Riaghail ar Máthar Náomhtha S. Clara
RIA D i 2. 17th century. Paper.
The Rule of St Clare was printed in English in 1621, probably for the use of the English Poor Clare nuns who had established a convent in Gravelines, close to the Belgian/French border. Some years later a translation from English into Irish was made by two Franciscan priests Aodh Ó Raghallaigh and Seamus Ó Siaghail. The Poor Clares came to Ireland in the 1620s and founded a convent called Bethlehem on Lough Ree, near Athlone, Co Westmeath.
In October 1636 Mícheál Ó Cléirigh made a neat transcript of the Irish translation and his manuscript is the only Irish copy of the text that survives. While many Poor Clares belonged to Old English families, this manuscript shows that Irish was used by at least some of the nuns.
