The (), also called the '' oemBook of the O'Byrnes'' is an

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 ( ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

of poetry collected in the early 17th century. It consists of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

in praise of the

O'Byrne family The O'Byrne family () is an Irish clan that descend from Bran mac Máelmórda, King of Leinster died 1052AD, of the Uí Faelain of the Uí Dúnlainge of the northern Laigin. Before the Norman invasion of Ireland they began to colonise south Wic ...

, who ruled a region known as ''Gabhal Raghnaill'' in modern

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

. The poems were written between roughly 1550 and 1630, a time of turmoil in Ireland that saw the

Desmond Rebellions The Desmond Rebellions occurred in 1569–1573 and 1579–1583 in the Irish province of Munster. They were rebellions by the Earl of Desmond, the head of the FitzGerald dynasty in Munster, and his followers, the Geraldines and their allies, ...

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

and O'Doherty's rebellion. According to scholar

Seán Mac Airt Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angl ...

, who published a print version in 1944, "the , apart from its linguistic value, is important in that it affords us some insight from an Irish standpoint into the life and fortunes of a sept bordering

the Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

, during an interesting if unhappy era of our history". Irelandmap1500

The poems were mostly written by poets of the McKeogh (Mac Eochaidh, Mac Eochadha) family. Some are also by

Eochaidh Ó hÉoghusa Eochaidh Ó hÉoghusa, or O'Hussey in English, (1567–1617) was a well-known Irish bardic poet. Life A native of Ulster, born probably in (Ballyhoo/Ballyhose), in what is now County Fermanagh, Ó hÉoghusa was employed for much of his life by t ...

. Several poems are dedicated to

Fiach McHugh O'Byrne Fiach mac Aodha Ó Broin (anglicised as Feagh or Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne) (1534 – 8 May 1597) was Chief of the Name of Clann Uí Bhroin (Clan O'Byrne) and Lord of Ranelagh during the Elizabethan wars against the Irish clans. Background Dur ...

(1534–1597). His wife Rose O'Toole is described in one poem as "a blazing meteor, wine of grape, flower of women... She glows with the fire of youth. She is the life and death of heroes."

Manuscripts

The original manuscripts of various poems were dedicated to four successive O'Byrne lords of Ranelagh, the last being Brian mac Phelim O'Byrne. In 1622, Brian likely commissioned

Brian Mac Giolla Phádraig Brian Mac Giolla Phádraig (c. 1580 – 1653) was an Irish poet and priest. He is not to be confused with any of the Barons of Upper Ossory, his relations, several of whom bore the same name in Irish. Background Mac Giolla Phádraig was descende ...

to transcribe them together into a single volume. His copy was in turn copied by Hugh O'Daly; this manuscript is in

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, while a copy made by Michael O'Byrne in the 1720s is in

Houghton Library Houghton Library, on the south side of Harvard Yard adjacent to Widener Library, Lamont Library, and Loeb House, is Harvard University's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts. It is part of the Harvard College Library, the library s ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

References

{{Reflist Irish-language manuscripts Irish-language literature 17th-century Irish literature Irish poetry anthologies

Contents

Manuscripts

References