Narcissus Marsh and the 1681 Irish Old Testament

• In Event: Print and Manuscript Cultures in Early Modern Dublin

Abstract

While Narcissus Marsh is remembered today as the founder of Dublin’s first public library, he was recognised among his contemporaries as a distinguished classical and oriental scholar. It is proposed to examine a neglected aspect of Marsh’s engagement with translation and print for evangelisation. Although the role of Robert Boyle (1627–91) has long been recognised as an important factor in the publication of the Gaelic Old Testament in 1681, Marsh’s arguably equally important contribution to the project has been overlooked. The paper will discuss a fasincating process of interaction between Marsh, Boyle and his sister Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh and the project translator and copy editor respectively, Andrew Sall and Hugh O’Reilly. Sall, a former Jesuit, directed the revision of the original translation sponsored by William Bedell and O’Reilly saw it through the press in London. The publication of the Gaelic Old Testament represents a fascinating episode in Anglo-Irish history.

Author

• Marc D. Caball, University College Dublin