Brian Merriman

Brian Merriman, poet, was born at Ennistymon, the son of a journeyman stonemason, about 1747. He married a woman from Feakle in 1787 and they had two daughters. He taught at various schools in the area for about twenty years, first at Kilclaran and later in a school near his farm. Teaching in those days seems to have been a profession that attracted those with a taste for literature.

Later on he became resident tutor to the families of the local gentry.This may be where he got the subject matter for his poem "Cúirt an Mhéan Óiche". It is likely that he had access to books of European literature which gave him ideas for the theme. His famous poem, written in his native Irish language, has well over a thousand lines. It has been translated into English as "The Midnight Court" by many translators. The principal themes are the plight of young women who lack husbands, clerical celibacy, free love, and the misery of a young woman married to a withered old man. It is probably the most famous poem in the Irish language. It is written in the form of a vision or aisling. Brian falls asleep on the shores of Loch Gréine near Feakle in East Clare and finds himself present at a fairy court where the women of Ireland were discussing their great problems. It is believed that Merriman was illegitimate and wanted to justify his complex in the poem. His vigour, fluency and earthy humour made his poem widely popular and while he was still alive numerous manuscript copies were circulated.