William Curtain

William Curtain, also rendered as 'Uilliam MacCurtain', Irish Gaelic: Liam Mac Curtain or Mac Cairteáin an-Dúna, French: Gulielmus Curtain[1] (1658[2]-Nov. 1724) was an Irish Poet and Scholar who wrote during the alleged 'Celtic Twilight'. His works remain primarily in print in the Gaelic tongue.

Life and Work

While he was a member of the Macartan clan from County Down, and descended from the Chief Eachmilidh Macartan, he is said to have been born in the town on Doon[3] in County Cork, the son of Phelim MacCurtain.[4] However, which 'Doon' this is in Munster a matter of speculation, as it is a common prefix to Irish placenames. William appears to descend from the famous Lords of Kinelarty, and appears to have been of some means among the Gaelic gentry. During the Williamite Wars he served in a Spanish cavalry regiment of King James II and the local MacCarthy Chieftains in Desmond. When peace was finally concluded in the 1690's he settled in the town of Dromboy, near Carrignavar in Co. Cork. There he assumed the position of School Master, where he translated texts from Latin and Gaelic, and wrote poetry. Most of his works are dedicated to the Gaelic gentry which had recently become dispossessed of their land by the English crown. When Dermot MacCarthy died in 1705, he took his place as head of the bardic school, a post he held until his own death in 1724.[5] Subsequent to his death, the school relocated to Blarney, further south in Co. Cork.

The bulk of William's work remains untranslated,[6][7] but it is noted that he dedicated his prose to other members of the Gaelic intelligentsia who survived the Williamite persecutions. One work he dedicated to his close friend, John Baptist MacSleyne, titular Bishop of Cork.[8] He went on to collect local legends which would be woven into James Macpherson's magnum opus, translated and compiling the famous works of Oisín in the early 18th century.[1]

He died at Longstone, near Whitechurch, Co. Cork, where he was buried. William was brother to Cornelius Curtain, and the nephew of Fr. Cornelius Curtain. He was survived by his children, Lesa Ní Mhunghaile relates that he had two other sons, and at least one daughter.[9] He was succeeded at the bardic school by Liam Ruadh Mac Coitir.[10] His grandson John MacCurtain (Sean an Duna) appears to have continued that family ties to the bardic school, serving as a patron in the late 18th century.[11]

List of Literary Works

  • Address to Sir James FitzEdmond Cotter (1700)
  • A leabhair bhig trath do dhail dam sult ar fhiannaib’ (1701)
  • The Lion of the Province of Ulster (1703)
  • Song of Grainne Mhaol (1703)
  • Trí bhile den Mhumhain, trí túir, trí heaspoig, trí threóin
  • Do-chuala sgata ban gur suigheadh fá mheidhir.
  • A Sheáin Uí Mhurchadha, bí fineamhail faobhrach
  • Tá fáilte romhat, a Sheóin mhic Diarmada
  • On Tentoring in Horseback
  • A dhíograis mh’anma, a dhalta dhil, a uain ’s a stóir.
  • The horseman in the North of Doudhrim

Quotes

Conduct, I beseech thee, O Father and King of Heaven, Home across the main our cavalcade of strong heroes, In Justice and valour and vigour without loss of health, And scatter without much respite the army beyond the sea.[12]

Through riches and wealth I have none, I have squandered and lost them too soon, I cherish the friendship of one, Who is constant, kind-hearted and true.

  • Uilliam MacCurtin's list at School of Celtic Studies

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Irish Script On Screen - Meamram Páipéar Ríomhaire". www.isos.dias.ie.
  2. ↑ "The Catholic university bulletin". Washington [etc.] Catholic University of America – via Internet Archive.
  3. ↑ "New Page 1". 5 January 2013. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Phelim (Mac Curtáin) Curtain, Curtane, Mac Curtain (b. 1640) - WikiTree FREE Family Tree". www.wikitree.com.
  5. ↑ "Dánta Sheáin Uí Mhurchadha, na Ráithíneach". Connradh na Gaedhilge. 31 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ Brún, Pádraig de; Herbert, Máire (6 March 1986). "Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries". Cambridge University Press – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "Cartlann Téacsanna". corpas.ria.ie.
  8. ↑ Hull, Eleanor (31 July 2018). "A Text Book of Irish Literature ..." M.H. Gill & son, Limited – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ "Google Translate". translate.google.com.
  10. ↑ Corkery, Daniel (16 March 2012). "Hidden Ireland: A Study of Gaelic Munster in the Eighteenth Century". Wipf and Stock Publishers – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ Ó Murchadha, Seán; Ó Donnchadha, Tadhg (10 September 2018). "Dánta Ṡeáin Uí Ṁurċaḋa na Ráiṫíneaċ". I mBaile Áṫa Cliaṫ : Ċonnraḋ na Gaeḋilge – via Internet Archive.
  12. ↑ "New Page 1". 5 January 2013. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013.
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