Séamus Ó Siaghail, OFM (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1636?), was an Irish

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

. Ó Siaghail was a member of the

Ó Siadhail Ó Siadhail / uaSiadhail / uaSiadgail is a Gaelic- Irish surname. Overview There were at least three families of this name in Gaelic Ireland. * Ó Siadhail of Ui Maine, now east County Galway. * Ó Siadhail of Uí Failghe, now County Offaly ...

bardic family that had lived in Uí Failghe. He was a member of the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Order, whose patrons included Toirdhealbhach Mac Cochláin, to whom the 1627 English translation of the

Annals of Clonmacnoise The ''Annals of Clonmacnoise'' () are an early 17th-century Early Modern English translation of a lost Irish chronicle, which covered events in Ireland from prehistory to 1408. The work is sometimes known as ''Mageoghagan's Book'', after its tr ...

was dedicated. At some point before October 1636, Séamus Ó Siaghail and his fellow-Franciscan, Aodh Ó Raghailligh, began the process of transcribing and translating ''The

Rule of St. Clare The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Sec ...

'' into 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 ...

for the

Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin language, Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Or ...

of Bethleham,

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. However, for reasons unknown, the work remained unfinished, though

Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (), sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'', assisted by Cú Choigcríche ÓCléirigh, Fearfeasa ÓMaol Chonaire, and Pe ...

finished the transcription in mid-October 1636. It was some ten years later before the work was finished at

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, at the behest of

Mary Bonaventure Browne Mother Mary Bonaventure Browne (born after 1610, died after 1670) was a Poor Clare nun, abbess, and Irish historian. Background A daughter of Andrew Browne fitz Oliver, a wealthy merchant and a member of The Tribes of Galway. She was a niece o ...

, by

Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (), also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius ( fl. 1643 – January 1671) was an Irish scribe, translator, histo ...

. It was completed on 8 December 1647 and is now Royal Irish Academy MS D i 2.

References

* p. 162, "The Poor Clare Order in Ireland", Bernadette Cunningham, in "The Irish Franciscans 1534-1990", ed. Bhreathnach, MacMahon, McCafferty,

Four Courts Press Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably ...

, 2009.

External links

Stanthonyshrine.org

Sources.nli.ie
{{DEFAULTSORT:O Siaghail, Seamus Irish scribes Irish translators People from County Offaly 17th-century Irish writers 17th-century Irish male writers Irish Franciscans Irish-language writers

See also

References

External links