Cú Choigríche Ó Duibhgeannáin facts for kids

Cú Choigríche Ó Duibhgeannáin (who was active between 1627 and 1636) was an important Irish historian. He was also known as Peregrine Ó Duibhgeannáin or Peregrine O'Duignan.

He was born Cú Coigriche mac Tuathal Ó Duibhgeannáin around 1590. His first name, Cú Coigriche, means "hound of the foreign land" or "hero of the foreign land." When he joined the Franciscan Order, a religious group, his name was changed to Peregrine. He joined the Franciscans in Leuven, which is now in Belgium.

His family, the Clan Ó Duibhgeannáin, were professional historians. They came from a place called Annaly in Ireland. Many of them moved across the River Shannon to Connacht. In Connacht, the Ó Duibhgeannains set up a special school for historians and poets. This school was at Kilronan, near Lough Key in northern County Roscommon.

Working on the Annals of the Four Masters

We don't know much about Peregrine Ó Duibhgeannáin's life until about 1627. This is when he started working with other historians. These included Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh and Fearfeasa Ó Maoilchonaire. They worked under the guidance of Brother Mícheál Ó Cléirigh.

In 1627, Brother Mícheál was sent from his religious house in Leuven to Ireland. His job was to gather old Irish writings. These included historical stories and records of important dates. Many of these valuable writings were in danger of being lost forever.

The historians collected these materials and put them together into several books. The most famous of these books is called the Annals of the Four Masters. This huge collection of writings tells the history of Ireland from ancient times up to 1616.

Later Life

We don't know what happened to Peregrine Ó Duibhgeannáin after 1636. This was the year the Annals of the Four Masters were finished. It's very likely that he went back to Leuven with Brother Mícheál.

However, there's a small chance he stayed in Ireland. We know that a copy of the Annals was being used in the town of Galway in the late 1640s. It was used by another historian named Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh. It might not be a coincidence that one of Ó Duibhgeannáin's relatives, Daibhidh Ó Duibhgheannáin, was living and working in Connemara around 1651.

See also

• Tadhg Og Ó Cianáin
• Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh
• Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
• James Ussher
• Sir James Ware
• Mary Bonaventure Browne
• Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
• Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh
• Uilliam Ó Duinnín
• Charles O'Conor (historian)
• Eugene O'Curry
• John O'Donovan (scholar)
• Ó Duibhgeannáin

Sources

• "The Learned Family of O Duigenan", Fr. Paul Walsh, Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 1921
• "The Four Masters" (I & II, 1932 & 1934), Fr. Paul Walsh, Irish Leaders & Learning Through the Ages, Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2004, ISBN: 1-85182-543-6
• O Duibhgeannain, Cu Choigcriche (O'Duigenan, Peregrine), pp. 435–36, Dictionary of Irish Biography from the Earliest Times to the Year 2002, Cambridge, 2010.