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'''''Leabhar na nGenealach''''' ("Book of Genealogies") is a massive genealogical collection written mainly in the years 1649 to 1650, at the college-house of [[St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church]], [[Galway]], by [[Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh]]. He continued to add material until at least 1666, five years before he was murdered in 1671. The original 17th century manuscript was bequeathed to [[University College Dublin]] (UCD), by Dublin solicitor [[Arthur Cox (lawyer)|Arthur Cox]] in 1929, and can be consulted in [https://www.ucd.ie/specialcollections/archives/dubhaltachmacfirbisigh/ UCD Library Special Collections]. The manuscript can be viewed online at '''''[https://www.isos.dias.ie/libraries/UCD/UCD_MS_14/english/index.html Irish Script on Screen]''''', which is available in [https://www.isos.dias.ie/libraries/UCD/english/index.html English], and in [https://www.isos.dias.ie/irish/index2.html Irish]. Leabhar na nGenealach, was reprinted, and published in a five volume edition in [[Dublin]] in 2004 as '''''The Great Book of Irish Genealogies'''''.
==Description and compilation==
Described by [[Eoin MacNeill]] ''"by far the largest and fullest body of Irish genealogical lore"'', it contains
Many questions concern Leabhar na nGenealach. In the words of [[Nollaig Ó Muraíle]]
Nor is it known how he supported himself in Galway, though he did commissions for the Poor Clares and John Lynch while there. O Muraile suggests that it was a work compiled in his spare time, in between possible tutorial work for the children of local families (see [[The Tribes of Galway]]). Unlike the [[Annals of the Four Masters|Four Masters]], he appears to have had
As to the question of why he wrote Leabhar na nGenealach, Mac Fhirbhisigh himself stated it was his intention to ''"... do mhórughadh glóire Dé agus do ghéunamh iúil do chách i ccoithchinne / to increase the glory of God and to give knowledge to everyone generally"''. Thus it appears to have been a labour of love, and as a strong defence of traditional [[irish language|Gaelic]] learning, though not uncritically so. That it seems to be a book written for all the peoples of Ireland is indicated by the following:
<blockquote>''"Na slioinnte, iomorra, da suarraighe atáid, ní fuigfeam dar ndeóin éanghloinneadh aca gan a aireamh ó a cheap fén / of the surnames, moreover, however undistinguished they may be, we do not
[[David Sellar]], who was the [[Lord Lyon King of Arms]] in Scotland, stated that it dates from 1585-1670.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sellar |first=W.D.H. |author-link=David Sellar |date=October 1966 |title=The Origins and Ancestry of Somerled |journal=The Scottish Historical Review |volume=45 |issue=140 |page=125|jstor=25528658}}</ref>
==Contents==▼
▲==Contents==
===Díonbhrollach (preface)===
This preface states it was ''... compiled by Dubhaltach Mac Fhiribhisigh of Lecán,
The díonbhrollach describes the contents of the book, including:
* An extended title on the contents, place and time of writing, author and purpose of
* A defence of ''senchas'', the truthfulness and validity of the tradition.
* Critical remarks on the supposed descent of all the Irish from [[Míl Espáine]]
* Mac Fhirbhisigh's law, which states:<blockquote>It is customary for great lords that, when their families and kindreds multiply, their clients and their followers are oppressed, injured and wasted. [translation by Thomas Charles Edwards in ''Early Irish & Welsh Kinship'', p. 221]</blockquote>
* How Leabhar na nGenealach deals with all race and all peoples of
* A note on [[dialect]].
* An apology by Mac Fhirbhisigh for any deficiencies of this first draft '' ...Till God give us another time more tranquil than this to re-write it.''
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===Rémhrádh (introduction)===
Begins with the following introduction: ''"Senchus genealach gabháltas uasal Éreann agus Albansgot go ccraobhsgaoileadh a ccineadhach ó créudthós na n-aimsior n-aicsidhe gus aniú (mar ghebh mid / The history of the genealogies of the invasions of the nobles of Ireland and of the Scots of Alba with the genealogical branchings of their races from the beginning of
===Leabhar I to IV===
This is the first division or 'book' of Leabhar na nGenealach. Titled ''"Craobhsgaoileadh Cloinne [[Partholón]]"'' (the
===Leabhar V===
Book five comprises some three hundred and fifty pages of the [[autograph]], representing just under half of the total text. It concerns the following groups and
While much of Book Five's
Other sources for the remaining subjects include: ''[[Senchus fer n-Alban]]''; the ''Book of Uí Maine'', from sections now missing; Amhra [[Colm Cille]]; ''Opus chronologicum'' by [[Ubbo Emmius]]; versions of ''De Shíl Chonairi Móir'', ''De Maccaib Conaire'', the ''[[Duan Albanach]]''; the poem 'Saor do leannán, a Leamhain' by [[Muireadhach Albanach Ó Dálaigh]] (fl. 'c'.
===Leabhar VI===
This book outlines the history and genealogical ramifications of the descendants of Íor son of [[Míl Espáine]], known as the ''Síol
Mac Fhirbhisigh added "a great amount of additional material ... both in the margins and interlineally ... those inserted between the lines are variant readings, some of them of considerable interest, deriving as they do from quite a different [[
===Leabhar VII===
Book seven deals with the descendants of Ebhar mac Milidh, written or
Pages 640.5 to 645.5
Further sections concern the descendants of Cian mac [[Ailill Aulom]], which were at least partly assembled in the early 8th century.
===Leabhar VIII===
Titled ''Naoimhsheanchas'', this book concerns the genealogies of the Irish saints. "This now extends from p. 692 to p. 753, but it contains various layers of material inserted at different times and from quite a variety of sources. They include the Book of Leinster, the Book of Ui Maine, [[Leabhar Breac]], and Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh's recension of ''Naoimhsheanchas Naomh Inse Fáil''. Mac Fhirbhisigh thought well enough of Ó Cléirigh's additions to incorporate them into LGen. While most of the text was written at that period ''[i.e., c.1650]'', it is clear from variations in the ink and handwriting that Dubhaltach made numerous later additions to the work. The most notable of these appear to date from
The ''Naoimhsheanchas'' is set out in much the same manner as Leabhar na nGenealach itself; "... the layout of the saints genealogies (on pp.
''Rém Ríogharaidhe Éreann'', a
===Leabhar IX and the ''Clár''===
Covering pages 768 to 852, it consists of eleven distinct sections, almost all on
===Cuimre na nGenealach===
{{main|Cuimre na nGenealach}}
The ''Cuimre'' is an
Mac Fhirbhisigh was stabbed to death by Thomas Crofton in a shebeen at Doonflin, Co. Sligo, in January 1671.
▲The ''Cuimre'' is an adbridgement of Leabhar na nGenealach. The original is now lost, but it survives in two apparently incomplete 18th century transcripts; RIA MS 24 N2, and Maynooth Irish MS B 8. While containing about 30% of the material of Leabhar na nGenealach, it also contains much new, and some unique material. Mac Fhirbhisigh began it on Monday April 1, 1666, at his home at Castletown, Co. Sligo. By Saturday May 5, he had completed some 45% of the surviving material, and would appear to have finished prior to returning to [[Dublin]] and work for Sir James Ware.
==
''Leabhar na nGenealach'' was edited and published in 2004 as ''The Great Book of Irish Genealogies''. The editor, [[Nollaig Ó Muraíle]], had been studying the book since 1971. It was published in five volumes by De Burca Books in 2004 in [[Dublin]].
==See also==
*Ó Muraíle, Nollaig (1996). ''The Celebrated Antiquary''. Maynooth. ▼
*MacFhirbhisigh, Dubhaltach; Ó Muraíle, Nollaig, editor (2004). ''Leabhar Genealach. The Great Book of Irish Genealogies''. Dublin: DeBurca. (Alternate names by which it may be referenced include ''Leabhar Mor nGenealach'', and ''Leabhar Mor na nGenealach'').▼
* [[Genealach Chloinne Fheorais]]
* [[Leabhar Cloinne Maoil Ruanaidh]]
* [[Leabhar Ua Maine]]
* [[MS 1467]]
* [[Lost Annals of Lecan]]
* [[Ó Cléirigh Book of Genealogies]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
▲*MacFhirbhisigh, Dubhaltach; Ó Muraíle, Nollaig, editor (2004). ''Leabhar Genealach
==External links==
* [https://irish-tribes.com/blogs/news/86084867-leabhair-mhora-na-ngenealach-great-books-of-gaelic-genealogies Leabhair Mhóra na nGenealach / Great Books of Gaelic Genealogies]
[[Category:17th century books]]▼
* https://www.ucd.ie/specialcollections/archives/dubhaltachmacfirbisigh/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20100821075322/http://www.deburcararebooks.com/geneal.htm
[[Category:Irish texts]]▼
* [https://www.isos.dias.ie/ Irish Script on Screen]
{{Irish genealogy}}
{{Authority control}}
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