Aogán Ó Rathaille facts for kids

Aodhagán Ó Rathaille or Egan O'Rahilly (born around 1670, died 1726), was a famous Irish language poet. He is known for creating the first fully developed Aisling, which is a special type of Irish poem.

Early Life of Aodhagán Ó Rathaille

Aodhagán Ó Rathaille was likely born in a place called Screathan an Mhil (Scrahanaveal) in County Kerry. His family was quite well-off. His father passed away when Aodhagán was young, but his mother was left with enough money and even owned some land. Later, she moved to a place called Cnoc an Chorrfhiaidh, also known as Stagmount.

It was probably here that Ó Rathaille learned the skills of a bard. Bards were important poets and storytellers in old Ireland. He got a great education at the bardic school of the MacEgan family. They were the main scholars for the Mac Cárthaigh Mór chiefs. He learned Latin, English, Irish literature, and Irish history.

Ó Rathaille became a respected "ollamh," which means a master poet or scholar. He traveled to the homes of important Irish chiefs. They treated him as an honored guest. He also worked as a scribe, copying important texts by hand.

Life During Changing Times

Ó Rathaille lived during a time of huge political and social changes in Ireland. These changes sadly led to the decline of the Irish language and the end of the bardic tradition. These shifts directly affected Ó Rathaille. He went from being a respected scholar to living in poverty. This change made him very bitter, and this sadness inspired much of his poetry.

Ó Rathaille was connected to the legal advisors (brehons) of the Mac Cárthaigh Mór family. He saw them as his leaders and supporters. However, because of the Munster plantation, English families, like the Browne family (later known as Kenmare), took over the MacCarthy lands. The Brownes, unlike many English settlers, became Catholic and married into leading Irish Catholic families.

Sir Valentine Browne, who was the 1st Viscount Kenmare, supported King James II. He was Ó Rathaille's landlord and supporter. But after the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, Valentine Browne lost his lands because he supported King James. His son, Nicholas Browne, also supported King James and couldn't claim the estates.

The Browne family's lands were then managed by others. Two men, Timothy Cronin and Murtagh Griffin, were very harsh. They collected taxes and cut down trees for quick money. Ó Rathaille wrote angry poems about them. Because the Browne family lost their lands, Ó Rathaille likely had to leave his home. He lived in poverty near Castlemaine Harbour.

When Nicholas Browne died in 1720, his son, Valentine (3rd Viscount), got the Kenmare estates back. Ó Rathaille had been poor for a long time. He even wrote a poem showing how grateful he was to receive a pair of shoes! He hoped to get his respected position back as an ollamh. He celebrated Valentine's marriage in 1720 with a special poem.

However, society had changed a lot. Also, the estates were not bringing in as much money as before. Valentine Browne either couldn't or wouldn't give Ó Rathaille his old position back. This refusal deeply upset Ó Rathaille. He wrote a powerful poem attacking the new English landowners like Valentine Browne. He also blamed the failure of the Jacobites (supporters of King James) for his own difficult situation.

We don't have many historical records about Ó Rathaille's personal life. Most of what we know comes from interpreting his poems. Some experts warn that we shouldn't take every line of his poems too literally, especially his last one, which he wrote on his deathbed.

Ó Rathaille's Poetic Legacy

Aodhagán Ó Rathaille is famous for creating the first fully developed Aisling poem. In an Aisling, Ireland is shown as a beautiful woman who is sad about the current problems. She also predicts that good times will return, often linked to a Stuart King coming back to the English throne. This style of poetry became very popular in Ireland. It was a safe way to talk about politics when it was dangerous to speak openly.

His most famous poem is the great Aisling called Gile na Gile (which means Brightness Most Bright). Many people consider it one of the most amazing works in Irish literature.

In 1900, Patrick S. Dinneen published a scholarly edition of Ó Rathaille's complete works. This was the first time all the poems of an Irish poet were collected and studied in such detail. Later, in 1924, Daniel Corkery wrote a chapter about Ó Rathaille in his important book The Hidden Ireland.

The last poem Ó Rathaille wrote, on his deathbed, is considered one of the finest in Irish literature. It shows all the anger and sadness he expressed throughout his life. The famous poet William Butler Yeats even mentioned this work in his own poem, The Curse of Cromwell. Ó Rathaille's life really shows the big cultural and social changes that happened in Ireland in the late 1600s. His loss of status and poverty reflect the end of the bardic tradition and the near disappearance of the Irish language.

Ó Rathaille is buried in Muckross Abbey near Killarney in County Kerry.

See Also

• Aisling
• Bardic poetry
• Irish language