MS 23 M 70
CollectionRoyal Irish Academy
LocationDublin, Ireland
ShelfmarkRIA MS 23 M 70
LanguagesIrish; ga
Date created1631; 1500-1599; 1600-1699
Pagination99 ff.
SubjectHistory of Ireland
ProvenanceCompiled in 1631 for Brian Maguire (Brian Ruadh Meguidhir) by Michél Ó Cléirigh. Owned by Kuno Meyer, Celtic Scholar (1858-1919).; Purchased by the Academy from his grand-niece Barbara Meyer for £700 in 1987.
CoverageLisgoole, County Fermanagh
MaterialPaper
ScribesÓ Cléirigh Mícheál; Ó Maolchonaire Fearfeasa; Ó Cléirigh Cu Choigcríche; Ó Duibhgeannain Cúcoigríche; Ó Luinín Giolla Patraic
ContributorsMeguidhir Brian Ruadh; Meyer Kuno, 1858-1919; Meyer Barbara; Royal Irish Academy, 1987
Dimensions29.5cm × 19cm
Online since2008
NotesNo catalogue entry. 99 ff (imperfect) with 4 pieces on sheet and 1 extra folio. The manuscript is a copy of the Leabhar Gabhála ('The Book of Invasions'). The dedication to Brian Maguire, the address to the reader and the end is missing. Kuno Meyer's page-by -page notes on this manuscript and the original invoice for his purchase of the manuscript are in an envelope at SR Bay 36/1/C. Believed to be an autograph, or one of the autographs, of Míchél Ó Cleirigh the water-mark of the Paper is similar to water-marks of the earlier 17th century. A later transcript of this version of the text is in RIA MS D iii 3.
RightsCopyright Royal Irish Academy; Copyright image source Irish Script on Screen, School of Celtic Studies, DIAS.
DescriptionRIA MS 23 M 70 is a Gaelic manuscript from the 17th century of Leabhar Gabhála ('The Book of Invasions') compiled for Brian Ruadh Meguidhir (1689-1633), Lord of Enniskillen by Míchél Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maolchonaire, Cúcoigríche Ó Cléirigh, Cúcoigríche Ó Duibhgeannain (the 'Four Masters') and Giolla Patraic Ó Luinín (Meguidhir's own chief chronicler) at the convent at Lisgoole County Fermanagh in 1631. It is written on paper and and it's extant parts represent approximately two thirds of the work, to judge by the extent of another manuscript in the Academy i.e. RIA MS 23 K 32 believed to be written by Cúchoigcríche Ó Cléirigh. Leabhar Gabhála is a 'synthetic history' a text which purports to trace the history of Ireland back to Noah, the Milesians, the Tuath Dé Danainn, the Fir Bolg, Nemed, Parthalon and Cessair,and it begins with the creation of the world.
ReferencesBaumgarten (Rolf): Kuno Meyer’s Irish manuscript in Newsletter of the School of Celtic Studies 1 (Nov., 1987), pp. 23–25. On the discovery of MS RIA 23 M 70, previously owned by Kuno Meyer, containing the 1631 recension of Leabhar gabhála by Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, probably an autograph. Breatnach (Pádraig A.) : On the Ó Cléirigh recension of Leabhar gabhála. In Éigse 37 (2010), pp. 1–57. I. Introduction; II. Lines of transmission; III. Content in K and D contrasted (main text); IV. Alignment of M; V. Diction in K, M contrasted; VI. Joint consolidated recension (M); VII. Joint recension recast (K): motive and method; VIII. Cú Coigcríche Ó Cléirigh’s authorship of K; IX. Summary conclusions. Bibliography & abbreviations. Separately published Dublin: National University of Ireland, 2010 [same pagination + 2 plts].
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