Siol Ronain were located in County Westmeath near the ancient capital established by Conn of the Hundred Battles at the Hill of Uisneach, and were closely associated with Clonmacnoise.
The childlessness of himself and his wife led him to compose Deán oram trócaire, a Thríonnóid, an anguished plea to God and the saints to grant them just one child.
There is speculation that there was another poet of the same name who lived earlier in the 13th century Diarmaid Ó Diobhlin (2000) has written of him as follows: Giolla Brighde was highly regarded by his contemporaries and there are allusions to his poems in the works of later bards and in the bardic tracts ... Like much of the bardic poetry that has come down to us, Giolla Brighde's verse is stately, precise and controlled and clearly the product of a very sophisticated personality ...
A theachtaire tig ón Róimh (O messenger who comes from Rome), which defends poets and poetry against attacks by the church, is ascribed to him.
When Domnaill Óg was told why they had not fought against him, he returned all that he had plundered as a mark of respect for the poet, who had addressed several poems to him.