Éamann Ó hOrchaidh facts for kids
Éamann Ó hOrchaidh was an Irish scribe and translator who was active around the year 1817. A scribe was someone who copied books and documents by hand before printing presses were common. A translator changes text from one language to another.
Who Was Éamann Ó hOrchaidh?
We don't know much about Éamann Ó hOrchaidh. So far, we only have one example of his work. It is a handwritten copy of a famous poem called Cúirt an Mheán Oíche, which means 'The Midnight Court'.
This poem was written around 1780 by a poet named Brian Merriman from County Clare, Ireland. Éamann Ó hOrchaidh's copy of the poem is kept in a library in Dublin, at the Royal Irish Academy.
Why Is This Copy Special?
What makes Éamann Ó hOrchaidh's copy so important is the way it's written. It uses a special type of Irish language called Connacht Irish from County Roscommon. Most other copies of the poem are written in Munster Irish, which was spoken in County Clare.
Both of these old ways of speaking Irish are now gone. Éamann Ó hOrchaidh's manuscript is one of the last examples that shows us how Connacht Irish was written and spoken. It helps us understand how people pronounced Irish words in places like east County Galway and south County Roscommon a long time ago. This makes his work very valuable to people who study old languages.
When Was It Found?
Éamann Ó hOrchaidh's special version of the poem was found in 2018. It was discovered by Professor Brian Ó Curnáin. He is a dialectologist and sociolinguist from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. A dialectologist studies different ways people speak the same language, and a sociolinguist looks at how language is used in society.
Éamann Ó hOrchaidh finished writing his copy of the poem in 1817. He wrote it in a place called An Bhearaidh Bheag (Barry Beg) townland. This area is in Kiltoom parish, which is west of Lough Ree and Athlone.
At the end of his handwritten poem, Éamann Ó hOrchaidh wrote a note. It says: "Crioch le Cúirt an Meón áoighthe liomsa. Édhmonn Ó hórróchodh air an Marráighbheag a nguirr do bhaille athalúin. agus air na chríochneamh an threas lá don Mhaolluis aois an tíagharna náomhtha Dia na glódhaire May 3rd 1817."
This note means: "The end of The Midnight Court by me Éamann Ó hOrchaidh in Barry Beg near Athlone. And finished on the third day of May in the year of the Holy Lord, God of Glory, May 3rd 1817."
Today, the family name Ó hOrchaidh is often spelled as O'Hora or Hore.
See also
- Liam Ó hOisín
- Tadhg Ó Neachtain
- Pádraig Mag Fhloinn
- Liam Ó Dúgáin
- Jim O'Hora
