based on a literal interpretation of his surviving poems. Breandán Ó Buachalla warns against putting too much stock in literal interpretation of the poems, especially regarding his final poem, written on his deathbed. Legacy Aodhagán Ó Rathaille is credited with creating the first fully developed Aisling poem (a type of coded poem where Ireland is portrayed as a beautiful woman who bewails the current state of affairs and predicts an imminent revival of fortune, usually linked to the return of a Stuart King to the English throne). This style of poetry became a standard in Ireland, where it was dangerous to speak overtly of politics, but a poem disguised as a love song could reveal the singer's and listeners' true feelings. His best-known and most popular poem is the great aisling Gile na Gile (Brightness Most Bright), which has been called one of the miracles of Irish literature. Dinneen's work on Ó Rathaille, published in 1900, was the first published scholarly edition of the complete works of any of the Irish poets. In 1924, Daniel Corkery devoted a chapter of his groundbreaking book The Hidden Ireland to Ó Rathaille. The final poem composed by Ó Rathaille on his deathbed is one of the finest of Irish literature and the ultimate expression of the rage and loss that Ó Rathaille had been presenting in poetry during most of his life. William Butler Yeats later made reference to this work in his poem The Curse of Cromwell. Ó Rathaille's life can be seen as a microcosm of the changes in culture and society which occurred in Ireland during the end of the 17th century. His loss of status and resultant destitution are direct parallels to the death of the bardic tradition and the subsequent near-extinction of the Irish language. Ó Rathaille is buried in Muckross Abbey near Killarney in County Kerry. In popular culture Poet Seamus Heaney and piper Liam O'Flynn perform Gile na Gile on the album The Poet and the Piper. A traditional slow air called Ó Rathaille's Grave is performed by Matt Molloy on the album Stony Steps. It has also been recorded by Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford on the album The Star Above the Garter and by Joe Burke on the album The Tailor's Choice. Footnotes See also Piaras Feiritéar Dáibhí Ó Bruadair Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna Peadar Ó Doirnín Séamas Dall Mac Cuarta Art Mac