Gaelic Culture
Gaelic Culture and Cork City Libraries
One of the earliest works of literature in Gaelic to mention Cork is the Aislinge Meic Con Glinne (The vision of Meic Con Glinne). The poem which dates from the 12th century pokes fun at the monks in the monastery in Cork. Celtic monks were the first people to write down the epics and poems of Gaelic Ireland which had been passed on by word of mouth for centuries. The manuscripts were held in the libraries of the monasteries. We can see, then, that there has been a close link between libraries and Gaelic literature for centuries. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this link was maintained by the Gaelic nobility and the bishops who employed scribes to copy works of Gaelic literature for their libraries. Many of these scribes were also poets. Two famous Cork patrons of the Gaelic scribes and poets were Sir James Cotter of Ballinsperry (1630-1705) and Bishop John Murphy (1772-1847).
From the beginning, Cork City Libraries have collected works of Gaelic literature and continue to do so. Here you will find copies of Aislinge Meic Conglinne and copies of the works of many Cork poets and novelists who wrote in Irish, from Dáibhí Ó Bruadair in the 17th century through the great Seán Ó Riordáin to Michael Davitt and Louis de Paor in our own day. Our library books have nourished the imagination of many writers over the years. A moving testimony to this is Michael Davitt’s poem Gadaí i Leabharlann na Cathrach, written shortly before his tragically early death in 2005. It is included in A grand parade: a history of Cork City Libraries. The poem describes Davitt studying and copying Irish poems in Cork City Libraries. These poems nurtured Davitt’s imagination and inspired him to become a poet himself.
We are proud to carry on this long tradition.