Sadly, little is know about the early life of Mac Cumaigh. It is often quoted about Mac Cumaigh that he became so engrossed in this poetry that he sometimes wandered about in a day-dream. Alas, he was not given the praise due to him whilst he was alive, and so he was a full time gardener, and part-time poet, to sustain himself.
When Irish was more widely spoken in South Ulster than it is today, his famous poem Ag Úirchill an Chréagáin had become something of an athem of the area. When he died at the young age of 34, he was buried in Creggan graveyard in South Armagh. A comemorative plaque marks this spot today.