Tomás Ó Caiside, aka An Caisideach Bán, c. 1709 - 1773?, was an 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...

 friar

Friar

A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...

, soldier

Soldier

A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

, and 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...

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Ó Caiside

Ó Caiside

Ó Caiside is the name of a Gaelic-Irish family. It is now usually anglicised as Cassidy.The surname Ó Caiside was found in all regions of medieval Ireland, it been the name of several unrelated families....

's family were of Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. 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 administrative and judicial...

 stock, his parents settleing in Leacht na Drisheacain (Drishacaun townland, parish of Kilmurry, Castleplunkett, County Roscommon

County Roscommon

County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...

). What is known of his life is told in Eachtra Thomais Ui Chaiside, (The Adventures of Tomás Ó Caiside) which he wrote himself. Two surviving copies, one by his friend and contemporary, Brian Ó Farrell, are kept respectively in the Royal Irish Academy

Royal Irish Academy

The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...

 and the British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

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He was dismissed from the friary of Ballyhaunis

Ballyhaunis

Ballyhaunis is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is situated at the crossroads of the N60 and N83 National secondary roads and on the railway line connecting Dublin to Westport and Ballina....

 on account of a bad senseless marriage and spent the rest of his life travelling all over Ireland and Britain, as well as central Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 In 1733 he served in the Duke of Berwick's regiment, and was later been pressed into the army of Frederick the Great, where he encountered the Potsdam Giants

Potsdam Giants

The Potsdam Giants was the Prussian infantry regiment No 6, composed of taller-than-average soldiers. The regiment was founded in 1675 and dissolved in 1806 after the Prussian defeat against Napoleon...

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He mentions been in places such as the Palatinate; the Black Forest

Black Forest

The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....

; Sandhausen

Sandhausen

Sandhausen is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 7 km south of Heidelberg.-People:* Selçuk Alibaz , footballer...

; Hanover

Hanover

Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

; Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

; Brunswick

Braunschweig

Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....

; Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

; Bideford

Bideford

Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is also the main town of the Torridge local government district.-History:...

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His poems include:

• An Caisideach Bán
• Beal Atha hAmhmas
• Maire Bheal Ath hAmhnas
• Faoisdin Uí Chaiside (Cassidy's Confession)
• Brighid Ní Bheirn
• An Bráithrún Buadhartha (The Troubled Friar)