Monday, September 14, 2009

The Clandeboye / Clandeboy / Clanaboy / Clann Aoidhe Buidhe / O'Neills

The story of what east Ulster was like before the massive migration of lowland Scots is bound up in the fortunes of the Clandeboye O'Neills. These O'Neills occupied much of south Antrim and north and west Down from about 1350AD up until 1606 - an area which was then named Clandeboye. As far as I know, the only surviving monument to the Clandeboye O'Neills is at Shane's Castle in Antrim.

The only detailed account of that branch of the O'Neills - Leabhar Cloinne Aodha Buidhe - exists only as an Irish language manuscript which was first written around 1680, and which was published as a book in 1931 by the Irish Manuscripts Commission.

It's about 300 pages long. Somebody should definitely produce a contextualised, footnoted English translation.


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