The Hidden Annals

Abstract

This acccount chronicles fifty O'Conor kings of Connaught, among whom are the last two High Kings: Turlough Mor and his son, Roderick. Hundreds of still extant family names associated with them are also included.

These early Irish annals 366-1385 AD. span a most significant era in the history of Ireland, whose consequences are all too apparent today.

About the Author

Vincent Byrne is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin. His grandfather, Joseph O'Reilly, a native of Frenchpark, Co.Roscommon, kept the local hotel which was the venue of Douglas Hyde, Lord de Freyn of Frenchpark, and Charles Owen, The O'Conor Don, all of whom had a common interest in Irish antiquities.

Years later, Vincent and his brother, Francis, spent their summer holidays in Frenchpark and found their grandfather's library a source of never-failing interest.

The "Hidden Annals" first appeared as a weekly series in the Roscommon Herald in 1994 under the title: "A Thousand Years of the O'Conor kings of Connaught".