Máire Bhuí Ní Laoghaire facts for kids
Máire Bhuí Ní Laoghaire (born in 1774, died around 1848) was a famous Irish poet from County Cork, Ireland. She wrote her poems in the Irish language. Her poems were shared by people telling them to each other, rather than by writing them down. They often talked about Irish culture and important events in the early 1800s.
Her Early Life and Family
Máire Bhuí Ní Laoghaire was born in a place called Túirín na nÉan in Uibh Laoghaire (also known as Iveleary). This area is near Ballingeary in County Cork. She grew up on her father's farm, which was about 50 acres. She had a big family with five brothers and three sisters.
In 1792, she married Séamus de Búrca, who was a horsetrader from Skibbereen. Máire and Séamus had eight children together. By 1821, they had bought their own land near a place called Céim an Fhia, or Keimaneigh.
The family was known for being very generous. However, by 1847, they faced tough times. They couldn't afford to pay the higher rent their landlord was asking for. Because of their money problems, they lost their farm. Máire Bhuí Ní Laoghaire died soon after this and was buried in Inchigeelagh.
Her Amazing Poems
Máire Bhuí Ní Laoghaire could not read or write in either Irish or English. She learned and shared her poems through the oral tradition. This means people would tell stories and poems to each other, often in ceilidh houses, which were places where people gathered for music, dancing, and storytelling.
Her poems sometimes mentioned old stories from classical mythology. This was common in the Munster Irish oral poetry of that time. Her songs and poems were kept alive because people in the area remembered them and passed them down. Other poets from her time, like Antoine Ó Raifteiri, also had their works survive this way.
The Battle of Keimaneigh
Máire Bhuí Ní Laoghaire's most famous poem is called Cath Chéim an Fhia, which means "The Battle of Keimaneigh". This poem tells the story of a fight that happened in 1822. It was between the local militia (a group of armed citizens) and a group called the Whiteboys. The Whiteboys were a secret group of farmers who fought for the rights of tenant farmers to keep their land. Some of Máire Bhuí's own sons were involved in this movement and in the fight itself.
Her Published Works
Even though Máire Bhuí Ní Laoghaire couldn't write, her poems were eventually written down and published. In the 1930s, a priest named Father Donagh O'Donoghue collected her poems and published them in an Irish-language book. It was called "Filiocht Mhaire Bhuidhe Ni Laoghaire". The book was first printed in 1931, then again in 1933, and a final time in 1950.
Later, an English version of her poetry was published. It was called "The Poetry of Maura Bwee O'Leary". Father Sean Sweeney from the Society of African Missions and Father Richard P. Burke helped with this translation. In 2007, another book about her, called Songs of An Irish Poet: The Mary O'Leary Story, was written by Brian Brennan.
