Shearman’s Ossorian Genealogy II versus Linea Antiqua, and others: Part I

Kilkenny-born cleric-cum-amateur-archaeologist-historian, Rev. John Francis Shearman, is best known for Loca Patriciana, which is his rambling wander through the Irish places and placenames of Saint Patrick. At times Loca Patriciana diverts to other matters of Irish history, such as the Kings of Ossory, and Shearman, who enjoyed the financial backing of Bernard Edward Fitzpatrick, Second Baron Castletown, the self-proclaimed ‘Tanist of Ossory’, who saw himself as a noble descendant, saw fit to dabble in the genealogies of the Ossorian kings, among whom the Mac Giolla Phádraig of Ossory rose to prominence in the eleventh century AD. Ossorian Genealogy II, which appears in Loca Patriciana, is a summary chart of Shearman’s attempt to make sense of Ossory genealogies, from Ceallach (d. 907 AD, King of Ossory) to Séafraidh Fionn Mac Giolla Phádraig (d. ca. 1314 AD). Since recent critiques of several aspects of Shearman’s versions of the histories of the Mac Giolla Phádraig of Ossory have exposed his poor scholarship, it is appropriate to provide a more detailed review of Ossorian Genealogy II against other genealogies, particularly versus one of Shearman’s most frequent sources, the scarcely reviewed Linea Antiqua. Simply put, this series of articles examines how well Shearman’s Ossorian genealogies stack up.