Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1905-03-18
Annals of Four Masters the Most
Important Books Pre-
served.
English Government Has Done
Little to Aid in His
tOric Work.
WHO THE FOUR MASTERS WERE

l
estimation by the ancient Irish, espe-
cially history, poetry aud romantic tales.
books, for after the time of St. Patrick
everything that was considered worthy of
being preserved was committed to writing
so that many manuscripts accumulated
throughout the country. A large pro-
portion of these were destroyed, how
ever, during the dark days of the Anglo.
Norman invasion.
There is remaining, however, a great
body Of manuscript literature. The two
most important collections are in Trinity
College, Dublin, and in the Royal Irish
Academy in the same city. There are
also many important Irish manuscripts
in the British Museum in London and in
the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Some,
too, are preserved in the continental
libraries, brought there by Irish mission
aries who frequented the continent in
early ages.
During all time among all nations
habituated to customs of refinement there
have been historians appointed and SAL
aried by the State whose express duty it
was to transmit to posterity written rec
ords of remarkable events taking place
during their term of Office. The Irish
people guarded for centuries the preserva-
ton Of her historic records, even amid
peril and disaster.
The most important of the Irish annals
are the "Annals of the -Four Masters"
which begin at the earliest times and end
at the year 1916. The names of the -Four
Masters were Michael O'Clery, Conary
O'Cleary, Cucogry O'Clery and Fesrfeasa
O'Mulconry. Had the compilation of
their annals been delayed single gen.
Grafton they never could have been COM
piled at all, for Fergsll O'Gara. of Cool.
avin, in the County Sligo, paid and sup
ported the -Four Masters while they were
writing their annals. He took part in the
wretched Jacobite wars shortly after and
lost his patrimony. He as we'll as the
Four Masters deserves the thanks of pos
terity.
The Four Masters were diligent search
ers after the truth and modern research
has proved the truth of most of their
statements. 1t is admitted that those
parts of their annals relating to pagan
Ireland are to some extent defective, for
they omitted mentioning popular per-
sonages who hourished in ancient times
simply because they were pagans. The
-Four Masters we're profoundly pious and
thought it wrong to glorify or even to
mention the deeds of Pagans.
No praise could be given to the -Four
Masters greater than the praise that
should be given to John O'Donovan, the
translator, and it may be said the ex-
palmer of their annals. His translation
of them, and his notes to elucidate them,
form monuments of linguistic, historic
and typographical knowledge that should
make his memory as dear to his country
men as the memory of the -Four Masters
themselves.
The annals of the Four Masters are
from beginning to end in Irish. Six Of
the eight books out of which the Four
Masters compiled their annals have been
lost in the course Of less than three CEN
turtles.
In the preface to the annals of the
Four Masters, Michael O'Clery gives a
catalogue of the manuscript books from
which he and the others compiled their
annals. The list comprises eight books,
all of which, according to John O'Dou-
ovan, are now lost, with the exception of
two, namely, the Annals of Clonmacnois
and the Book of Seana McMaghnusa.
which O'Donovan says is the Annals of
Ulster, and which, next to the Annals of
the -Four Masters, is considered the most
important of Irish books Of the kind.
In 1910 George III. issued commits
sion authorizing measures to be taken for
the preservation and classification of the
public records of Ireland for public use.
The commission was mainly composed of
persons who had no time to devote to the
work and the records were allowed
to molder and rot. These records
are under the care of the clerks of the
Four Courts. and though frequently bills
have been introduced in Parliament to
have them taken care of nothing practi-
cal has been done. These records are so
numerous that it would be impossible to
enumerate them here. The earliest
records commence with the reign of
King John and, with some interruptions.
are brought down to the present time;
suffice it to say that they contain, among
other valuable records, the public and
private statutes passed in the Irish Par
lament commencing in the reign of
Henry VI, as also the grants Of land
under the acts of settlement and explana-
ton, and under the Commission of Grace,
in the reigns of Charles III. and James
H., and the grants from the Commission
ers Of Fortified Estates in the reigns of