Gillebríghde Albanach was a medieval Scottish poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and crusader. He took part, along with his fellow-Gael Muireadhach Albanach

Muireadhach Albanach

Muireadhach Albanach Ó Dálaigh was a Gaelic poet and crusader and member of the Ó Dálaigh bardic family.The Annals of the Four Masters of Ireland, s.a. 1213, tells us that he was the ollamh of Domhnall Ó Domhnaill...

, in the Fifth Crusade

Fifth Crusade

The Fifth Crusade was an attempt to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering the powerful Ayyubid state in Egypt....

, reaching Acre

Acre, Israel

Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....

 in 1218 or 1219, and following the main Crusader army via southern Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 to Damietta

Damietta

Damietta , also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about north of Cairo.-History:...

; He may have been on crusade until 1224 or after.

When not crusading, Gillebrìghde spent much, if not most of this life working as a poet in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. His panegyric

Panegyric

A panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...

 poems are all dedicated to Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 patrons. We know he was Scottish

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

, however, because of references to Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 describing it as "duthchas damh", my dúthchas ("native place", "heritage", "birthright", etc.) and "dom thír", my country. About seven of his poems survive, five panegyric poems, and two crusading poems.

Panegyrics

The surviving panegyrics were written for two Irish patrons, Donnchadh Cairbreach Ó Briain (d. 1242), King of Thomond; and Cathal Croibhdhearg Ó Conchubhair

Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair

Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair , the youngest son of the Irish High King Tairrdelbach mac Ruaidri Ua Conchobair, was a King of Connacht....

 (d. 1224), King of Connaught.

• "Aisling ad-chonnarc ó chianaibh" ("A vision I saw some time ago") - Written for Donnchadh Cairbreach Ó Briain.

• "Fada Dhamh druim re hÉirinn" ("Long am I with my back towards Ireland") - Written for Cathal Croibhdhearg Ó Conchubhair.

• "Sgían mo charad ar mo chliú" ("My friend's knife at my left side") - Written for Donnchadh Cairbreach Ó Briain.

• "Tabhraid chugam cruit mo ríogh" ("Bring me my king's harp") - Written for Donnchadh Cairbreach Ó Briain.

• "Tháining an Craobhdhearg go Cruachan" ("The Red Hand has come to Cruachan") - Written for Cathal Croibhdhearg Ó Conchubhair.

Crusading poems

• "A ghilli gabhus an stiúir" ("O Lad who takes the helm") -

• "A Mhuireadhaigh, meil do sgín ("Muireadhach, sharpen your knife")