Roderick O'Flaherty

From Freepedia

Roderick O Flaherty (Irish name Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh) (1629 - 1718 (or 1716), was an Irish historian.

O'Flaherty was the last de jure Lord of Iar Connaught, 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 Daibhidh Ó Duibhgheannáin, Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh, Dr. John Lynch, Edward Llyud and Samuel Moleneaux. His published works included Ogyia, Ogyia Vindicated, and Iar Connacht.

He is perhaps most often associated with his elaborate history of Ireland, Ogygia. 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, an assertion which has since been called into question. Nonetheless, Ogygia is considered a definitive history of Ireland.