Mac Bruaideadha, Tadhg mac Dáire
Mac Bruaideadha, Tadhg mac Dáire (1550?–1625?), poet, was one of a large family born to Dáire Mac Bruaideadha, proprietor of Knockanalban in the parish of Kilmurry Ibrickan, Co. Clare, and his wife, Fionnghuala Gray. The Mac Bruaideadhas were one of the learned families of Gaelic…...
MacCabe (Mac Cába), Cathaoir (Cahir)
MacCabe (Mac Cába), Cathaoir (Cahir) (c.1670–c.1740), poet and harpist, was born at Cloghballybeg, parish of Mullagh, Co. Cavan; details of his parents are unknown. He acquired in youth some knowledge of Greek and Latin, an erudite literacy in the Gaelic verse…...
Mac Cairteáin, Liam (an Dúna) (William MacCartain)
Mac Cairteáin, Liam (an Dúna) (William MacCartain) (c.1668–1724), scribe and poet, was born in Doon, Co. Cork. Nothing is known of his parents, but it is believed that he was of Ulster origin. A Jacobite, he was a major in Mac Cárthaigh Spáinneach's cavalry regiment that took…...
Mac Cana, Proinsias
Mac Cana, Proinsias (1926–2004), Celtic scholar, was born 6 July 1926 in Belfast, son of George McCann and his wife Mary Catherine (née Mallon). He grew up in a catholic district in east Belfast, where inter-community tensions were keenly felt. He attended St Malachy's College during…...
Mac Cárthaigh, Eoghan ‘an Mhéirín’
Mac Cárthaigh, Eoghan ‘an Mhéirín’ (‘of the little finger’) (c.1690–1756), poet, was born near Aherla, Co. Cork, son of Diarmaid Mac Cárthaigh, a great-grandson of Tadhg an Dúna Mac Cárthaigh, chief of the Dunmanway or Gleann an Chroim branch of the MacCarthys and a prominent…...
MacCarthy, Thomas St George
MacCarthy, Thomas St George (1862–1943), athlete, RIC officer, and co-founder of the GAA, was born 9 June 1862 at Bansha, Co. Tipperary, second of four children of George MacCarthy, constabulary officer, and Margaret MacCarthy (née…...
Mac Cathmhaoil (Mac Aingil), Aodh (MacCaghwell, Hugh; Cavellus, Hugo)
Mac Cathmhaoil (Mac Aingil), Aodh (MacCaghwell, Hugh; Cavellus, Hugo) (1571–1626), Franciscan scholar and catholic archbishop of Armagh, was born in Downpatrick, Co. Down, a member of a Gaelic learned family that was originally located in Clogher, Co. Tyrone. Given his proficiency as a…...
Mac Cluain, Seoirse
Mac Cluain, Seoirse (1894–1949), Irish-language scholar, was born 16 February 1894 in Capparoe, Scariff, Co. Clare, son of farmer John Clune and his wife, Ellen Rohan. He received his earliest education in Scariff national school and afterwards in the Sacred Heart College in Limerick…...
Mac Coitir, Uilliam (Liam) ‘Rua’
Mac Coitir, Uilliam (Liam) ‘Rua’ (c.1675–1738), poet, was born at Curraghdermot, near Castlelyons, Co. Cork. Nothing is known of his parents except that his mother was a Murphy, but he had at least two brothers, Éamonn and Séamas. The latter, known as Séamas Mór Mac Coitir, was…...
Mac Conmara, Donnchadh ‘Rua’
Mac Conmara, Donnchadh ‘Rua’ (c.1715–1810), poet, is believed to have been born in Cratloe, Co. Clare, but his early life is obscure and nothing is known of his family. According to tradition, he studied for the priesthood at the Irish college in Rome for five years, was…...
Mac Con Midhe (MacNamee), Giolla Brighde
Mac Con Midhe (MacNamee), Giolla Brighde (c.1210–p. 1272), bardic poet, belonged to the famous bardic family of Mac Con Midhe (MacNamee) who were settled around Ardstraw in Co. Tyrone, in the land between the rivers Finn and Mourne. They had a school of bardic…...
Mac Craith, Aindrias
Mac Craith, Aindrias (c.1710–c.1795), poet, was born probably at Fantstown, near Kilmallock, Co. Limerick. Nothing is known of his immediate family or their circumstances, but by the early 1730s Mac Craith was teaching in the village of Croom, where he may have…...
Mac Crimthainn, Áed
Mac Crimthainn, Áed (d. p.1201), is the only known scribe of the Book of Leinster. His genealogy (identified by F. J. Byrne) occurs in his own hand in the manuscript (p. 313). The relevant parts, back to the eponym of the surname, read: AEd m Gillai Ciarain . . ./…...
Mac Cruitín, Aindrias
Mac Cruitín, Aindrias (c.1670–1738), poet and scribe, was born at Moyglass, about 8 km south of Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare. The Mac Cruitíns were one of the hereditary learned families of Gaelic society and acted as seanchaithe (antiquaries or chroniclers) to the O'…...
Mac Cruitín, Aodh ‘Buí’ (MacCurtin, Hugh)
Mac Cruitín, Aodh ‘Buí’ (MacCurtin, Hugh) (c.1680–1755), poet and antiquary, was born in the parish of Kilmacrehy, Co. Clare, close to the modern village of Liscannor. The MacCurtins belonged to the hereditary learned caste of Gaelic society and members of the family served the…...
Mac Cuarta, Séamas ‘Dall’
Mac Cuarta, Séamas ‘Dall’ (c.1650–1732/3), poet, was probably born near Omeath, Co. Louth, although the Drumcondra area of Co. Meath is given as his birthplace in some sources. Little is known of his immediate family or their circumstances except that his father's name was…...
Mac Cumhaigh (MacCooey), Art
Mac Cumhaigh (MacCooey), Art (c.1738–1773), poet, was probably a native of the townland of Mounthill in the parish of Creggan, Co. Armagh, but local tradition also links him with Mahereagh in the parish of Barronstown, near Dundalk, Co. Louth, and he may have lived in the…...
Mac Domhnaill, Aodh (McDonnell, Hugh)
Mac Domhnaill, Aodh (McDonnell, Hugh) (1802–67), writer and folklore collector, was born at Drumgill, near Drumcondra, Co. Meath. His father was named Séamas Mac Domhnaill but nothing else is known of his immediate family. In 1827 he married Bridget Roe of Ardee, Co. Louth, and they had…...
Mac Domhnaill, Seán ‘Clárach’
Mac Domhnaill, Seán ‘Clárach’ (c.1690–1754), poet, was a native of the parish of Churchtown, some 10 km to the south of Ráth Luirc (Charleville), Co. Cork. Nothing is known of his immediate family, but he appears to have come from a prosperous farming background. He received a…...
MacErlean, John Campbell (Mac Fhir Léinn, Eoin)
MacErlean, John Campbell (Mac Fhir Léinn, Eoin) (1870–1950), Irish-language scholar and church historian, was born 15 February 1870 in Belfast, son of Andrew MacErlean, legal clerk, and Eliza MacErlean (née Campbell). Having attended St Malachy's College, Belfast, he entered the…...
Mac Fhionnlaoich, Peadar Toner (McGinley, Peter Toner; 'Cú Uladh')
Mac Fhionnlaoich, Peadar Toner (McGinley, Peter Toner; 'Cú Uladh') (1856–1942), president of the Gaelic League and writer, was born 5 October 1856 at Altinierin, Glenswilly, Co. Donegal, one of the ten children of Michael McGinley, farmer, and Susan McGinley (née Toner). He was educated…...
Mac Firbhisigh, Dubhaltach Óg
Mac Firbhisigh, Dubhaltach Óg (c.1600–71), antiquary, was a native of Lackan, parish of Kilglass, Co. Sligo. His father, Giolla Íosa Mór Mac Firbhisigh, was a member of a family that had provided the O'Dowds, lords of Tír Fhiachrach (the barony of Tireragh, Co. Sligo),…...
Mac Firbhisigh, Giolla Íosa Mór
Mac Firbhisigh, Giolla Íosa Mór (fl. c.1392–c.1417), historian and poet, was a hereditary ollamh or master of bardic learning in the west Sligo territory of Tír Fhiachrach, ruled throughout the middle ages by the O'Dowda (Ó Dubhda) chieftains. The head of…...
Mac Gearailt, Piaras (Fitzgerald, Pierce)
Mac Gearailt, Piaras (Fitzgerald, Pierce) (c.1709–c.1792), poet, was born in Ballykinealy, near Ballymacoda, Co. Cork, into a branch of the Fitzgeralds who were related to the knights of Kerry but had lost most of their property as a result of their involvement in the…...
Mac Giolla Ghunna, Cathal ‘Buí’
Mac Giolla Ghunna, Cathal ‘Buí’ (c.1680–c.1756), poet, was a member of a family that originated in Co. Fermanagh, but nothing is known of his immediate relatives. The local tradition suggests that he was a native of the district around Lough Macnean where the counties…...