Richard Plunket (fl. 1772–1791), “a neglected genius of the county of Meath”

Journal article

Described as ‘a neglected genius’ by Edward O’Reilly in 1820, Plunket is known first for his printing two Old Irish poems with a modern Irish paraphrase in 1791, an edition of which one copy is now known to exist, though there are also manuscript copies. He was the first to present old and new together. The edition advertises a remarkable range of other translations, among them both the New Testament and the Roman lectionary, and selections from authors as diverse as Paolo Segnari, Erasmus, and Ovid; these works do not survive. Fr Paul O’Brien (1763–1820), of Maynooth, visited the Highlands of Scotland and the Isle of Man with ‘Mr Plunket’, in search of Fenian poetry, serious research prompted by the controversy over Ossian and comparable with the tour of Matthew Young, of Trinity College, who published his findings in Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy 1 (1787). Richard Plunket also copied a poem into a volume of transcripts from the Book of Fenagh in 1777, and in 1772 he lent permanently an early seventeenth-century volume of bardic poetry to the Dublin scribe Muiris Ó Gormáin, now RIA MS 23 D 14 (cat. 1). Although no biographical information is known, he was evidently someone versed in the Irish vernacular tradition and yet breaking new ground in his interests, his translations, and his going into print.

Authors: Sharpe, R

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Meath Archaeological and Historical Society
• Journal: Ríocht na Midhe
• Volume: 2017
• Pages: 191-203
• Publication date: 2017-02-25
• Acceptance date: 2016-08-08
• ISSN: 0461-5050