15 
the ‘‘Opus Minus,” and the ‘Opus Tertium,” were printed in a form 
as complete as the existing copies would permit, but little would re- 
main in manuscript that proceeded from the hand of Roger Bacon. 
A list of Presentations to the Library was read, and thanks returned 
to the several donors. 
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1858. 
JamES Hentuorn Topp, D.D., President, in the Chair. 
Samuet L. Harpy, M. D., was elected a Member of the Academy. 
On the recommendation of the Council, it was resolved that the Trea- 
surer be authorized to sell a portion of the funded Stock of the Academy, 
not exceeding £50, in order to make up the sum required for payment 
for the Cunningham Medals awarded in the present year. 
The Presrpent read a paper— 
ON SOME ANCIENT IRISH DEEDS. 
Turse deeds are mostly in the Irish language and character, of the 
fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. They are of the nature 
of deeds of mortgage, wills, covenants, deeds of arbitration, indentures, 
deeds of partition, conveyance of land; and some of them are Brehon Law 
judgments. 
No. 1—Is dated A.D. 1450, and also by the local historical fact, ‘‘the 
year in which Donoch O’Brien died.” 
It is a deed of mortgage by deed poll, but differs from our modern 
deeds of mortgage in that it does not convey the lands. It consists of 
five parts. In Part 1. it is recited that Donnell Oge O’Kearney had 
possession of the lands of Ballymote, or rather a half quarter of them, 
for a debt due to him by the owners, Teige Mac Sida (Mac Sheedy), 
[Mac Namara], and his son. But Teige and his son seem to have been 
in debt to Donoch O’Brien [first Earl of Thomond ?], whose bailiffs en- © 
tered the lands of Ballymote, then in the possession of Donnell Oge 
O’ Kearney, and carried off three valuable mares. Arbitrators were ap- 
pointed, and Teige Mac Sheedy and his son were condemned to pay five 
marks to O’Kearney. As security for these five marks, Mac Sheedy, the 
son, mortgages a half quarter of Ballymote to O’ Kearney. 
In Part u. it is stated that Mac Sheedy, the son, had been murdered 
by Donnell Oge Mac Namara, but had by his will left his property to 
his brother and chief, Donnell Derg [or the red], subject to the debts 
due to O’ Kearney. 
Part m1. is a further mortgage. Donnell Derg, and the two sons of 
Lochlainn O’Curry, had stolen two pigs from O’ Kearney ; an arbitration 
was agreed to, and a fine of half a mark given for the pigs, with three 
uinge as costs, and one winge as a twelfth, or umpires’ fees. To meet 
these charges, Donnell Derg mortgages the lands to the amount of one 
mark. 
