Cormac, King of Cashel

(836-908)

   The chief bishop of Leth Mogha, Ireland, descended from one of the ancient Irish clans, he received a sound education in verse composition and the art of penmanship. The Rock of Cashel (meaning fortress), to which the town Cashel (County Tipperary) owes its origin, is an isolated elevation of stratified limestone, rising abruptly from a broad and fertile plain called the Golden Vein. Although most of Cormac's writings are in Gaelic, his Instructions of King Cormac- full of sound common sense-has been translated by Kuno Meyer and can be found in full at http://www.wildideas.net/cathbad/pagan/cormac.html.

   Sources: Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org). Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition, 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org).