Volume 1

Tracts relating to Ireland.

Date:
1841-1843
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Tracts relating to Ireland. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    no reason to complain, if it should turn out that the earlier publications can- not be supplied to them. “ The first step taken by the Provisional Council, with a view to the future operations of the Society, was to put into the hands of Mr. O’Donovan and Mr. Curry, two scholars pre-eminently qualified for the task, the celebrated Glos- sary of Cormac Mac Cuillionan, King of Munster and Bishop of Cashel, who flourished at the end of the ninth century, and was killed in battle, A. D., 908. This curious repertory of ancient Irish is of incalculable value to all students of the obsolete part of the language, and will be indispensable hereafter to ourselves, if our Society should so far prosper as to be able to undertake the publication of our Brehon laws, and other difficult remains of the ancient hterature of Ireland. “ Through the kindness of Mr. George Smith, a very ancient manuscript of Cormac’s Glossary was placed at the disposal of the Council, and another very valuable MS. for the use of which the Society is indebted to George Petrie, Esq., has been adopted as the basis upon which the text of the work has been formed, by a careful collation with the MSS. deposited in the Libraries of the University and of the Royal Irish Academy. This collation has been already com- pleted by Mr. O’Donovan, assisted by Mr. Curry, and from the text thus formed Mr. O’Donovan is at present engaged in preparing a translation and illustrative notes. Mr. Curry has also undertaken to examine other ancient glossaries, preserved in the University Library, by whose aid he has been enabled to throw much light on the obscurities of the original; and the Council have every reason to hope that the continuance of his labours will be crowned with still greater success. They would, therefore, strongly recommend it to their successors not to be in too great haste to pubhsh this work, but to keep- it by them in Mr. O’Donovan’s hands, until it receives such accessions, from a full examination of all the other sources of information on the sub- ject, which are or may be placed within his reach, as will render it as nearly complete as the nature of the case will admit. “ In the meantime, the Council have made provision to satisfy the literary cravings of the Society, and it is hoped that a volume of miscellaneous tracts will be ready for distribution among the Members, in about six weeks from the present time. This volume will contain three very cui’ious and interesting tracts, the first of which, to be edited by Mr. O’Donovan, is an Irish poem, a 2 written
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