Donell Dubh Ó Cathail [Daniel Duff O'Cahill] (c.1580–c.1660) was an Irish musician, a performer on the Irish harp.
Donell Dubh Ó Cathail | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Daniel Duff O'Cahill |
| Born | County Cork, Ireland |
| Occupation(s) | Harpist, possibly to a royal court |
| Instrument(s) | Harp |
Family edit
Ó Cathail was the son of a Cormac Ó Cathail, and a nephew or close relative of the Donell Óge Ó Cathail, harper to Elizabeth I. Harping seems to have been the family profession.
The family may not have been native to County Cork, as Ó Cathail is the name of unrelated families which originated separately in Galway, Clare, Kerry, Tipperary and Ulster.
His wife was Ellen (alive 1664), daughter of Charles MacCarthy and a granddaughter of Richard Barry of Ballinaltig. His known children were:
- David Óg (1586–1604), who had a son, David fitz David Ó Cathail, born 10 March 1605. The child's mother was Ellis, daughter of Richard, Lord Poer.
- James (died 1609)
- Ellen, married Garret fitz John Barry of Leamlara; their descendants were still extant in the 1900s.
- Lodowick, fl. 1621-c.1654.
- Daniel Óge, fl. 1635–1663.
- Richard, fl. 1637.
- Michael, a minor in the 1650s, alive in the 1690s.
Employments edit
Ó Cathail had a number of successive employments as a household or court harper in Ireland and England. He probably commenced his career in the service of David de Barry, 5th Viscount Buttevant at Barryscourt Castle.[1]
He spent the years 1607 to 1642 in England. Between 1607 and 1619 he was harper to Anne of Denmark, wife of the English king James I in London.[2] He was subsequently with Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, between 1629 and 1642.[3]
From his income and pensions he was able to buy land in County Cork and parts of the province of Connacht, to where he returned to retire.[4]
See also edit
- Cormac MacDermott (?–1618), harper and composer
- Ruaidri Dáll Ó Catháin (fl. late 16th/early 17th century), harper and composer
- Donnchadh Ó Hámsaigh (1695–1807), Irish harper
Bibliography edit
- Seán Donnelly: "A Cork Musician at the Early Stuart Court: Daniel Duff O'Cahill (c.1580-c.1660), 'The Queen's Harper'", in Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, vol. 105 (2000), pp. 1–26.
- Ann Buckley: "Music in Ireland to c.1500", in A New History of Ireland, vol. 1, ed. by Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (Oxford, 2005), pp. 744–813.