Marbhna ar Sheaán mac Séamais Mheic Ghearailt (†1582)

Abstract

This article presents an edition and translation of Truagh sin, a chinn mo chroidhe, a poem on the beheading of Sir John Fitzgerald of Desmond in 1582. Although anonymous in the manuscript sources, it is suggested here that it may be the work of Donnchadh ‘an tSneachta’ Mac Craith. The poem, which is one of three surviving poems on the Desmond rebellion, signals the downfall of the House of Desmond and laments the end of its patronage of Irish classical poetry. The poet’s vivid portrayal of his patron’s severed head can be read in the context of the violence of conquest and plantation.