O'Connell, Eileen (c. 1743–c. 1800)

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O'Connell, Eileen (c. 1743–c. 1800)

Irish poet. Name variations: Eibhlin Dubh Ni Chonaill; Eileen O'Leary. Born c. 1743 in Derrynane, Co. Kerry, Munster, Ireland; died c. 1800; dau. of Maire Ni Dhonnchadha and Domhnall Mor O'Connell; m. O'Connor of Firies, Co. Kerry, 1758; m. Caoineadh Airt Ui Laoghaire (Art O'Leary),1767 (died 1773); children:

Wrote lament for murdered 2nd husband Caoineadh Airt Ui Laoghaire (1773), printed in Mrs. Morgan John O'Connell's The Last Colonel of the Irish Brigade: Count O'Connell and the Old Ireland at Home and Abroad (1892), which is considered by many to be the finest lament in the English language.