Ó Coileáin, Seán

Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature, The, January, 2000 by ROBERT WELCH

Ó Coileáin, Seán (?1754–1817), poet and scribe. Born in West Carbery, Co. Cork, he was educated for the priesthood on the Continent before returning to Myross, near Glandore, where he lived by teaching and is reputed to have led a rakish life. His extant poems are few: his best-known ‘Machtnamh an Duine Dhoilíosaigh’ , written in 1813, is a reflection on the ruins of Timoleague Abbey in his native place.

A sombre poem, it unites romanticism with Gaelic tradition, and for this reason was a favourite of 19th-cent. translators such as Ferguson and Mangan .