| An Leabhar Breac | |
|---|---|
| Royal Irish Academy | |
| Also known as | Speckled Book, Great Book of Dun Doighre |
| Type | Compilation of Irish legends |
| Date | 1408–1411 |
| Place of origin | Duniry |
| Language(s) | Middle Irish and Latin |
| Scribe(s) | Murchadh Ó Cuindlis |
| Material | Vellum |
| Size | 40.5 cm × 28 cm (16 in × 11 in) |
| Format | Folio |
| Script | Irish minuscule |
An Leabhar Breac ('The Speckled Book'; Middle Irish: An Lebar Brec[1][2]), now less commonly Leabhar Mór Dúna Doighre ('Great Book of Dun Doighre') or possibly erroneously, Leabhar Breac Mic Aodhagáin ('The Speckled Book of the MacEgans'),[3] is a medieval Irish vellum manuscript containing Middle Irish and Hiberno-Latin writings. The manuscript is held in the library of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin, where it is catalogued as RIA MS 23 P 16 or 1230.
It was most probably compiled by Murchadh Riabhach Ó Cuindlis (of Ballaghdacker, Athleague) at Duniry between the years 1408 and 1411.[4] Duniry – Dún Daighre, Dún Doighre – in eastern Clanricarde (now east County Galway) is situated south-east of the town of Loughrea, and in the medieval era was home to a branch of the bardic Clann Mac Aodhagáin (the MacEgans), who served as brehons for the O'Connors of Clanricarde.
- ^ "Mac Carthy 1892a/Toc01". CODECS: Online Database and e-Resources for Celtic Studies.
- ^ Doležalová, Lucie (17 November 2009). The Making of Memory in the Middle Ages. ISBN 9789047441601.
- ^ Leabhar Breac Mic Aodhagáin is also the title of a book cited by Geoffrey Keating in Book III of Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, described as an 'old book of annals' (seinleabhar annálach) and probably now lost. Irish Script on Screen.
- ^ Holohan, Frances. "The Leabhar Breac – Reproduced in 1876: Shining a Light on the Original Ancient Manuscript". Abbey and District Heritage. Galway County Council Heritage Office / National Museum of Ireland. Retrieved 9 October 2023. Citing: Ó Conaill, Mícheál (1932). Cineál Fhéichín agus Síol Anmcha. And: Ó Con Cheanainn, Tomás (1973). "The scribe of the Leabhar Breac". Ériu. 24. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy: 64–79. ISSN 0332-0758. Also quotes at some length from an unspecified publication of Nollaig Ó Muraíle.