186 



himself. And I may also observe that in some places the memoran- 

 dum, ' see page/ occurs, the No. of the page not being entered, as it 

 would doubtless have been had the Treatise been completed. 



" It is within the range of possibility that he intended in this Tract 

 to expand the Catalogue of Authors, which he states in the preface 

 to his Genealogies he had compiled, but the execution of this project 

 was cut short by some cause or other which we are unacquainted with. 

 At all events, of both these Tracts, such as they are, I have made accurate 

 transcripts, and I venture to confide them to your care for presentation 

 to the Royal Irish Academy. And I beg to add, should the Aca- 

 demy deem them worthy of publication in its ' Transactions,' that I 

 will cheerfully undertake the duty of translating and preparing these 

 Tracts for the press. 



" I am, dear Sir, yours faithfully, 



" W. Henkessy." 



" To D. E. Kelly, Esq." 



Now for the Tracts themselves. 



No. I. 



This has the words "De Scriptoribus Hibernicis" written on the 

 upper margin of the first page, in a handwriting very much resembling 

 Sir James "Ware's ; and some words are also glossed in the same hand- 

 writing. But Sir James was certainly not sufficiently versed in the 

 Irish language to have been able to interpret the words explained. The 

 author begins by advancing the usual arguments put forward by the 

 critics of his age respecting the antiquity of the Scotic, i. e. the Irish 

 language ; after which he enumerates the principal professors of know- 

 ledge who accompanied the several immigrations into Ireland from 

 Pintaun, who came with Cesara before the Flood ! to Amergin, the son 

 of Milesius ; and, coming down to later times, he adds some ^ names 

 to the list of families which furnished hereditary Professors of the se- 

 veral branches of Poetry, Law, Medicine, and History. 



In the department of Senchas, or History, for example, he enume- 

 rates the following families, in addition to those already known, 



The O'Plyns, 

 The 0' Dunns, 



The O'Quills, and 

 The O'Squinins. 



The principal hereditary Professors of Law he states to have been- 



The Clann Aodhagan, or Eg an ; 

 The Siol Plachadha, or M'Clanchys; 

 The Clann an Brethemhain ; 

 The O'Breslens ; 

 The O'Dorans ; and 

 The O'Haras. 



