Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill
Encyclopedia
Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill also Eileen O' Connell, (c.1743 – c.1800) 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...

 noblewoman and poet, the composer of Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire
Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire
Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire or the Lament for Art Ó Laoghaire is an Irish keen, or dirge written by his wife Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill. It has been described as the greatest poem written in either Ireland or Britain during the eighteenth century....

.

Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill was a member of the Muintir Uí Chonaill of Derrynane
O'Connell of Derrynane
The O'Connell family, principally of Derrynane, are a Gaelic Irish noble family of County Kerry in Munster. The principal seat of the senior line of the family was Derrynane House, now an Irish National Monument.-Notable family members:...

, County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

, being one of twenty-two children of Dómhnaill Mór Ó Conaill and an aunt of Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...

. She first married at age fifteen, but the marriage was childless and her elderly husband died after only six months.

Life

In 1767 she fell in love with Captain Art Ó Laoghaire
Art Ó Laoghaire
Art Ó Laoghaire , a Roman Catholic, was an officer in the Austrian army.Having returned home to Rathleigh House near Macroom, Cork, Ireland, Art refused to sell his prize-winning horse to Englishman Abraham Morris, and was thus made an outlaw...

 of Rathleigh, Macroom
Macroom
Macroom is a market town in Ireland located in a valley on the River Sullane, a tributary of the River Lee, between Cork and Killarney. It is one of the key gateways to the tourist region of West Cork. The town recorded a population on 3,553 in the 2006 national census...

, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, as he rode past on a dark white steed, the peerless, whose forehead bore a snow-white star. He had recently returned from service in the Hungarian Hussars. Eileen was 23; she had been married to "old O'Connor of Firies" when she was 15, and widowed within six months of that marriage. With the marriage against the express wishes of her family, Art and Eibhlin eloped, marrying on 19 December 1767 and settled down to life at Rathleigh where they lived with Art's father, Cornelius Ó Laoire, having five children, three of whom died in infancy. She was pregnant at the time of Art's death.

Art Ó Laoghaire (O'Leary
O'Leary
O'Leary is an Irish name, an anglicized version of the original Gaelic patronym Ó Laoghaire or Ó Laoire.The Uí Laoghaire clan, today associated with the Uibh Laoghaire parish in County Cork, is considered by scholars to have originated on the south-west coast, in the area of Ros Ó gCairbre , of...

) was a Roman Catholic, one of the few surviving Catholic gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....

. The anti-Catholic Penal Laws
Penal Laws (Ireland)
The term Penal Laws in Ireland were a series of laws imposed under English and later British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour of members of the established Church of Ireland....

 in force in Ireland during the 18th century made it impossible for 95% of the population to receive an education or have a career in their own country. Ó Laoghaire had been educated on the Continent and served as a Captain in the Hungarian Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....

s, a Regiment of Empress Marie Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...

's Army of Austro-Hungary. As would befit a well-regarded soldier, aristocrat and husband and father, the epitaph on his tomb reads "Lo! Arthur Leary, generous, handsome, brave, / Slain in his bloom, lies in this humble grave."

Art had a long-running dispute with Abraham Morris (or Morrison) of Hanover Hall, who was Sheriff of Cork ("dirty treachorous Morris", "Morris ghránna an fhill"). Because of the Penal Laws
Penal Laws (Ireland)
The term Penal Laws in Ireland were a series of laws imposed under English and later British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour of members of the established Church of Ireland....

, all Irish Catholics had to endure severe restrictions on employment, trade, ownership of property and the practise of their religion. Lack of opportunity in Ireland resulted in thousands of Irish men and women leaving for Europe and America; indeed, this was why Art had sought military service in the first place. Morris vigorously attempted to enforce these laws, while Art made regular attempts to overcome them, resulting in extremely bitter and personal enmity between the two.

The dispute came to a head in 1773 when Morris offered Art five pounds for his horse; according to the Penal Laws
Penal Laws (Ireland)
The term Penal Laws in Ireland were a series of laws imposed under English and later British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour of members of the established Church of Ireland....

, Catholics were proscribed from owning horses worth more than five pounds, so Morris was entitled to do this. Art refused, and went on the run. Morris was able to use his position as a Protestant, and as sheriff, to have Ó Laoghaire outlawed. A price of 20 guineas was put on his head. Once proclaimed an outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...

, he could be shot at sight quite legally.

Ó Laoghaire attempted and failed to ambush Morris at Millstreet
Millstreet
Millstreet is a town in north County Cork, Ireland with a population of approximately 1,500. It is located at the foot of Clara Mountain. The town's Catholic church is dedicated to St. Patrick. Since October 1985, the town has been twinned with Pommerit-le-Vicomte in Brittany, France...

 and soon after was shot at Carraig an Ime. His mare raced into Rathleigh, riderless, soaked in blood. Eibhlín Dubh mounted the mare and galloped back to Carraig an Ime, where she found Art's body.

Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill, Ó Laoghaire's "Dark Eileen", composed a 390-line lament mourning Ó Laoghaire's death and calling for revenge. The Caoineadh was composed by Eibhlín Dubh ex tempore and became part of the Irish oral tradition (it was not written down until many years later). It has been described as "the most remarkable set of keening verses to have survived." A number of Irish writers have attempted to capture her grief and rage in translating the lament, including O'Connor
O'Connor
O'Connor is a surname of Irish origin, originally meaning Ó Conchobhair .-Law and Politics:*Sandra Day O'Connor O'Connor is a surname of Irish origin, originally meaning Ó Conchobhair ("grandson/descendant of Conchobhar").-Law and Politics:*Sandra Day O'Connor O'Connor is a surname of Irish origin,...

, John Montague
John Montague
John Montague may refer to:*John Montague , Irish poet and writer*John Montague , baseball relief pitcher*John Montague , golfer and con man...

, Thomas Kinsella
Thomas Kinsella
Thomas Kinsella is an Irish poet, translator, editor, and publisher.-Early life and work:Kinsella was born in Lucan, County Dublin. He spent much of his childhood with relatives in rural Ireland. He was educated in the Irish language at the Model School, Inchicore and the O'Connell Christian...

 and Eilis Dillon
Eilís Dillon
Eilís Dillon was an Irish author of 50 books. Her work has been translated into 14 languages....

.

Burial of Art

Initially Ó Laoghaire was buried by Eibhlín in the Old Cemetery of Cill na Martra (Tuath na Dromann), near to Dundareirke Castle. His family wished him to be buried in Kilcrea Friary
Kilcrea Friary
Kilcrea Friary is located near Ovens in County Cork, Ireland. It is in the barony of Muskerry, a short distance west of Cork city...

, but burial in monastic ground was forbidden at that time under the penal laws. His body was moved temporarily to an unconsecrated field adjacent to the Friary. When it became legally possible, his final interment in the sacred grounds of Kilcrea Friary took place. Art was buried a tomb that bears the following inscription:
Lo Arthur Leary
Generous Handsome Brave
slain in His Bloom
Lies in this Humble Grave
Died May 4th 1773 Aged 26 years.

Aftermath of Art's death

On May 17, 1773, a Coroner's Inquest produced a verdict that Abraham Morris and the party of soldiers were guilty of the wilful and wanton Murder of Art Ó Laoghaire.

On July 17, 1773, O'Leary's brother Cornelius attempted to murder Abraham Morris, then fled to America. Morris recovered from the shots, but they were considered to have shortened his life. (He died in September 1775.)

On September 4, 1773, Morris submitted himself to trial by his peers, the local Magistracy
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

, and was found innocent of any crime by those Gentlemen. Green, who fired the fatal shot, was later decorated for gallantry.

External links

  • http://homepage.eircom.net/~abardubh/poetry/gael/caoineadh.html
  • http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JSW/number25/grubisic.html
  • http://www.ovensparish.com/Kilcrea1.htm
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