Historical omissions of Michael Ó Cléirigh and the Donegal Franciscans’ history

Irish historical authorities identify that Michael Ó Cléirigh created the Annals of the Four Masters at Bundrowes friary in present-day Magheracar, Bundoran.However, one of the most significant questions in County Donegal’s history remains to be answered: why do some Donegal historians omit first-hand primary-source historical records of Michael Ó Cléirigh and the Donegal Franciscans at Bundrowes Friary?

One recently published example is the Michael Ó Cléirigh Summer school 2026 yearbook, which omits the recorded history of Michael Ó Cléirigh and the Donegal Franciscans at Bundrowes Friary, on the Donegal side of the Drowes.

The historical record

The school states that it “was set up to honour the life and work” of Michael Ó Cléirigh and each year honours him through talks and events. However, after Bundoran historians examined the school’s recently published yearbook and reviewed their website, it is evident that these omissions dishonour the lives and work of Ó Cléirigh and the Donegal Franciscans by omitting first-hand primary-source historical records from their printed and online literature.

Although the yearbook’s primary purpose is to record “the talks and events held over the weekend in May 2026 when the history summer school was held”, the school also has an educational responsibility, as a ‘school’, to educate the public about the recorded history of the lives and work of Ó Cléirigh and the Franciscans at Bundrowes Friary, rather than omit this essential history.

In the yearbook's Foreword, the school states: “Just 400 years ago in 1626 Michael was sent to Ireland.”Yet the school omits from the yearbook the recorded history of Ó Cléirigh’s own written reference to "The Convent of the Friars of Donegal at Drowes", and the Franciscan Louvain Papers record of The Convent of Donegal at “Bundrowis” Friary, c. 1630. These first-hand primary-source historical records explicitly establish for readers where Ó Cléirigh and the Donegal Franciscans lived and worked. This is recorded history, not speculation.

References to Bundrowes

To be fair, the school’s website notes Ó Cléirigh compiling on the Donegal side of the Drowes.

However, it was only in January, following the first Donegal Democrat article on Ó Cléirigh, that the school removed the inaccurate claim that he may have compiled the Annals in Leitrim.

Additionally, after the Bundoran Four Masters article featured on RTé Brainstorm in May, the school finally acknowledged the historic Bundrowes site in “Magheracar”, Bundoran, in their literature for the first time in thirteen years, yet they still managed to omit the fact that Magheracar is one of the townlands of Bundoran.

While the school should be commended for this progress, their literature omits the most important seventeenth-century Donegal Franciscan document: the Louvain Papers record relating to Ó Cléirigh’s Convent of Donegal at Bundrowes Friary.

The school's website states that it “commemorates the work of the Franciscan Friars of the period who lived in Donegal and in Louvain.”

However, how can the school claim to commemorate the work of the Donegal and Louvain Franciscans when their literature entirely omits the recorded history of the Donegal Franciscans working in The Convent of Donegal at “Bundrowis” Friary, as documented in the Franciscan Louvain Papers record?

Bundoran historian Seanie Carty said: “If the Summer School wants to commemorate Ó Cléirigh and the Donegal Franciscans then they should do so with the true history.”

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Furthermore, the school uses a Facebook cover photo of Louvain College, where Ó Cléirigh studied before returning to south Donegal in 1626, yet the school’s literature fails to educate the public about the historically significant Franciscan Louvain Papers record of Ó Cléirigh’s Convent of Donegal at “Bundrowis” Friary.

Questions for Donegal historians

The question must now be put to Donegal historians: would the Michael Ó Cléirigh Summer School omit these first-hand primary-source historical records from their literature if Ó Cléirigh had stated that he wrote “at Barron/Kilbarron” rather than “at Drowes/Bundrowes”?

If the Franciscan Louvain Papers record identified Ó Cléirigh’s Convent of Donegal at “Kilbarron” Friary, then the school would reasonably present that recorded history and rightfully claim in their literature that Ó Cléirigh compiled the Annals in "Kilbarron" Friary.

Unfortunately, the historical truth is that there is no recorded Four Masters history of Ó Cléirigh and the Franciscans in Kilbarron or Donegal Town. The only locally recorded Four Masters history that we have of Ó Cléirigh and the Franciscans is in Magh Ene on the Donegal side of the Drowes at Bundrowes Friary, present-day Magheracar, Bundoran (1626-1637).

For a year, Bundoran historians have respectfully communicated these concerns about the historical omissions to the Summer School committee, including Fr. Eugene Barrett OFM, Secretary Fergus Cleary, Chairperson Martina Needham and Daniel Mannion, but to no avail.

To his credit, Daniel Mannion, a well-respected solicitor with Reid & Sweeney in Ballyshannon, understands that highlighting, rather than omitting “the historical facts” of the Donegal Franciscans and Ó Cléirigh at Bundrowes Friary in Magheracar, Bundoran, is important to the school’s reputation, credibility, accuracy and inclusivity.

Omitting Ó Cléirigh’s own words “at Drowes” and the Franciscan Louvain Papers record of The Convent of Donegal at “Bundrowis” Friary from the school’s literature can be illuminated by a legal analogy: imagine a solicitor discussing a will and property deed in one of the most landmark legal cases in Irish history, while omitting the very original will and property deed from the court proceedings.

Honouring the historical legacy

Ireland’s foremost chronicler, Michael Ó Cléirigh, created the Annals, the greatest chronicle of Irish history, at Bundrowes Friary, for what he himself called “the honour of Ireland”. It is now time to truly honour the chronicle of the lives and work of Ó Cléirigh and the Donegal Franciscans by acknowledging their recorded history and using it to educate the public.

The Bundoran historical community is united in their commitment to building an educational bridge with the Summer School, founded on the community's mission to promote "true, positive and accurate history", but the walls of non-communication and historical omission must first be broken down.

Omitting the recorded history of Michael Ó Cléirigh and the Donegal Franciscans at Bundrowes Friary in Magheracar, Bundoran – not only dishonours their lives and work and fails to educate the public about the Annals of their own local history – but also distorts, 400 years on, Michael Ó Cléirigh and the Donegal Franciscans’ historical legacy.

Éamon Ó Caoineachán (Eddie Keenaghan) is a poet, writer and historian from Bundoran