Roderick O Flaherty (Irish name Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh, Ruairí Ó
Flaitheartaigh) (1629 – 1718 or 1716), was an Irish historian. He was born in Co Galway and inherited Magh
Cuilinn (Moycullen) Castle and estate.
O'Flaherty was the last de jure Lord of Iar Connacht, and the last recognized
chief of the O'Flaherty clan. He lost the greater part of his ancestral estates to
Cromwellian confiscations in the 1650s. The
remainder was stolen through deception, by his son's father-in-law, Richard Nimble Dick Martin of Ross. Died in poverty at
Park, near Bearna.
Uniquely among the O Flaithbheartigh family up to that time, Ruaidhri became a highly regarded historian and collector of
Irish manuscripts. His friends and associates included his teacher Dubhaltach
MacFhirbhisigh, Daibhidh Ó Duibhgheannáin, Dr. John Lynch, Edward Llyud
and Samuel Moleneaux. His published works included Ogyia and Iar Connacht.
He is perhaps most often associated with his elaborate history of Ireland, Ogygia,
published in 1685 as Ogygia: seu Rerum Hibernicarum Chronologia & etc., in
1793 translated into English by Rev. James Hely, as
- "Ogygia, or a Chronological account of Irish Events (collected from Very Ancient Documents faithfully compared with each
other & supported by the Genealogical & Chronological Aid of the Sacred and Profane Writings of the Globe"
Ogygia is the island of Calypso, used by
O'Flaherty as an allegory for Ireland. Drawing from numerous ancient documents, Ogygia traces Irish history back to the
ages of mythology and legend, before the time of Christ. The book credits Milesius as the progenitor of the Goidelic people. O'Flaherty
had included in his history what purported to be an essay on the understanding of the ancient Ogham alphabet. Based on the 1390 Auraicept na n-Éces, he
stated that each letter was named after a tree, a concept widely accepted in 17th century Ireland.
Ogygia was immediately criticised for its scholarship by Sir George Mackenzie of
Rosehaugh (1636-91), Dean of Faculty (1682) at Aberdeen. The arguments about
O'Flaherty's continued well into the 18th century, culminating in the 1775 The Ogygia
Vindicated by C. O'Connor of Dublin.
References
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