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James Patrick Carney (17 May 1914 – 7 July 1989) was a noted
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 ...
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
scholar. He was born 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 County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...
and was educated at the Christian Brothers school in Synge Street,
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...
. He took his degree at
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 ...
in 1935, before going to
Bonn University The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...
to study under
Rudolf Thurneysen Eduard Rudolf Thurneysen (March 14, 1857 – 9 August 1940) was a Swiss linguist and Celticist. Biography Born in Basel, Thurneysen studied classical philology in Basel, Leipzig, Berlin and Paris. His teachers included Ernst Windisch and H ...
. On returning to Dublin, Carney worked under
Osborn Bergin Osborn Joseph Bergin (26 November 1873 – 6 October 1950) was a scholar of the Irish language and early Irish literature, who discovered Bergin's Law. He was born in Cork, sixth child and eldest son of Osborn Roberts Bergin and Sarah Reddin, a ...
, Gerard Murphy,
Richard Irvine Best Richard Irvine Best (17 January 1872 – 25 September 1959), often known as R. I. Best, was an Irish scholar who specialised in Celtic Studies. Best was born into a Protestant family in Derry and educated at Foyle College before working for a ...
and
T. F. O'Rahilly Thomas Francis O'Rahilly ( ga, Tomás Ó Rathile; 11 November 1882 – 16 November 1953)Ó Sé, Diarmuid.O'Rahilly, Thomas Francis (‘T. F.’). ''Dictionary of Irish Biography''. (ed.) James McGuire, James Quinn. Cambridge, United Kingdom: C ...
. He pioneered an approach to early Irish texts which focused on their literary merit and their affinities with the other literatures of the medieval world. His ''Studies in Irish Literature and History'' which appeared in 1956 challenged the 'nativist' approach to Irish literature which had dominated the scholarship of the previous decades. His work on
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...
also proved controversial. Carney had controversial views that Christianity had in fact been an overthrow of the pagan druidic order. The 1955 publication of James Carney's ‘Studies in Irish Literature and History’ was seen as the beginning point of the late-twentieth century ‘anti-nativist’ movement. The group for the first time promoted the idea that very little can be known of the earlier oral tradition of the Irish, since all that remains are Christian texts written by Christian clergy and that these clergy were not sympathetic to, but critical of paganism. He was attached to the
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) ( ga, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a statutory independent research institute in Ireland. It was established in 1940 on the initiative of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, in Dub ...
from its foundation by
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...
in 1940 and became Professor of Irish there. From 1950–52 he was visiting professor at
Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...
where he and his wife founded a Department of Celtic Studies. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by that institution in 1975. In 1959, he was appointed member of the
Royal Society of the Humanities at Uppsala The Royal Society of the Humanities at Uppsala ( sv, Kungl. Humanistiska Vetenskaps-Samfundet i Uppsala) is a Swedish Royal academy for the study of the humanities. Founding The society was founded in 1889 by a donation from tannery factory owner ...
.


Writings

James Carney along with
Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill ( ga, Eoin Mac Néill; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Cea ...
put forward the theory that Ogham was first created as a cryptic alphabet or secret language designed by the Irish at the time of Roman invasion and rule. Both historians believed that the Irish designed it in response to political, military and/or religious reasons so that those with knowledge of just Latin could not read it. Carney identified the genealogies of the Kerry poet
Luccreth moccu Chiara Luccreth moccu Chíara (''floruit'' c. 665 AD)Eoin MacNeill, "A Pioneer of Nations: part II", ''Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review'' vol 11, no 43, 1922, pp. 435-446 was a poet from County Kerry, Ireland who wrote in archaic Old Irish. ''Moccu'' i ...
back to the ancient people of Cíarraige, he provided extensive research on his poem Conailla Medb Míchuru’ ("Medb enjoined evil contracts"), which contains the oldest surviving reference to characters and events from the Ulster Cycle and it is strongly connected to the
Táin Bó Cúailnge (Modern ; "the driving-off of the cows of Cooley"), commonly known as ''The Táin'' or less commonly as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', is an epic from Irish mythology. It is often called "The Irish Iliad", although like most other early Iri ...
saga. James Carney, "Language and literature in 1169", in Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (ed.), ''A New History of Ireland 1: Prehistoric and Early Ireland'', Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 451-510 James Carney, "Three Old Irish Accentual Poems", ''
Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic (Old Norse or Ol ...
'' vol 22, 1971, pp. 23-80
He was married to Maura Morrissey, also an academic and 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 learned society and one its leading cultural i ...
, who predeceased him in 1975. The couple had a son,
Paul Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...
, who was a judge in the Irish High Court.


Select publications

*''Topographical Poems by
Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin (died 1372) was an Irish Gaelic poet. Background Ó Dubhagáinn was among the first notable members of the bardic family Baile Uí Dhubhagáin (Ballyduggan), near Loughrea, County Galway. He was accorded the rank ol ...
and Giolla na Naomh Ó hUuidrain'', editor, (1943) *''Poems on the Butlers of Ormond, Cahir and Dunboyne, AD 1400-1650'', editor, (1945) *''A Genealogical History of the O’Reillys, from Irish of Eoghan Ó Raghallaigh'', editor, (1950) *''Studies in Irish Literature and History'' (1956) *''The Problem of St Patrick'' (1961) *''Early Irish Poetry'' (1965) *''Medieval Irish Lyrics'' (1967) *''The Irish Bardic Poet'' (1967) *''Poems on the O’Reillys'', editor, (1970)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carney, James Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Celtic studies scholars Linguists from Ireland 1914 births 1989 deaths People from Portlaoise 20th-century Irish historians 20th-century linguists