Tadhg Dall Ó hÚigínn
Encyclopedia
Background
One of the most well-known of the late-Gaelic era poets, he was a member of a family of professional poets from north ConnachtConnacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
. He was called dall because he was blind. His mother's name is unknown. His father was Mathghamhain mac Maolhmuire, directly descended from Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn
Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn
Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn, Irish poet, died 1448.-Life and background:Ó hÚigínn was a member of a well-known Irish family of bards, based in Connacht. His father, Tadhg, died in 1391, while all that is known of his mother is her first name, Aine. He had an elder brother, Fearghal Ruadh O hUiginn, who's...
(died 1448). His brother was Maol Muire Ó hÚigínn, Archbishop of Tuam
Archbishop of Tuam
The Archbishop of Tuam is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Roman Catholic Church.-History:...
(died 1590). Another brother may have been one Tomultach Og. Tadhg was noted as having lands at Doughrarane in Achonry and Coolrecuil in Kilmactigue, and other parcels, in County Sligo and served as a juror. Eleanor Knott suggested that these were lands originally granted to his ancestors by the O'Conor Sligo family, who were patrons of the family.
Poetry
O hUiginn evidently enjoyed high status in his lifetime, reflected in the lords to whom he addressed some of his poems. They included Cú Chonnacht Mag Uidhir (died 1589), Patrick Plunkett, Baron Dunsany (d. 1601), Aodh Mag Uidhir (died 1600), Cormac Ó hEadhra (died 1612), Brían na Múrtha Ó RuaircBrian O'Rourke
Lord Brian na Múrtha Ó Ruairc , hereditary lord of West Bréifne in Ireland during the later stages of the Tudor conquest of that country, was proclaimed by the English to be a rebel and became the first man extradited within Britain for crimes alleged to have been committed in Ireland.-Early life:Ó...
(died 1591), Conn Ó Dónaill (died 1583), Aodh Ó Dónaill (died 1600), Turlough Luineach O'Neill
Turlough Luineach O'Neill
Toirdhealbhach Luineach Mac Néill Chonnalaigh Ó Néill , the earl of the Clan-Connell, was inaugurated as the King of Tyrone, upon Shane O’Neill’s death...
(died 1595), John Burke (died 1580), Myler Burke (died 1586). Further indication of his status among contemporaries and in the decades after is the sizable number of his compositions that are found in the Book of O'Conor Don and in the O Gadhra manuscript (RIA MS 23 F 16), compiled in Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
in 1631 and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
/Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
c. 1659 respectively.
A constant theme of his work is a very distinct sense of Irish nationalism, acutly aware of the political situation in late 16th-century Ireland. Irish soverigenty under threat from England features in several, along with restructuring invasion stories found in Lebor Gabala Erenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages...
for the Norman-Irish, who were now heavily gaelicised.
Death
An inquisitionInquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
held at Ballymote in 1593 recorded that Tadhg Dall had died at Coolrecuil on the last day of March 1591. A chancery
Irish Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court which exercised equitable jurisdiction in Ireland until its abolition as part of the reform of the court system in 1877. It was the court in which the Lord Chancellor of Ireland presided. Its final sitting place was at the Four Courts in Dublin.-History:The...
inquisition of 1617 provided further details, stating that members of the O Hara family of Cashel Carragh, Kilmacteige, were attained in 1591 for murdering one Teige Dall O Higgen his wife and childe in the year one thousand five hundred ninetee and one or thereabouts. Apparently, Tadhg had composed a satarical poem on six robbers, all O'Hara's, who reacted by cutting out his tongue.
Descendants
Tadgh Dall had a daughter called Maire. His son, Tadhg Óg Ó hÚigínn, who was nine years old when his father was killed by members of the Ó hEadhra sept, inherited his father's lands at Dooghorne in AchonryAchonry
Achonry is a village in County Sligo, Ireland.In the parish is the former Church of Ireland Cathedral of St Crumnathy, now deconsecrated.-See also:* List of towns and villages in Ireland-External links:** — photograph at flickr.com...
. Tadgh Óg's grandson, Pól Ó hUiginn (1628?-1724) was a scholar and Protestant preacher. The name of Tadgh Dall's wife is unknown.
Family tree
Tadhg, d. 1315|
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Tadhg, d. 1391 = Aine
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Fearghal Ruadh Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn
Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn
Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn, Irish poet, died 1448.-Life and background:Ó hÚigínn was a member of a well-known Irish family of bards, based in Connacht. His father, Tadhg, died in 1391, while all that is known of his mother is her first name, Aine. He had an elder brother, Fearghal Ruadh O hUiginn, who's...
(died 1448)
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[some generations]
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Brian Óge
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Maolhmuire
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Mathghamhain Gilla Coluim, d. 1587.
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Tadgh Dall, d. 1591 Maol Muire, d. 1590. Tomultach Óg?
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Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn, b. 1582. Maire (d.1591?)
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Pol, 1628?-1724
See also
- Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínnTadg Óg Ó hÚigínnTadg Óg Ó hÚigínn, Irish poet, died 1448.-Life and background:Ó hÚigínn was a member of a well-known Irish family of bards, based in Connacht. His father, Tadhg, died in 1391, while all that is known of his mother is her first name, Aine. He had an elder brother, Fearghal Ruadh O hUiginn, who's...
- Tadhg Mór Ó hUiginnTadhg Mór Ó hUiginnTadhg Mór Ó hUiginn, Irish poet.Ó hUiginn was a member of a highly regarded Connacht family of bards. His surviving poems include:* Gach éan mar a adhbha* Slán fat fholcadh-See also:* Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn* Tadhg Dall Ó hÚigínn...
- Gilla na Neamh Ó h-UiginnGilla na Neamh Ó h-UiginnGilla na Neamh Ó h-Uiginn, Irish poet, died 1349.Gilla na Neamh was member of the Ó hUiginn family of poets and historians, based in Connacht....
, d.1349 - Maol Sheachluinn na n-Uirsgéal Ó hUiginnMaol Sheachluinn na n-Uirsgéal Ó hUiginnMaol Sheachluinn na n-Uirsgéal Ó hUiginn, Irish poet, fl. c. 1400.Ó hÚigínn was a member of a well-known Irish family of bards, based in Connacht...