Brian Rua U'Cearbhain facts for kids
Brian Rua was a special person from the 1600s in County Mayo, Ireland. He was known as a "prophet" or Oracle, which means people believed he could see into the future and predict things that would happen. Brian Rua was born around the year 1648. He lived in a place called Inver, in the parish of Kilcommon.
His stories and predictions were not written down at first. Instead, they were passed along by people telling them to each other, which is called oral history. Sadly, many of his original writings, known as "Tarngaireacht Bhriain Ruaidh", were destroyed by his own son during an argument.
What Were Brian Rua's Predictions?
Brian Rua was famous for making many predictions during his lifetime. People in his area remembered these predictions for generations.
- One prediction he made was: "Carriages travelling North and South will have iron wheels and the stones on the roads will be talking." This sounds a bit strange, right?
- Another prediction was: "The day will come when fire carriages with iron wheels will bring death."
Did His Prophecies Come True?
Many years later, in 1894, something happened that made people think Brian Rua's predictions had come true. The very first train, which is a "fire carriage with iron wheels," traveled on a new railway line to Achill. Sadly, this train was carrying the bodies of 32 young people. They had died in a terrible drowning accident in Clew Bay. Locals believed this sad event was exactly what Brian Rua had predicted. The "talking stones" might have been the sound of the train on the tracks!
Keeping Brian Rua's Stories Alive
For a long time, the stories of Brian Rua were only told in the Irish language. People worried that these important stories might be forgotten over time.
- In 1906, a smart scholar named Michael Timoney from Lahardane decided to collect all the stories about Brian Rua. He wanted to make sure they were written down and published.
- He published them in Irish, just as they had been told for generations.
- Then, in the year 2000, as part of a special Millennium Project, Brian Rua's story was translated into English. It was published in a book called 'Traditional Cures and Gifted People' by Philomena Cronin. This made sure that even more people could learn about the mysterious prophet from Mayo.
