore") is a medieval text which collects brief descriptions of prominent women in Irish legend and history into a poetic narrative. Unlike much of early Irish literature, ''An Banshenchas'' may be attrib ...

. It is also important as the earliest surviving post-Norman Gaelic genealogy, which Ó Cianáin - as he implies himself - probably derived from Ó Dubhagáin's book. Unusually for a late medieval Irish manuscript, it is illustrated, including human portraits. It is believed to have been part of a movement to revivify Irish culture by

antiquarism An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

Sources

* ''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:Leabhar Adhamh O Cianain Irish-language manuscripts Irish genealogy Irish-language literature 14th-century documents 1340s works 14th-century manuscripts Medieval genealogies and succession lists Irish books 1340s in Ireland