DEED 2
MN 41
TCD MS (TCD MS 1429 no. 9 (f. 7r))
1. Ase apur in scribhinn da foillsiugad go dtuc Murca mac Concubuir [meic Murca below] meic Uilliam o Baile Sídnóid leath a fearind
2. agus a fineachuis a mbithdilsi go brath do dias mac Concubair [mic Taidg inserted] .i. do Pilip mac Concubair agus do Diarmaid
3. mac Concubair agus da naoidhribh ina ndiagh agus tuc in Murca cédhna so in leath eile da fearinn fa cundradh don
4. dias ceadna sin .i. do Pilip agus do Diarmaid agus ase seo in cunnradh tuc Murca ar in leath is leis fein da fearinn .i. gan
5. cumus aigi aon fodh [sic] do tabhuirt a ngeall na a ngabaltus [na a ndilus above] daon nduini eile de go brath acht in la bias cumus
6. ag Murca suigead annsa bfearinn so is leis fein da cuid agus a ioc re tir agus re tiagarna agus bonn ciosa do ta
7.bhairt cacha bliadna do Pilip agus do Diarmaid agus in la nach biadh cumus ag Murca suidead annsa bfearinn a fagbail ag
8. Pilip agus ag Diarmaid agus ceithre tuisdiun ciosa do tabairt do Murca cacha bliadna .i. a leath sin im Caisc agus
9. a leath im Feil Michil agus cach uair cuirfis Murca roime suigead annsa cuit is leis fein da fearinn ata
10. barr agus athbarr ar a leasugad ag Pilip agus ag Diarmaid agus da mbiadh mac ag Murca is leis in mac sin inad
11. Murca ar an bferinn sin agus muna beath ase Pilip agus Diarmaid is aoidhridh air agus asiat so na fiadain do bi
12. do laithair an diluis agus an cundarth so .i. Seaan d Duibir agus Concubur mac Taidg meic Pilip agus Pilip mac Uaithne
13. Anno Domini 1551
14. Murca O Molregain [maille athrac laimi above]
15. Uilliam O Daboiureann Concubur O Duibir maille athrac
16. Sean O Duiboir [fiadnuisi maille athrac above] Pilip O Duibir
NORMALISED TEXT
Is é adhbhar an scríbhinn, dá fhoillsiughadh go dtug Murchadh mac Conchubhair mheic Mhurchaidh mheic Uilliam ó Bhaile Siodhnóid leath a fhearainn agus a fhineachais i mbithdhílse go bráth do dhias mhac Conchubhair mheic Thaidhg .i. do Philip mac Conchubhair agus do Dhiarmaid mac Conchubhair agus dá n-oighribh ina ndiaidh.
Agus tug an Murchadh céadna so an leath eile dá fhearann fa chunnradh don dias chéadna sin .i. do Philip agus do Dhiarmaid.
Agus is é seo an cunnradh tug Murchadh ar an leath is leis féin dá fhearann .i. gan cumus aige aon fhód do thabhairt i ngeall ná i ngabháltas ná i ndíleas d’aon duini eile de go bráth; acht an lá bhias cumas ag Murchadh suidhe annsa bhfearann so is leis féin dá chuid, agus a íoc re tír agus re tighearna, agus bonn cíosa do thabhairt gacha bliadhna do Philip agus do Dhiarmaid; agus an lá nach biadh cumas ag Murchadh suidhe annsa bhfearann, a fhágbháil ag Pilip agus ag Diarmaid agus ceithre tuisdiún cíosa do thabhairt do Mhurchadh gacha bliadhna .i. a leath sin im Cháisc agus a leath im Fhéile Mhichíl.
Agus gach uair chuirfeas Murchadh roimhe suidhe annsa chuid is leis féin dá fhearann, atá barr agus athbarr ar a leasughadh ag Pilip agus ag Diarmaid; agus dá mbiadh mac ag Murchadh is leis an mac sin ionad Murchaidh ar an bhfearann sin; agus muna bheath, is é Pilip agus Diarmaid is oighreadha air.
Agus is iad so na fiadhain do bhí do láthair an dílis agus an chundartha so .i. Seaán Ó Duibhir, agus Conchubhar mac Taidhg mheic Philip, agus Pilip mac Uaithne. Anno Domini 1551
Murchadh Ó Maoil Riain maille athrach láimhe
Uilliam Ó Dabhoireann Conchubhar Ó Duibhir maille athrach
Seaán Ó Duibhir fiadhnaisi maille athrach
Pilip Ó Duibhir
14. Murca O Molregain [maille athrac laimi above]
TRANSCRIPTION
1. Ase apur in scribhinn da foillsiugad go dtuc Murca mac Concubuir [meic Murca below] meic Uilliam o Baile Sídnóid leath a fearind
2. agus a fineachuis a mbithdilsi go brath do dias mac Concubair [mic Taidg inserted] .i. do Pilip mac Concubair agus do Diarmaid
3. mac Concubair agus da naoidhribh ina ndiagh agus tuc in Murca cédhna so in leath eile da fearinn fa cundradh don
4. dias ceadna sin .i. do Pilip agus do Diarmaid agus ase seo in cunnradh tuc Murca ar in leath is leis fein da fearinn .i. gan
5. cumus aigi aon fodh [sic] do tabhuirt a ngeall na a ngabaltus [na a ndilus above] daon nduini eile de go brath acht in la bias cumus
6. ag Murca suigead annsa bfearinn so is leis fein da cuid agus a ioc re tir agus re tiagarna agus bonn ciosa do ta
7.bhairt cacha bliadna do Pilip agus do Diarmaid agus in la nach biadh cumus ag Murca suidead annsa bfearinn a fagbail ag
8. Pilip agus ag Diarmaid agus ceithre tuisdiun ciosa do tabairt do Murca cacha bliadna .i. a leath sin im Caisc agus
9. a leath im Feil Michil agus cach uair cuirfis Murca roime suigead annsa cuit is leis fein da fearinn ata
10. barr agus athbarr ar a leasugad ag Pilip agus ag Diarmaid agus da mbiadh mac ag Murca is leis in mac sin inad
11. Murca ar an bferinn sin agus muna beath ase Pilip agus Diarmaid is aoidhridh air agus asiat so na fiadain do bi
12. do laithair an diluis agus an cundarth [sic] so .i. Seaan d Duibir agus Concubur mac Taidg meic Pilip agus Pilip mac Uaithne
13. Anno Domini 1551
Source: TCD MS 1429, no. 9 (f. 7r)
MN 41
TRANSLATION
The purpose of this document is to make known that Murchadh son of Conchubhar son of Murchadh son of Uilliam of Baile Siodhnóid has given half his land and inheritance in fee simple in perpetuity to the two sons of Conchubhar son of Tadhg, i.e. to Pilip son of Conchubhar and to Diarmaid son of Conchubhar and to their heirs after them.
And the same Murchadh has given the other half of his land under contract to the same two, i.e. to Pilip and to Diarmaid. And this is the contract that Murchadh undertook concerning the half of the land that is his i.e. that he may not give a single sod of it in pledge, in tenancy or in fee to any other person; but the day that Murchadh is able to occupy this land which he retains as his portion, [he should] make payment for it to country and lord, and he should pay the rent of a groat every year to Pilip and to Diarmaid. And the day that Murchadh is not able to occupy the land, he is to leave it to Pilip and to Diarmaid, and [they are] to give him annual rent of four shillings (tuisdiún), i.e. half of it on Easter Sunday and half at Michaelmas; and every time that Murchadh proposes to occupy the portion of his land that is his, [it] having been cultivated by Philip and Diarmaid, [they] are to have had the first and second crop.
And should Murcha have a son, that son is to have Murcha’s place on the land; and should he not [have a son], it is Pilip and Diarmaid who are his heirs.
And these are the witnesses who were present at this property-transfer and contract .i. Seaán Ó Duibhir, and Conchubhar son of Tadhg son of Pilip, and Pilip son of Uaithne. In the Year of the Lord 1551.
Murcha Ó Molregain (with a change of hand)
Uilliam Ó Dabhoireann Conchubhar Ó Duibhir (with a change)
Seán Ó Duibhir (witness with a change) Pilip Ó Duibhir
NOTES
2. fineachuis The share of inherited land to which the fine were entitled. [KN]
6. bonn cíosa That is, for a nominal rent.
10. barr agus athbarr They are entitled to take two crops from the land before Murchadh goes back into possession.
12. Seaan d Duibir The 'd' possibly represents a variant of ogham connsoine dl (= Ó).
16. Uilliam O Daboiureann A member of the legal family of Ó Duibh Dá Bhoireann, and possibly the scribe of the document.
COMMENTARY
(Nicholls, 'Gaelic landownership in Tipperary', 98):
'One of the most interesting documents in the collection is an arrangement of 1551 (no. 9) by which this Murchadh son of Conchubhar son Murchadh son of Uilliam of Baile Sidhnóid gave half his lands and inheritance . . . in fee-simple . . . to the two sons of Conchubhar mac Taidhg, Philip and Diarmaid, and their heirs after them for ever. At the same time he covenanted with them as regards the other half that he should have no right "to give one sod, either in mortgage or tenancy or fee-simple" . . . to any other person, but when he was able to occupy it himself he might do so, paying (the taxes) to country and lord', and to pay Philip and Diarmaid a bonn in rent yearly - probably in this case the base groat, worth 1d, 1.3d, or 2d then current.[M. Dolley and G. Mac Niocaill, 'Some coin-names in Ceart Uí Néill', Studia Celtica 2 (1967) 119-20.] If, on the other hand, he was unable to to occupy his land himself, he was to leave it to Philip and Diarmaid, who were to pay him a rent of four tuisdúin (testoons, shillings) yearly. Whenever he did so, Philip and Diarmaid were to be allowed to take two crops . . . out of the land, reflecting the normal Irish practice of always tilling newly-broken land for two years running before allowing it to return to pasture. Finally, if Murchadh left a son, that son should inherit his rights; if he did not, Philip and Diarmaid should be his heirs. The agreement is witnessed by three of the O Dwyer family, including Philip mac Uaithne, still a private individual, who was to become chief and lord of Kilnamanagh by 1560 and pass on that position to his son at his death in 1593.[Genealogy in Lambeth Palace MS 635, includes Philip's wife Síle and their sons Diarmaid, John (of Dundrum),Thomas (of Ballinamona), Donogh (of Ballintemple, married niece of Miler McGrath), Rowland and three daughters.]
An interesting point in this agreement is the recital of the three ways in which land could be held under Gaelic law:
[1]'fee-simple' or outright ownership (dílse or bithdílse [A strengthened form of dílse 'permanent dílse', Donchadh Ó Corráin, in Historical Studies XI (1978) 24.])
[2] tenancy (gabháltas, literally taking:in Ireland one still 'takes' land, and the term has implications for the nature of tenancy, a contractual bargain between the parties [Nichols, Land, law and society, 13.]), and
[3] mortgage or pledge (geall), the theoretically redeemable conveyance which resembles in form and function the contemporary Welsh prid and which was in fact the most usual way of transferring ownership. Dr Meredith Hanmer, the late-Elizabethan antiquary, remarks about Irish characteristics that 'they will never sell, but mortgage, their land'[PRO, SP 63/214, f. 256.]. Sometimes, after the mortgage has been for a long time in the possession of the mortgagee, the latter will complete his ownership by acquiring the bithdílse, which in this context seems to acquire almost the meaning of an equity of redemption[e.g. Hardiman XXI].'