.A Concise History of Ireland

Irish History.

From A Concise History of Ireland

by P. W. Joyce

Irish Literature | Ecclesiastical Writings | Annals, Histories, Genealogies | Historical and Romantic Tales

Index Page.

The Irish Language.

1. Dialects of Celtic. There are two main branches of the Ancient Celtic Language: The Goidelic, or Gaelic, or Irish; and the British; corresponding with the two main divisions of the Celtic people of the British Islands. Each of these has branched into three dialects. Those of Gaelic are:--The Irish proper; the Gaelic of Scotland, differing only slightly from the Irish; and the Manx. The dialects of British are: Welsh, Cornish, and Breton or Armoric. Of the whole six dialects, five are still spoken; the Cornish became extinct in the last century; and Manx is nearly extinct.

2. Three Divisions of Irish. It is usual to divide Irish, as we find it written, into three stages: I. Old Irish, from the eighth to the twelfth century. This is the language of the Irish found in the Book of Armagh, and of some few passages in the Book of the Dun Cow. II. Middle Irish, from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, marked by many departures from the pure Old Irish forms. This is the language of most of our important manuscripts, described in next Chapter; such as the Book of the Dun Cow, the Book of Leinster, the Lebar Brecc, and the Book of Ballymote. III. Modern Irish, from the fifteenth century to the present day. This is the language of most of the Ossianic tales. The purest specimens are the writings of Keating. There is a vast amount of manuscript literature in Modern Irish.

3. Ogham was a species of writing in use in early ages, the letters of which were formed by combinations of short lines and points on and at both sides of a middle or stem line called a flesc. Scraps of Ogham are sometimes found in manuscripts, but it was almost always used for stone inscriptions, the groups of lines and points generally running along two adjacent sides of the stone, with the angle for a flesc. Upwards of 200 Ogham monuments have been found in various parts of the four provinces of Ireland; but they are far more numerous in the south and south-west than elsewhere.

Nearly all the Oghams hitherto found are sepulchral inscriptions. Where inscriptions have not been injured or defaced, they can in general be deciphered, so that many have been made out beyond all question. But as the greatest number of Ogham stones are more or less worn or chipped or broken, there is in the interpretation of the majority of the inscriptions some conjecture and uncertainty.

As to the antiquity of Ogham writing, the best authorities now agree that it is a survival from the far distant ages of paganism, and that it was developed before Christianity was heard of in Ireland. But the custom of engraving Ogham on stones, and of--occasionally--writing in Ogham characters in vellum books, continued far into Christian times. In the ancient tales we find it often stated that Oghams were cut on rods of yew or oak, and that such rods were used as a mode of communication between individuals, serving the same purpose among them as letter-writing serves now.

Irish Literature.

4. There are many passages in ancient writings proving beyond question that there was some form of written literature in Ireland before the advent of Christianity. In the oldest native literature it is expressly stated that the pagan Irish had books, and the statement is corroborated by an extern writer, a Christian philosopher and traveller of the fourth century named Ethicus of Istria; who, in a work he calls his "Topography," tells us that in the course of his travels he crossed over from Spain to Ireland, where he spent some time examining the books written by the native Irish scholars. This was at least a century before the arrival of St. Patrick.

Several circumstances indicate a state of literary activity at the time of St. Patrick, who, on his arrival in the country, found literary and professional men:--Druids, poets, and antiquarians.

5. After the time of St. Patrick, as everything seems to have been written down that was considered worth preserving, manuscripts accumulated in the course of time, which were kept either in monasteries or in the houses of hereditary professors of learning. In the dark time of the Danish ravages and during the troubled centuries that followed the Anglo-Norman invasion, the manuscript collections were gradually dispersed, and a large proportion lost or destroyed. Yet we have remaining--rescued by good fortune from the general wreck--a great body of manuscript literature. The two most important collections are those in Trinity College and in the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, where there are manuscripts of various ages, from the fifth down to the present century. In the Franciscan monastery of Adam and Eve in Dublin are a number of valuable manuscripts which were sent from Rome a few years ago. There are also many important manuscripts in Maynooth College, in the British Museum in London, and in the Bodleian Library at Oxford.

6. Before the invention of printing it was customary in Ireland for individuals, or families, or religious communities, to keep large manuscript books of miscellaneous literature. In these were written suck literary pieces as were considered worthy of being preserved in writing--tales, poems, biographies, genealogies, histories, annals, and so forth--all mixed up in one volume, and almost always copied from older books. The value set on these books may be estimated from the fact that one of them was sometimes given as ransom for a captive chief.

7. The oldest of all these books of miscellaneous literature is the Lebar-na-Heera, or the Book of the Dun Cow, now in the Royal Irish Academy. It was written by Mailmurri Mac Kelleher, a learned scribe, who died in Clonmacnoise in the year 1106. As it now stands it consists of only 134 folio pages, a mere fragment of the original work. It contains 65 pieces of various kinds, several of which are imperfect on account of missing leaves. There are a number of romantic tales in prose; a copy of the celebrated Amra or elegy on St. Columkille, composed by Dallan Forgaill about the year 592, which no one can yet wholly understand, the language is so ancient and difficult; an imperfect copy of the Voyage of Maildun; and an imperfect copy of the Tain-bo-Quelna with several of the minor tales connected with it.

8. The Book of Leinster, the next in order of age, now in Trinity College, Dublin, was written in 1160 and in the years before and after. The part of the original book remaining--for it is only a part--consists of 410 folio pages, and contains nearly 1,000 pieces of various kinds--prose and poetry--historical sketches, romantic tales (among which is a perfect copy of the Tain-bo-Quelna), topographical tracts, genealogies, etc.--a vast collection of ancient Irish lore.

9. The Lebar Brecc, or Speckled Book of Mac Egan, also called the Great Book of Duniry, is in the Royal Irish Academy. It is a large folio volume, now consisting of 280 pages, but originally containing many more, written in a small, uniform, beautiful hand, toward the end of the fourteenth century, by the Mac Egans, a family of learned professors and teachers. The book, which contains 226 pieces, was copied from various older books, most of them now lost. All, both text and notes, with a few exceptions, are on religious subjects; there is a good deal of Latin mixed with the Irish.

10. The Book of Ballymote, in the Royal Irish Academy, is a large folio volume of 501 pages. It was written by several scribes about the year 1391, at Ballymote in Sligo, from older books; and contains a great number of pieces in prose and verse. Among them is a copy of the Book of Invasions, i.e., a history of the Conquests of Ireland by the several ancient colonists. There are genealogies of almost all the principal Irish families; several historical and romantic tales of the early Irish kings; a copy of the Dinnsenchus; a translation of the Argonautic Expedition and of the War of Troy.

11. The Yellow Book of Lecan [Leckan] in Trinity College, is a large quarto volume of about 500 pages. It was written at Lecan in the County Sligo in and about the year 1390, and contains a great number of pieces in prose and verse, historical, biographical, topographical, &c.

12. The five books above described have been published in fac-simile without translations by the Royal Irish Academy, page for page, line for line, letter for letter, so that scholars in all parts of the world can now study them without coming to Dublin.

13. The Book of Lecan, in the Royal Irish Academy, about 600 pages, was written in 1416, chiefly by Gilla Isa More Mac Firbis. The contents resemble in a general way those of the Book of Ballymote.

There are many other books of miscellaneous Gaelic literature in the Royal Irish Academy and in Trinity College, such as the Book of Lismore, the Book of Fermoy, the Book of Hy Many; besides numerous volumes without special names.

Ancient Irish literature, so far as it has been preserved, may be classed as follows:

I. Ecclesiastical and Religious writings.
II. Annals, History, and Genealogy.
III. Tales, historical and romantic.
IV. Law, Medicine, and Science.
V. Translations of Pieces from other languages.

Ecclesiastical Writings.

14. Copies of the Gospels or of other portions of Scripture, that were either written or owned by eminent saints of the early Irish Church, were treasured with great veneration by succeeding generations; and it became a common practice to enclose them, for better preservation, in ornamental boxes or shrines, which are generally of exquisite workmanship in gold, silver, or other metals, precious stones, and enamel. Books of this kind are the oldest we possess.

15. The Domnach Airgid, or Silver Shrine, which is in the National Museum, Dublin, is a box containing a Latin copy of the Gospels written on vellum. It was once thought the enclosed book was the identical copy of the Gospels presented by St. Patrick to his disciple St. Mac Carthenn, the founder of the see of Clogher: but recent investigations go to show that it is not so old as the time of the great apostle.

16. The Book of Kells is the most remarkable book of this class, though not the oldest. It is a Latin copy in vellum, of the four Gospels, now in Trinity College, Dublin, and received its name from having been kept for many centuries at Kells in Meath. Its exact age is unknown, but it was probably written in the seventh or eighth century. At the present day this is the best known of all the old Irish books, on account of its elaborate and beautiful ornamentation, of which a description will be found in the Chapter on Art.

17. The Cathach [Caha] of the O'Donnells. According to a very old tradition this book was written by St. Columkille; and at any rate it has been in the family of his kindred, the O'Donnells, since his time. They always brought it with them to battle; and it was their custom to have it carried three times round their army before fighting, in the belief that this would insure victory; hence it name, Cathach, which means Battle-book. This venerable relic, covered with a beautifully wrought case of silver gilt and precious stones, may be seen in the National Museum, Dublin.

18. In Trinity College, Dublin, are two beautiful shrines enclosing two illuminated Gospel manuscripts, the Book of Dimma and the Book of St. Moling, both written in the seventh or eighth century.

19. The Book of Armagh, now in Trinity College, is almost as beautifully written as the Book of Kells. The accomplished scribe was Ferdomnach of Armagh, who finished the book in 807. It is chiefly in Latin, with a good deal of Old Irish interspersed. It contains a life of St. Patrick; a number of Notes on his life, by Bishop Tirechan; a complete copy of the New Testament; and St. Patrick's Confession, in which the saint gives a brief account, in simple, unaffected Latin, of his mission in Ireland, The Confession was copied by Ferdomnach from the very handwriting of St. Patrick.

In the year 1004, a highly interesting and important entry was made in this book. In that year the great king Brian Boru, arriving at Armagh, made an offering of twenty ounces of gold on the altar of St. Patrick. He confirmed the ancient ecclesiastical supremacy of Armagh, and caused his secretary, Mailsuthain, to enter in the Book of Armagh this decree, which is as plain now as the day it was written.

20. We have a vast body of original ecclesiastical and religious writings. Among them are the Lives of a great many of the most distinguished Irish saints, mostly in Irish, some few in Latin; of various ages, from the eighth century, the period of the Book of Armagh, down to the last century. The Lives of Saints Patrick, Brigit, and Columkille are more numerous than those of the others. Of these the best known is the "Tripartite Life of St. Patrick," so called because it is divided into three parts.

Besides the Irish Lives of St, Columkille, there is one in Latin, written by Adamnan, who died in the year 703. He was a native of Donegal, and ninth abbot of Iona; and his memoir is one of the most graceful pieces of Latin composition of the Middle Ages. It has been published.

21. Another class of Irish ecclesiastical writings are the Calendars or Martyrologies, or Festilogies -- Irish Feilire [Fail'ira], a festival list. The Feilire is a catalogue of saints arranged according to their festival days, with usually a few facts about each, briefly stated. There are several of these Martyrologies. One is the Calendar or Martyrology of Donegal, written by Michael O'Clery the chief of the Four Masters, which has been published. The only other one I will notice is the Feilire of Aengus the Culdee, which is in verse, and which has been translated and printed.

22. The Book of Hymns is one of the manuscripts of Trinity College, Dublin, copied at some time not later than the ninth or tenth century. It consists of a number of hymns--some in Latin, some in Irish--composed by the primitive saints of Ireland.

23. There are manuscripts on various other ecclesiastical subjects, scattered through our libraries; canons and rules of monastic life, prayers and litanies, hymns, sermons, explanations of the Christian mysteries, commentaries on the Scriptures, &c.--many very ancient.

Annals, Histories, Genealogies.

24. Annals. The Irish chroniclers were very careful to record in their annals remarkable occurrences of their own time, or past events as handed down to them by former chroniclers. The annals are among the most important of the ancient manuscript writings for the study of Irish history.

The following are the principal books of Irish Annals remaining. The Synchronisms of Flann, who was a layman, Ferleginn or chief professor of the school of Monasterboice; died in 1056. He compares the chronology of Ireland with that of other countries, and gives the names of the monarchs that reigned in them, with lists of the Irish kings who reigned contemporaneously. Copies of this tract are preserved in the Books of Lecan and Ballymote.

25. The Annals of Tighernach [Teerna]. Tighernach O'Breen, the compiler of these annals, one of the greatest scholars of his time, was abbot of the two monasteries of Clonmacnoise and Roscommon. He was acquainted with the chief historical writers of the world known in his day, and made use of Flann's Synchronisms, and of most other ancient Irish historical writings of importance. He states that authentic Irish history begins at the foundation of Emania, and that all preceding accounts are uncertain (100). He died 1088.

26. The Annals of Innisfallen were compiled about the year 1215 by some scholars of the monastery of Innisfallen in the Lower Lake of Killarney.

The Annals of Ulster, also called the Annals of Senait Mac Manus, now called Belle Isle, in upper Lough Erne. The original compiler was Cathal [Cahal] Maguire, who died of small-pox in 1498. They have been published with translation.

The Annals of Loch Ce [Key] were copied in 1588 for Brian Mac Dermot, who had his residence in an island in Lough Key, in Roscommon. They have been translated and edited in two volumes.

The Annals of Connaught from 1224 to 1562.

27. The Chronicon Scotorum (Chronicle of the Scots or Irish), down to A.D. 1135, was compiled about 1650 by the great Irish antiquary Duald Mac Firbis. These annals have been printed with translation.

The Annals of Boyle, from the earliest time to 1253, are written in Irish mixed with Latin; and the entries throughout are very meagre.

The Annals of Clonmacnoise from the earliest period to 1408. The original Irish of these is lost; but we have an English translation by Connell Mac Geoghegan of Westmeath, which he completed in 1627.

28. The Annals of the Four Masters, also called the Annals of Donegal, are the most important of all. They were compiled in the Franciscan monastery of Donegal, by three of the O'Clerys, Michael, Conary, and Cucogry, and by Ferfesa O'Mulconry, who are now commonly known as the Four Masters. They began in 1632, and completed the work in 1636. "The Annals of the Four Masters" was translated with most elaborate and learned annotations by Dr. John O'Donovan; and it was published--Irish text, translation, and notes--in seven large volumes.

A book of annals called the Psalter of Cashel was compiled by Cormac Mac Cullenan, but this has been lost. He also wrote "Cormac's Glossary," an explanation of many old Irish words. This work still exists and has been translated and printed. Besides annals in the Irish language, there are also Annals of Ireland in Latin; such as those of Clyn, Dowling, Pembridge, of Multifarnham, &c., most of which have been published.

29. Histories. None of the writers of old times conceived the plan of writing a general history of Ireland. The first history of the whole country was the Forus Feasa ar Erinn, or History of Ireland, from the most ancient times to the Anglo-Norman invasion, written by Dr. Geoffrey Keating of Tubbrid in Tipperary, who died in 1644. Keating was deeply versed in the ancient language and literature of Ireland; and his history, though containing much that is legendary, is very interesting and valuable.

30. Genealogies. The genealogies of the principal families were most faithfully preserved in ancient Ireland. Each king and chief had in his household a Shanachy or historian, whose duty it was to keep a written record or all the ancestors and of the several branches of the family.

Many of the ancient genealogies are preserved in the Books of Leinster, Lecan, Ballymote, &c. But the most important collection of all is the great Book of Genealogies compiled in the years 1650 to 1666 in the College of St. Nicholas in Galway, by Duald Mac Firbis.

31. In this place may be mentioned the Dinnsenchus [Din-Shan'ahus], a topographical tract giving the legendary history and the etymology of the names of remarkable hills, mounds, caves, cairns, cromlechs, raths, duns, and so forth. Copies of this tract are found in several of the old Irish books of miscellaneous literature, as already mentioned in Chapter II. The Coir Anmann ("Fitness of Names") is another work explaining the names of remarkable Irish historical persons. It has been published with translation.

Historical and Romantic Tales.

32. Of all our manuscript remains, romantic literature is the most abundant. In course of time a great body of such literature accumulated, consisting chiefly of prose tales. In the Book of Leinster there is a very interesting list of ancient historical tales, to the number of 187, which are classified into Battles, Voyages, Tragedies, Military Expeditions, Cattle-raids, Courtships, Pursuits, Adventures, Caves (i.e. adventures in caves), Visions, Sieges, Feasts, Slaughters, Exiles, and Lake eruptions. We have in our old books stories belonging to every one of these classes.

"Some of the tales are historical, i.e. founded on historical events--history embellished with fiction; while others are altogether fictitious. But it is to be observed that even in the fictitious tales, the main characters are nearly always historical, or such as were considered so. The greater number of the tales are in prose, but some are in verse; and in many of the prose tales the leading characters are often made to express themselves in verse or some striking incident of the story is related in a poetical form." *

33. A large proportion of the tales fall under two main cycles of ancient Irish history, which in all the Irish poetical and romantic literature were kept perfectly distinct:--the cycle of Conor Mac Nessa and his Red Branch Knights, and the cycle of Finn, the son of Cumal and his Fianna [Feena]. Conor Mac Nessa was king of Ulster in the first century, and lived in the palace of Emain or Emania. Under him flourished the Red Branch Knights, a sort of militia for the defence of the throne. The stories of this period form by far the finest part of our ancient romantic literature.

The most celebrated of all the tales is the Tain-bo-Cuailnge [Quel'ne], the epic of Ireland; which celebrates a cattle-raiding invasion of Ulster by Maive queen of Connaught in the first century (100). In connexion with it there are about thirty minor tales.

34. Of the cycle of Finn and the Fena of Erin we have a vast collection of tales : commonly known as the Ossianic Tales. Finn the son of Cumal lived in the third century, and had his chief residence on the Hill of Allen in Kildare. He was killed on the Boyne when an old man, A.D. 283; and of all the heroes of ancient Ireland he is most vividly remembered in popular tradition. He was son-in-law of Cormac Mac Art, king of Ireland; and under that monarch he commanded a militia or standing army called the Fianna of Erin (104).

The tales of the Fena are neither so ancient nor so fine as those of the Red Branch Knights : the greater number are contained in manuscripts not more than 100 or 150 years old. Six volumes of tales, chiefly of the cycle of Finn, have been published with translations. The best of them is "The Pursuit of Dermot and Grania," of which I have given a free English translation in my "Old Celtic Romances."

35. The battle of Moylena and the battle of Moyrath are the subjects of two historic tales, both of which have been published, the former edited by Eugene O'Curry and the latter by O'Donovan. What are called the "Three Tragic Stories of Erin," viz., the Fate of the Children of Lir, the Fate of the Sons of Turenn, and the Fate of the Children of Usna, have been translated and edited by O'Curry. I have myself published in my Old Celtic Romances free translations, without texts, of thirteen ancient tales; among them the Three Tragic Stories of Erin.

The great majority of those old tales still remain unpublished and untranslated.