928
AN GAOḊAL
any other movement, nor any secrets.
It is simply an honorable, legitimate
combination of the Irish element bent
on striking England a peaceable but
a most effective blow in her vital part
— her pocket.
Patriotically, Americans, by which
we mean all who have made this coun¬
try their homes, should patronize home
manufactures in preference to those of
foreign nations, but Irish-Americans
who may have a penchant for foreign
goods could satisfy themselves with
French, German or other manufactures
If a man have a falling out with his
groceryman he quits him right away
and gives his custom to some other
grocer; but here is the Irishman whose
fathers have bled and suffered at the
hands of the Sasanach yet, by his cus¬
tom, continues to maintain him in pow¬
er and wealth.
The wonder is that Irishmen did
not adopt this intelligent, practical and
effective mode of warfare long ago
O'Curry's Lectures.
ON THE
MANUSCRIPT MATERIAL OF ANCIENT IRISH HIS¬
TORY.
Lecture III.
Delivered March 20, 1855.
(Continued)
This is a quotation from the Irish poem of Mael¬
mura already mentioned; from which it appears
that both followed the cronology of the Hebrew
text, rejecting that of the Seventy.
Several leaves of this MS. are missing at the be¬
ginning. In its present state, the first words are,
'regnare inchoans', and then follows the reign of
Ptolemy Lagus king of Egypt, the successor of A¬
lexander, from whose eighteenth year he dates the
founding of Eomania. The leaf paged 4 by Ware
is really the third leaf of the book; so that in
Ware's time it appears to have had one leaf more
than at present. The leaf marked 5, is the 4th —
that marked 6, is the 5th — that marked 7, is the 6th.
The next leaf is aumbered 8 ; but this is an addit¬
ional error, for one folio is missing between it and
the preceding; so that it is neither the 8th in its
present state (but the 7th), nor was it the 8th in
Ware's time, or at any time. Its preceding leaf
ends with an account of St. Patrick's captivity,
and the reign of Julian; whereas the first line of
the leaf paged 8, relates the death of St. Cianan, of
Duleek, to whom St. Patrick committed his copy
of the Gospels; so that there is a whole century
missing, from St. Patrick's captivity, A. D. 388, to
Cianan's death in 490.
In the MS. Rawlinson, 488, the years are frequ¬
ently marked on the margins in Arabic numerals,
opposite to leading facts — thus, at fol. 7, col. 8, of
the MS., counting the leaves as they now are, op¬
posite to the words, 'Patricius nunc natus est', the
margin bears the date 372, and opposite the words
'Patricius captivus in Hiberniam ductus est' (col
4), the margin bears the date 388, and oppsite to
the words kal. iii. Anastasius Regnat, annis xxviii
'Patricius Archiepiscopus et Apostolus Hibernien¬
sium anno ӕtatis suӕ, cxx. die. xvi. kal. April, quie
vit, folio, page 8, col. 1, the margin bears the date
491. The two former of these dates are accurate,
but the latter is repugnant to the mind of Tigher¬
nach, who quotes a very ancient Irish Poem on St
Patrick's death, to prove that he died in 493, thus,
"From the birth of Christ — happy event,
Four hundred and fair ninety,
Three noble years along with that,
Till the death of Patrick, Chief Apostle.”
The next year is erroneously marked on the
margin 492, it ought to be 494.
The marginal annotator has marked the years
in Arabics, opposite to all the subsequent initials of
years, in conformity with his calculation of 491 for
the death of St. Patrick, and he errs also by omit¬
ing some of Tighernach's dates in that very page.
Tighernach's work ends at page 20, col. 1, of this
MS. The remainder, to folio page 29 inclusive, is
the Continuation of Tighernach's Annals, from his
death in 1088, to 1178 inclusive. The whole is in
one hand.
It is also to be observed that one leaf is missing
after that marked 14, the next is marked 16, and
the hiatus is to be lamented, extending from 765 in¬
clusive, to 973 — a period of 228 years.
From this account, says Dr. O'Conor, it is clear
that no good edition of Tighernach can be founded
on any copy in the British Islands, for that of Dub¬
lin, and all those hitherto discovered, are founded
on the Oxford MS., which is imperfect and corrup¬
ted by the ignorance of its transcriber. Innes,
speaking of this MS. says, 'The Chronicle of Tigh¬
ernach, which Sir J Ware possessed, and is now in
the Duke of Chanbos' Library, is a very ancient
MS. but seems not to be so entire as one that is of
ten quoted by O'Flaherty.
O'Flaherty's copy is quoted in the Journal des
Scavans in these words — 'Many learned strangers,
in acknowledging the history of Ireland, give her
annals as of an antiquity very considerable and an
universally approved authenticity. This is the o¬
pinion given by Stillingwfeet in the preface of his
Antiquities, where he appears, on the contrary, to
make of very little consequence all the movements
of the Scotch. Mr Innes, who never flatters the I¬
rish, acknowledges the antiquity as well as the au¬
thenticity of their Annals, particulrly those of Ti¬
ghernach, Inisfallen, and of several others. He re¬
marks that the copy of the Annals of Tighernach
which belonged to Mr O'Flaherty, author of the
Ogygia, appears more perfect than that found in
the library of the Duke of Chandos. I believe it
my duty to declare here, continues this writer, that
I possess actually this same copy of the Annals of
Tighernach, which was possessed by Mr O'Flaher¬
ty, with an ancient Apograph of the Chronicle of
Clonmacnois, which is well known under the title
