Gillebríghde Albanach

Gillebríghde Albanach was born in Scotland during the early part of the 13th Century. However, he spent most of his life working in Ireland as a poet. Even more uniquely, even though he worked in Ireland, he still wrote his poetry in Scottish Gaelic. He was one of the few poets in Ireland who wrote in Scottish Gaelic, and certainly one of the very few whose works have survived. In addition to being a poet, he was a crusader, taking part in the Fifth Crusade. According to Scotland and the Crusades, he reached the city of Acre, Israel in 1218 or 1219 and remained on crusade for about 5 years. 

One of his surviving poems reflects on the contradictions of being a crusader while also being a poet, and also on the troubles of his friend. In A Mhuireadhaigh, meil do sgín, Albanach describes the troubles through his friend, Muireadhach Albanach (another famous poet who went on the crusade with Albanach). As poets, they are supposed to be peaceful people who don't use weapons, yet being a crusader requires the exact opposite. Muireadhach killed the steward of king Cathal, and the poem suggests that Muireachach came back to Ireland to reconcile with Cathal, as well as to criticize him staying behind as a monk while Muireachach went on the crusade. The poem subliminally highlights how Gillebrighde felt troubled with being a poet while also being a crusader, and trying to compromise between the two vastly contrasting lives.