[Hand of J. O'Donovan:]
Dear Sir,
I must now attempt to divide the County of Galway into the territories of which it consisted before the formation of baronies. The Abbé Mageoghegan's map is entirely wrong, and Ortelius improved is too meagre. I want Beaufort's map of the Dioceses of Connaught; the boundaries of the Dioceses will assist me in separating Hy-Many from Hy-Briuin Seóla, which was never done or thought of! The Abbe Mageoghegan does not give Hy-Briuin-Seóla or Magh Seola at all, but in its place he places O'Halloran's small territory of Clanfergal. the merchant-men of Hardiman! The O'Halloran's were called Clann Fergail, the race of Fergal or Farrell, but Mr. Hardiman must make them 'the race of the "merchants"! I believe the O'Fergals of Analy were merchants also! I wonder what is the derivation of the Claddagh fishermen?
Our topography and history are not yet written and perhaps never will.
I promised that we would be ready for the Queen's County on the 1st of October, but my (I) promise is like the mountain in labour,
Parturiunt montes nascetur ridiculus mus!
We must however, persevere to the last, but two orthographists are not enough in the field. Winter rushes upon us, and we shall be swamped.
John O'Donovan
I want the pedigree of the O'Halloran's who are called by Genealogists the Clann of Fergal and by Mr. Hardiman, the race of merchants or the Nagnatae of Connaught. Was Fergal, the progenitor of the O'Halloran's cotemporary with
Ptolemy? The Clann Fergal did not exist in rerum naturâ and therefore do not appear in history till after the tenth (ninth) century. (See number of generations from Fergal to Allmhurán, a quo). If then they are the Nagnatae of Ptolemy I am an ass and ought to have asses ears, and if Fergal means a merchant I know nothing of the Irish language.
Q? if Feargal means a "merchant" what is the meaning of Ard-ghal, Donghal, Tuathghal, Rathghall? The word gal at the end of proper names signifies valor, Gallantry and Vallancey's gael or merchant (substituted for it) must be rejected as a forgery calculated to divert men's minds from the true course of investigating the truth of ancient history. But of this when I come to treat of Galway.