Seanchas Burcach, folio 21r

Seanchas Burcach or the ‘Historia et Genealogia Familiae de Burgo’ [History and genealogy of the
Burke family] is a 16th century lord’s book from Connacht, prepared for Sir John Burke, or Seán MacOliverus, lord of the MacWilliam Burkes of Mayo (d.1580). In addition to verse and prose in Irish and Latin, it contains 14 full-page colour illustrations, four of which are of sacred subjects and nine are portraits of the Burke ancestry. The manuscript was presented to Trinity College Library in 1741 by John Stearne (1660-1741), Bishop of Clogher, and formerly belonged to Dr John Madden (1690-1751), a collector and Fellow of the College.