Piaras Feiritéar (1600? – 1653) was an Irish poet.

Feiritéar was a Norman-Irish lord of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh in Corca Dhuibhne. Although best known as a poet, it was his role as a leader of the nascent Catholic Irish community of Norman- and Gaelic- Irish origin which ultimately lead to his execution in 1653.

Culture

Feiritéar was a harpist as well as a poet and known for his blend of laments, eulogies and satires of the Irish tradition with the love-lyrics of European influence. His best known work, Leig díot t’airm, a mhacoimh mná [Lay aside thy arms, maiden], is a poem about a beautiful woman. It is believed that he may have written poetry in English, but none of this has survived. Some critics have argued that his Irish poetry shows the influence of the English Elizabethans.

Politics

A leader during the Confederate Ireland wars, Feiritéar was wounded during an attack on Tralee Castle in 1641. His forces held the castle until the fall of Ross Castle in Killarney, 1653. Granted safe passage, Feiritéar travelled to arrange surrender terms. However, he was seized at Castlemaine and hanged alongside a priest and bishop at the Hill of Sheep in Killarney. He remains something of a folk hero for the Irish-speaking people of Corca Dhuibhne, and particularly his native Ard na Caithne where the ruins of his castle can still be seen, and his poetry lives on in the oral tradition.

References

See also

• Aogán Ó Rathaille
• Dáibhí Ó Bruadair
• Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna
• Peadar Ó Doirnín
• Séamas Dall Mac Cuarta
• Art Mac Cumhaigh
• Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill