“One of the great treasures of the Library in Trinity College Dublin are the Annals of Loch Cé which were compiled for Brian Mac Diarmada of Moylurg, Co Roscommon in 1588/89 and contain the history of the leading families in north Connacht from AD 1014. A portion of this original manuscript covering the period of 1568/90 found its way to the British Library in 1766 where it has remained ever since. Wouldn’t it be holy and a wholesome thought for some inspired authority to bring together the two manuscripts of these annals? Here, Bernadette Cunningham discusses the importance of the Annals of Loch Cé.”
The Annals of Loch Cé, then, were written in a time of change. They were compiled for Brian Mac Diarmada of Moylurg in Co Roscommon, and much of the work of compilation was done in the years 1588–89. The principal residence of the Mac Diarmada family was at Carraig Mhic Diarmada, in Lough Key, from which the title ‘Annals of Loch Cé’ derives
