Abstract

Carpenter, John (1729-86), also known as Seán Mac an tSaor or Maca tSaoir, Archbishop of Dublin, was born in Dublin, the son of a merchant tailor. He received his early schooling in Dublin and, between 1744 and 1747, was associated with the Gaelic language and cultural circle which had formed around Tadhg Neachtain, scion of a Connacht bardic family who had settled in Dublin. It was probably under Neachtains influence that he compiled an Irish grammar, a miscellany of prose and poetry and a book of devotion for his personal use which included part of the Imitatio Christi in Ulster Irish. In 1747 he sailed to Lisbon, entered the Irish College there and was ordained priest in 1752. He took a doctorate in theology before returning to Dublin in 1754.