Dáithí Ó hÓgáin (13 June 1949 – 11 December 2011) was an Irish writer, poet and professor of

Irish folklore Irish folklore () refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance and mythology of Ireland. It is the study and appreciation of how people lived. The folklore of Ireland includes banshees, fairies, leprechauns and other mythological creatures, ...

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. Born in

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, he wrote extensively in both the English and Irish languages.

Life and works

Dáithí Ó hÓgáin was born in

Bruff Bruff () is a town in east County Limerick, in the midwest of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located on the old Limerick–Cork (city), Cork road (R512 road (Ireland), R512). The town lies on the River Maigue, Morning Star river, with two bridg ...

, on 13 June 1949, a son of former jockey Davy Hogan and Mary (née Tyrell). He obtained a BA in Modern Languages (Irish, English) History and Philosophy, then an MA in 1971 in the Irish Language Irish at the

, followed by a PhD in Folklore in 1976. His doctoral thesis at UCD, overseen by

Bo Almqvist Bo Gunnar Almqvist (5 May 1931 – 9 November 2013) was a Swedish academic and folklorist. Early life Bo Gunnar Almqvist was born on 5 May 1931 in Edsgatan, a small community in Alster, a farming district in the province of Värmland, Sweden, an ...

was later republished as ''An File'' in 1983. Its theme was the lore on how poets received the gift of poetry, and the supernatural powers poetry could manifest according to folk tradition. Before obtaining his doctorate, he had an 18-month stint as a radio journalist at the Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). While at the department, he gained acquaintance with three important scholars in the field, Seán Ó Súilleabháin, Caoimhín Ó Danachair and

Séamus Ó Duilearga Séamus Ó Duilearga (born James Hamilton Delargy; 26 May 1899 – 25 June 1980) was an Irish folklorist, professor of folklore at University College Dublin and Director of the Irish Folklore Commission. Born in Cushendall, Co Antrim, he was one ...

, the founding father of Irish folklore scholarship. He also served as rector of '' An Cumann Gaelach'' while at UCD. Dáithí Ó hÓgáin wrote many books, including six

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

collections and one in English, and three

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

collections, eight research books, and numerous research articles on

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

, in scholarly journals and in encyclopaedias. One notable effort was the massive tome, ''Myth, Legend and Romance - an Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition'' (1990), later reissued under the title ''The Lore of Ireland: an Encyclopaedia of Myth, Legend and Romance'' (2006), covering a wide range of folkloric material, from ancient times into the modern. He was instrumental in drafting

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's recommendations on the protection of world folklore in 1987, and was co-founder of the European Center for Traditional Culture in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in 1994. He rose from associate professor to professor at the Folklore Department at UCD, but was forced into early retirement in 2009 due to failing health. He lectured and read his poetry throughout Ireland and other countries: England, Comre, Scotland, France, Monaco, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Hungary and Iceland. He is well known as a radio and television broadcaster, and has produced four radio dramas.

Selected publications

;Poetry * ''Cois Camhaoireach'' (1981). Baile Átha Cliath: Clóchomhar. 64 pp. * ''Cóngar na gCrosán'' (1985). Baile Átha Cliath: Coiscéim. 62 pp. * ''Idir an Dá Dhealbh'' (1988). Baile Átha Cliath: Coiscéim. 63 pp. *'' Gadaí an Cheoil'' (1994). Baile Átha Cliath: Clóchomhar. 88 pp. * ''Footsteps From Another World'' (2001). London: Philome. 171 pp. * ''Ár gCogar Ciúin'' (2002). Baile Átha Cliath: Clóchomhar. 80 pp. ;Short stories * ''Breacadh'' (1973). Corcaigh and Baile Átha Cliath: Mercier. 118 pp. * Imeall an Bhaile (1986). Baile Átha Cliath: Clóchomhar. 103 pp. * Scéalta Nua (2001). Baile Átha Cliath: Clóchomhar. 90 pp.

Research

* ''An File'' (1982). Baile Átha Cliath: Foilseacháin Rialtais. 475 pp. taidéar ar chumhachtaí osnádúrtha an fhile agus na filíochta i dtraidisiún na Gaeilge * ''The Hero in Irish Folk History'' (1985). Dublin: Gill & Macmillan / New York:St Martin's Press. 354 pp. * ''Fionn Mac Cumhaill: Images of the Gaelic Hero'' (1988). Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. 361 pp. * ''Myth, Legend and Romance - an Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition'' (1990), London: Ryan Publishing; (1991), Prentice Hall: New York. 453 pp. *'' Irish Superstitions'' (1995). Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 96 pp.; repr. (2002), 126 pp. * ''Celtic Warriors'' (1999), London: Pegasus, 128 pp. * ''The Sacred Isle: belief and religion in pre-Christian Ireland'' (1999). Cork: Collins Press: / Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer. 259 pp. * ''Historic Ireland'' (2001). London: Salamander / Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. 144 pp. * ''The Celts - a History'' (Collins Press: Cork / Boydell Press: Suffolk, 2002), 297 pp. *'' Ireland – People and Places'' (2003). London: Salamander / Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. 144 pp.

Edited works

* ''Duanaire Osraíoch'', ed., (1980). Baile Átha Cliath: Clóchomhar. 149 pp. oetry from Kilkenny * ''Duanaire Thiobraid Árann'', ed., (1981). Baile Átha Cliath: Clóchomhar. 108 pp. oetry from Tipperary * ''Leabhar Stiofáin Uí Ealaoire'', ed., with Séamus Ó Duilearga (1981). Dublin: Irish Folklore Council. 363 pp. olklore from County Clare * ''Gold under the Furze'', eds., with Alan Gailey (1982). Dublin: Glendale. 253 pp. estschrift for Dr Kevin Danaher * ''An Cultúr agus an Duine'', eds., with Diarmaid Ó Gráinne (1993). Baile Átha Cliath: Coiscéim. 91 pp. ssays on culture and creative literature * ''Binneas thar Meon'', Vol 1, ed., (1994). Dublin: Irish Folklore Council. 269 pp. raditional songs and music from the counties of Waterford, Tipperary, Limerick and Cork * ''Skálda: Éigse is Eachtraíocht sa tSean-Lochlainn'', ed., with Bo Almqvist (1995). Baile Átha Cliath: Clóchomhar. 78 pp. rish translations of Old Norse lays * ''An Mangaire Súgach: Aindrias Mac Craith, a bheatha agus a shaothar'', ed., with Máire Comer Bruen (1996). Baile Átha Cliath: Coiscéim. 264 pp. ork of the famous 18th century poet * ''A Portrait of Bray'', eds., with Eva Ó Cathaoir; Jason Forde (1998). Bray: Pelican Publications. 169 pp. * ''Islands and Water-Dwellers'', eds., with Patricia Lysaght; Séamas Ó Catháin (1999). Dublin: DBA Publications. 414 pp. Proceedings of the Celtic-Nordic-Baltic Folklore Symposium held at University College Dublin 16–19 June 1996. n the folklore of seas, lakes and rivers * ''Binsín Luachra: Gearrscéalta agus Seanchas'' eds., with Proinsias de Róiste (2001). Baile Átha Cliath: Clóchomhar. 144 pp. rish folklore and short stories from Limerick * ''Labhrann Laighnigh: Téacsanna agus cainteanna ó shean-Chúige Laighean'' (2011). Baile Átha Cliath: Coiscéim. 247 pp.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * 1949 births 2011 deaths Scholars and academics from County Limerick Irish male writers Alumni of University College Dublin Irish folklorists Academics of University College Dublin People from Bruff