Things to see and do Ireland

Four Masters Memorial

The Four Masters Memorial celebrates the names of the Four Masters who wrote the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland in the early 1600’s in Donegal. The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the Annals of the Four Masters (Annála na gCeithre Máistrí) are a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,242 years after creation to AD 1616. The chief compiler of the annals was Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, who was assisted by, among others, Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire and Peregrine Ó Duibhgeannain. Although only one of the authors, Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, was a Franciscan friar, they became known as 'The Four Friars' or in the original Irish, Na Ceithre Máistrí. The Anglicized version of this was 'The Four Masters', the name that became associated with the annals themselves. The patron of the project was Fearghal Ó Gadhra, a lord in County Sligo. The annals are written in Irish. The several manuscript copies are held at Trinity College Dublin, the Royal Irish Academy, University College Dublin and the National Library of Ireland.

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