Pádraigín Haicéad (c. 1600-1654) was a Dominican priest of the Cashel community in County Tipperary. In this collection of translations — a companion-piece to O Bruadair (1985) — we discover a record of Haicéad's life in Ireland — a life complicated by political rage and personal tenderness — of his travels, to Louvain, etc., and of his turbulent times.

The poems range from conventional elegies for his chieftains to heartbroken laments for a loved one. Hartnett shows expertly the variety of Haicéad's themes and styles and presents us with luminous 'footnotes to the originals'.