MAC FHIR BHISIGHnative Irish—of which he had an unrivalled mastery
for his time—he had a good knowledge of English and
Latin, as well as some Greek.
In May 1643, at Ballymacegan, Dubhaltach copied
a glossary called Dúil Laithne(“Book of Latin”). In
that year he transcribed for the Galway scholar Dr. John
Lynch a collection of Leinster historical materials now
known as Fragmentary Annals of Ireland. Probably
still at Ballymacegan, he copied a valuable early legal
tract,Bretha Neimheadh Déidheanach, and an impor-
tant collection of early annals, Chronicum Scotorum.
Settled in Galway by early 1645, he copied an ancient
historico-genealogical text, Senchas Síl Ír, from the
Book of Ó Dubhagáin (alias Book of Uí Mhaine); that
copy now forms part of Mac Fhir Bhisigh’s great Book
of Genealogies.
In 1647, Dubhaltach translated from English into
Irish some tracts on the Rule of Saint Clare for the
Poor Clare nuns in Galway. By early 1649, he was
working on his monumental Leabhar Genealach, or
Book of Genealogies, a compendium of Irish genea-
logical lore from the medieval and early modern peri-
ods collected from many sources, some of them now
lost. By the close of 1650, he had completed the main
text of the manuscript, including a general index. The
work was executed during a very disturbed period of
Galway’s history: 1649 to 1650 (for example, the
bubonic plague killed some 3700 of the inhabitants),
and shortly after its completion Sir Charles Coote’s
Cromwellian army began a nine-month siege of the
city.
In 1653, at an unknown location, Mac Fhir Bhisigh
added hagiographical material to the Book of Geneal-
ogies from the early-fifteenth century Leabhar Breac.
Back in his home area in April 1656 to witness his
hereditary lord, Dathí Óg Ua Dubhda (David
O’Dowda), wed the latter’s cousin, Dorothy O’Dowd,
it may well have been he who drafted the interesting
“Marriage Articles” (in English). That same year,
Dubhaltach compiled a work on early Irish authors
which survives in a later copy by him. In October 1657,
in Sligo town, he copied into the Book of Genealogies
an interesting early text from a source no longer extant.
In 1662, he was mentioned in print for the first and
only time in his lifetime, in the book, published in
France,Cambrensis Eversus, by his friend John Lynch.
In the early 1660s, too, he was listed as liable to pay
hearth-tax on a dwelling in Castletown, not far from
his native Lackan.
In 1664, Mac Fhir Bhisigh added significant mate-
rial to the Book of Genealogies from unknown sources.
By the end of 1665, he had reached Dublin, where he
was soon employed by the Anglo-Irish historian and
antiquary Sir James Ware, whom he furnished with
English translations of small portions of the Annals of
Inisfallen and of Tigernach and a section of the now-
lost Annals of Lecan covering the years 1443 to 1468.
He also wrote a tract in English on early Irish bishops,
drawing on various documents (few now extant) from
the archives of Clann Fhir Bhisigh. Back in County
Sligo in spring 1666, Dubhaltach compiled a catalogue
in Irish of early Irish bishops and then undertook an
abridged version of the Book of Genealogies. His orig-
inal copy of the abridgement is lost, so we cannot
tell if he ever finished it; both of the earliest (early
eighteenth-century) copies appear incomplete. Mac
Fhir Bhisigh was in Dublin at the time of Ware’s death
on December 1 but then returned to Connacht. Seeking
patronage from Sir Dermot O’Shaughnessy in County
Galway, he composed a poem in his honor, with
unknown results. He may have sought support from
the Marquess of Antrim, in Larne, County Antrim, and
left several important manuscripts in the hands of the
local learned family of Ua Gnímh. Back in his home-
area, he was stabbed to death at Doonflin, in January
1671, by one Thomas Crofton in circumstances that
remain unclear.
Mac Fhir Bhisigh left a substantial scholarly legacy.
He was one of the last traditionally trained members
of a hereditary learned family, and by his diligence as
a copyist, compiler, and translator he ensured the sur-
vival of several important sources of medieval and
early modern Irish history.
NOLLAIGÓ MURAÍLEReferences and Further Reading
Ó Concheanainn, Tomás. “Scríobhaithe Leacáin Mhic Fhir
Bhisigh.” Celtica19 (1987): 141–175.
––––––. “A Medieval Irish Historiographer: Giolla Íosa Mac
Fhir Bhisigh.” In Seanchas: Studies in Early and Medieval
Irish Archaeology, History and Literature in Honour of
Francis J. Byrne, edited by Alfred P. Smyth, pp. 387–395.
Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2000.
O’Donovan, John, ed. The Genealogies, Tribes and Customs of
Hy-Fiachrach, commonly Called O’Dowda’s Country...
from the Book of Lecan,... and from the Genealogical
Manuscript of Duald Mac Firbis.... Dublin: Irish Archae-
ological Society, 1844.
Ó Muraíle, Nollaig. The Celebrated Antiquary: Dubhaltach
Mac Fhirbhisigh (c. 1600–1671), His Lineage, Life and
Learning.Maynooth: An Sagart, 1996. Reprint, 2002.
––––––, ed. Leabhar Mór na nGenealach: The Great Book of
Irish Genealogies, compiled (1645–66) by Dubhaltach Mac
Fhirbhisigh. 5 vols. Dublin: De Búrca, 2003–2004.
Walsh, Paul. “The Learned Family of Mac Firbhisigh.” In Irish
Men of Learning: Studies by Father Paul Walsh, edited by
Colm O Lochlainn, pp. 80–101. Dublin: Three Candles
Press, 1947.
See alsoAnnals and Chronicles; Bardic Schools,
Learned Families; Genealogies; Lecan,
Book of; Lecan, Yellow Book of;
Mac Aodhagáin