The Book of Lismore, also known as the Book of Mac Carthaigh Riabhach, is a late fifteenth-century Gaelic manuscript that was created at Kilbrittain in County Cork, Ireland, for Fínghean Mac Carthaigh, Lord of Carbery (1478–1505). Defective at beginning and end, 198 leaves survive today, containing a miscellany of religious and secular texts written entirely in Irish. The main scribe of the manuscript did not sign his name. A second scribe, who wrote eleven leaves, signed himself Aonghus Ó Callanáin, and was probably a member of a well-known family of medical scholars from West Cork. Other relief scribes contribute short stints throughout the book. The book also contains a reference (f. 158v) to a second manuscript, a duanaire or anthology of poetry dedicated to Mac Carthaigh, but this manuscript is now lost. Contents While poetry is well represented throughout the manuscript, the dominant form is prose, dating linguistically from the high through late Middle Ages. The contents display thoughtful organisation, beginning with religious material mostly relating to the saints of Ireland (lives and anecdotes), including Patrick, Brigid, Colum Cille, Ciarán and Brendan, but also incorporating the early medieval Teanga Bhiothnua ('Evernew tongue'). Texts translated to Irish, broadly related to the religious theme, are found in this section also, and feature the Conquests of Charlemagne, the History of the Lombards (a chapter from the Golden Legend), and The Travels of Marco Polo. It is probable that access by the Kilbrittain scribes to some of the religiously-themed literature was facilitated by the Franciscan community at nearby Timoleague. Between them, the religious works and the translated texts account for approximately half of the contents. The rest of the manuscript features native, secular texts. These include material relating to kingship, some of which centres on Diarmaid mac Cearbhaill, a sixth-century king of Ireland; tales such as Caithréim Cheallacháin Chaisil, Eachtra Thaidhg Mhic Céin and Cath Crionna; the satire Tromdhámh Ghuaire; and traditions concerning Fionn mac Cumhaill as related in the late-twelfth century prosimetrum, Agallamh na Seanórach. These Fionn traditions occupy approximately one quarter of the manuscript. The book also contains Crichad an Chaoilli, a topographical document, possibly from the 13th Century, describing the district between Mallow and Fermoy in terms of townlands, the names of many of which are still recognizable in the form of their present-day counterparts. The texts in the Book of Lismore are comprehensive in their representation of religious and secular