Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire facts for kids

Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire (say "Fair-fassa O'Moyle Con-air-a") was an important Irish writer who lived in the 1600s. He is best known for helping to create a famous history book called the Annals of the Four Masters. He was a scribe, which means he wrote things down carefully by hand.

Fearfeasa's Family and Home

Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire came from a family called the Ó Maolconaire. They were a well-known family of brehons, who were like ancient Irish lawyers and historians. His family lived in the northern part of County Roscommon in a region of Ireland called Connacht.

His family was known for keeping records and writing down history. Fearfeasa's father was Lochlainn, and his grandfather was Séan Ruadh. Another relative, Páidín Ruadh Ó Maol Chonaire, might have been his brother. It is thought that Fearfeasa lived in a place called Creta, near where his father lived.

Working on the Four Masters

Fearfeasa was one of the main writers of a very important book called the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland. This book is now famously known as the Annals of the Four Masters. It got this name from a scholar named John Colgan, who called the main writers the "Four Masters."

Fearfeasa was a young man when he helped put this huge history book together. He worked with other important scholars like Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, and Peregrine Ó Duibhgeannain. Fearfeasa was the scribe for a large part of the book, writing down events up to the year 1333. The other writers continued the history up to 1616.

Facing Challenges

Not everyone agreed with the work of the Four Masters. Fearfeasa strongly disagreed with another scholar named Tuileagna Ó Maol Chonaire. Tuileagna criticized the Annals of the Four Masters. These disagreements caused problems and stopped the book from being published in the 1640s.

Fearfeasa the Poet

Besides being a historian, Fearfeasa was also a poet. He wrote many poems. One of his poems was called Mochean do[d] chuairt a Chalbhaigh. This poem was written for a person named An Calbhah Ruadh Ó Domhnaill.