Dáibhí Iarla Ó Cróinín (born 29 August 1954) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

historian and authority on

Hiberno-Latin Hiberno-Latin, also called Hisperic Latin, was a learned style of literary Latin first used and subsequently spread by Irish monks during the period from the sixth century to the tenth century. Vocabulary and influence Hiberno-Latin was notab ...

texts, noted for his significant mid-1980s discovery in a manuscript in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

of the "lost" Irish 84-year

Easter table As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as (). Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, which is the first full moon on or after 21 March (a fixed approxi ...

. Ó Cróinín was Professor of History at

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

and Member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

. He specialises in the history of Ireland, Britain and Europe during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and

texts.

Early life and education

Ó Cróinín received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Early Irish History from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(UCD) in 1975 and an

M.Phil. The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil ...

in Medieval Studies from the same in 1977.

Academia

While wandering around

in the mid-1980s Ó Cróinín happened upon an example of the Irish 84-year

in a manuscript there - this Easter table, so central to the

Easter controversy The controversy over the correct date for Easter began in Early Christianity as early as the 2nd century AD. Discussion and disagreement over the best method of reform of the date of Easter, computing the date of Easter Sunday has been ongoing eve ...

, had until that time been presumed lost but Ó Cróinín had found one covering the period AD 438–521. For this he received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

in 1985; the

Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies The Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (PIMS) is a research institute in the University of Toronto that is dedicated to advanced studies in the culture of the Middle Ages. Governance The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto, currently Th ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

published Ó Cróinín's work on that seventh-century

computistical tract which he had discovered. Alongside Daniel McCarthy, Ó Cróinín published "The 'Lost' Irish 84-Year Easter Table Rediscovered" in the journal ''

Peritia ''Peritia'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering Celtic and Insular medieval studies in the context of the European Middle Ages and European medieval studies in general. It is published by the Medieval Academy of Ireland. History ...

'' in the late 1980s, explaining the implications of his discovery for our understanding of the period. Ó Cróinín succeeded

Donnchadh Ó Corráin Donnchadh Ó Corráin (28 February 1942 – 25 October 2017) was an Irish historian and Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at University College Cork. He earned his BA in history and Irish from that institution, graduating in 1964. He was a ...

as editor of ''Peritia'' at some point in the mid-2010s.

Publications

A list of Ó Cróinín's books follows: * '' The Irish Sex Aetates Mundi'', Dublin (1982) * ''Cummian's letter 'De controversia Paschali' together with a related Irish compustical tract 'De rationae conputanti, edited with Maura Walsh (Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies; Studies and texts, lxxxvi), Toronto (1988) * ''An Cúigiú Díochlaonadh'', Indreabhan, Connamara (1994) * ''Early Medieval Ireland, 400–1200'', London and New York (1995) * ''The Songs of

Elizabeth Cronin Elizabeth "Bess" Cronin ( ga, Eibhlís Uí Chróinín, italic=no; 29 May 18792 June 1956) was an influential singer of Irish traditional music in the sean-nós style. She sang hundreds of songs which she learnt as a youth, half of which were in ...

, Irish Traditional Singer'', Dublin (2000) * ''Early Irish History and Chronology'', Dublin (2003) * ''A New History of Ireland'', volume one, Dublin (2006)

Awards and honours

Ó Cróinín was awarded the Parnell Fellowship in Irish Studies at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

for the year 2017–18.

Personal life

His father was the scholar Donncha Ó Cróinín (1919–1990), and his paternal grandmother was the sean-nós singer

(1879–1956).

References

External links

Dáibhí Ó Cróinín
at

Entry at the ''Bibliography of Irish Linguistics and Literature 1972-''
{{DEFAULTSORT:OCroinin, Daibhi 1954 births Living people Academics of the University of Galway Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of the University of Galway Celtic studies scholars Easter date 20th-century Irish historians 21st-century Irish historians Irish-language writers Members of the Royal Irish Academy People from County Galway