Patrick Donnelly (1650–1716) was an Irish Catholic Bishop[1] known as The Bard of Armagh.
He was born in Desertcreaght, Cookstown, County Tyrone in 1650 and died in 1716.
[2] Donnelly ministered in the days of the Penal Laws while living as a fugitive.
[3] He was descended from one of the celebrated Gaelic Clans of the previous era, the Clann Uí Dhonnghaile, who by the time of Bishop Donnelly’s great grandfather, Donall Gruama Ó Donnghaile, in the late 16th century, were closely linked to the ruling dynasty of the O’ Neills, with whom they claimed kinship.
Eoghan Ó Donnghaile, author of Comhairle Mhic Clámha and Mo choin do theacht Fheidhlime.., may have written the latter as a salutation to Donnelly, his kinsman.