Philip O'Sullivan Beare

Philip O'Sullivan Beare (Irish: Pilib Ó Súilleabháin Béirre, c. 1590; died in Spain, 1660) was an Irish soldier who became more famous as a writer.

He was son of Dermot O'Sullivan and nephew of Donal O'Sullivan Beare, Prince of Beare. He was sent to Spain in 1602, and was educated at Compostela by Vendamma, a Spaniard, and John Synnott, an Irish Jesuit.

He served in the Spanish army. In 1621 he published his Catholic History of Ireland, a work not always reliable, but valuable for the Irish wars of the author's own day. He also wrote a Life of St. Patrick, a confutation of Gerald of Wales and a reply to James Usher's attack on his History.

Works

• O'Sullivan Beare, Philip, Historiae Catholicae Iberniae. Spain. 1621. Edited by Matthew Kelly 1850, Dublin: Printed by John O'Daly. Portion translated into English by Matthew J. Byrne 1903, titled Ireland under Elizabeth, and also Chapters towards a History of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth. Dublin: Sealy, Bryers & Walker.

References

• Magee, Irish Writers of the Seventeenth Century (Dublin, 1846);
• O'Sullivan, Catholic History of Ireland, ed. Kelly (Dublin, 1850);
• O'Sullivan, History of Ireland, tr. Byrne (London, 1904)

Further reading

• Philip O’Sullivan Beare (2009-05-15). Denis C. O'Sullivan. ed. Natural History of Ireland. Cork University Press. ISBN 9781859184394. 

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia article
• University College Cork page

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.