John Grainger (1830,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

– 1891) was 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 ...

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

. Grainger was educated at

Belfast Academy The Belfast Royal Academy (commonly shortened to ) is the oldest school in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school in north Belfast. The Academy is one of 8 schools in Northern ...

and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Dublin. After gaining a Doctorate of Divinity he became Rector of

Broughshane Broughshane ( , formerly spelt Brughshane, ) is a large village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is northeast of Ballymena and north of Antrim, on the A42 road. It is part of Mid and East Antrim District Council and had a population of 2 ...

, County Antrim. He was an indiscriminating collector, who filled his house with a mass of often unlabelled specimens including stuffed birds, shells, insects, coins, minerals, a

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

, weapons from New Zealand, and archaeological finds. According to

Robert Lloyd Praeger Robert Lloyd Praeger (25 August 1865 – 5 May 1953) was an Irish naturalist, writer and librarian. Biography From a Unitarian background, he was born and raised in Holywood, County Down. He attended the school of the Reverend McAlister and t ...

his collection of Irish stone tools was ‘’especially valuable as a study in the gentle art of forgery’’.

Works

Partial list * 1853.Catalogue of the Shells found in the Alluvial Deposits of a Belfast site of the Irish Mesolithic. ''Proc. Roy. Irish Acad''. 56 C, 1-195. * --- Results of excavations in High St., Belfast. ''Ulster Journ. Arch''. ix. 113-121. * 1874 On the Fossils of the Post-tertiary Deposits of Ireland. ''Rep. Bmt. Assoc'', for 1874 ; Sections, pp. 73–76. He was a 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 ...

and of the

Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society The Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society was founded in 1821 to promote the scientific study of animals, plants, fossils, rocks and minerals. The Society was founded by George Crawford Hyndman, James Lawson Drummond, James Grim ...

and the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club.

References

*Praeger, R.Ll. 1949. ''Some Irish Naturalists, a Biographical Note-book''.Dundalgan Press, Dundalk, 1949 *''Belfast Nat. Hist. and Phil. Soc. Centenary Volume'', 77, portrait. 1924. *James, K.W. 1991.'' Canon Grainger: country rector, magpie collector and Father of the Ulster Museum''. Ulster Museum Publication No. 269. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grainger, John Irish zoologists Irish archaeologists 1830 births 1891 deaths