Joseph Raftery (1913 – 12 May 1992) was an Irish archaeologist and director of the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...

Early life and family

Joseph Raftery was born in Dublin in 1913. His father was the governor of

Mountjoy prison Mountjoy Prison ( ga, Príosún Mhuinseo), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed ''The Joy'', is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current prison Governor is Edward Mullins. History ...

, John Raftery. For the majority of his childhood, Raftery lived in

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Ireland. It is located in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. The 2016 census shows that the town's population increased by 9.5% to 22,050 ...

, County Laois. He attended the local St Mary's Christian Brothers' School, having won a scholarship. He entered

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 ...

on a scholarship, graduating with a degree in Celtic Studies in 1933. He went on to complete a master's degree in archaeology in 1934 with a thesis on "Archaeological monuments in Counties Laois and Tipperary". He travelled to Europe to visit museum collections on an archaeology bursary. When he returned he was selected to work on the Harvard Archaeological Mission to Ireland with Hugh O'Neill Hencken to improve his field-work skills. He studied at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

on a von Humboldt fellowship, receiving his doctorate in 1939. He married Charlotte Lang, whom he met in Germany, the same year. The couple were able to leave Germany just before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They had two sons, with

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

also becoming an archaeologist.

Career

Raftery joined the staff of the

(NMI) in 1939, and was promoted to acting keeper of Irish antiquities in 1945 after

Adolf Mahr Adolf Mahr (7 May 1887 – 27 May 1951) was an Austrian archaeologist, who served as director of the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin in the 1930s, and is credited with advancing the work of the museum substantially. Through his leadership ...

left the position. He was appointed keeper in 1949. He was promoted to director of the NMI in 1976, a position he held until his retirement in 1979. With curatorial duties over the national archaeological collections, Raftery made additions to the museum's collections, including the Gorteenreagh gold hoard from County Clare, the bronze and gold hoard of iron-age objects from Somerset, County Galway. His 1951 ''Prehistoric Ireland'' was his first major publication, and was an attempt to provide a comprehensive body of illustrations of Irish archaeology. Throughout his career, and into retirement, Raftery published widely on subjects such as the long stone-cist burials of the Irish Iron Age, Viking era silver, and a number of gold hoards. Notably, Raftery disagreed with the 1979 decision by the Irish High Court to rule the

Wood Quay Wood Quay () is a riverside area of Dublin that was a site of Viking settlement. It is now the location of the Dublin City Council offices. Location The site is bounded on the north side by Wood Quay on the River Liffey, on the west by Win ...

site in Dublin a national monument. Raftery also served on a number of professional and scholarly bodies, including as president of the

Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is a learned society based in Ireland, whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquit ...

. In 1941 he was elected 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 ...

, serving on its council a number of times, as well as vice-president from 1963 to 1965 and president in 1967. Raftery died 12 May 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raftery, Joseph 1913 births 1992 deaths Members of the Royal Irish Academy Archaeologists from Dublin (city) 20th-century Irish archaeologists People from Portlaoise Alumni of University College Dublin People associated with the National Museum of Ireland University of Marburg alumni Irish antiquarians