Kathleen "Kate" Mulchrone ( ga, Caitlín Ó Maolchroín or Ní Maolchroín; 22 November 1895 – 13 June 1973) was an Irish

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 Fo ...

scholar.

Biography

Kathleen Mulchrone was born in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath on 22 November 1895. She was the youngest of three daughters of RIC sergeant, Patrick Mulchrone originally from

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, and Mary Mulchrone (née Spain) from

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

. She attended primary school in

Fore, County Westmeath Fore () is a village, next to the old Benedictine Abbey ruin of Fore Abbey, situated to the north of Lough Lene in County Westmeath, in Ireland. The village, (sister parish of nearby St. Mary's Collinstown) is situated within a valley between ...

and then the Loreto Convent in

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeat ...

. For her results in the

leaving certificate examination A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

in 1913, she received a scholarship to attend

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). She graduated with a BA in 1916, a H.Dip.Ed. in 1917, and MA in 1918. Mulchrone was then awarded a travelling studentship to study for a D.Phil. in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, Germany under the supervision of Professor

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 ...

. They held each other in great esteem, with some claiming she was his favourite student. She published her postgraduate work on

St 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 ...

in ''Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie'' (1926-1927), which was then published as the book ''Bethu Phátraic: the tripartite life of St Patrick'' in 1939.

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 ...

wrote that this book was "the best of its kind that has appeared for many years." Mulchrone taught in a number of institutions, firstly as a Vocational Instructor in Irish with

Westmeath County Council Westmeath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na hIarmhí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Westmeath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible fo ...

from 1925 to 1927, and then in Rathmines Vocational College from 1928 to 1938. She taught at UCD as an assistant lecturer from 1931 to 1938, going on to work in the

Irish Manuscripts Commission The Irish Manuscripts Commission was established in 1928 by the newly founded Irish Free State with the intention of furthering the study of Ireland's manuscript collections and archives. Its foundation was primarily motivated by the loss of many h ...

in 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 ...

(RIA) from 1928 to 1938. Between 1926 and 1970, she authored or co-authored 14 of the 27 fascicles of the Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in the RIA. She contributed essays to a number of volumes: ''Measgra i gcuimhne Mhichíl Uí Chléirigh'' (1944), ''Studies in early Irish law'' (1936), and ''The Book of Lecan: Leabhar Mór Mhic Fhir Bhisigh Leacain'' (1937). Her papers were published in scholarly journals such as '' Studia Hibernica'', the ''Journal of the Galway Historical and Archaeological Society'', ''

Irish Ecclesiastical Record ''Irish Ecclesiastical Record'' was an Irish Roman Catholic monthly journal founded by Archbishop later Cardinal Paul Cullen in 1864. ''The Record'' contained articles on theology, liturgy, domestic and international church affairs, catholic so ...

'', and '' Celtica''. She was appointed professor of Old and Middle Irish and Celtic philology at

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 ...

when then chair was created in 1938, delivering many of her lectures in modern Irish. She would remain in this post until her retirement in 1965. Mulchrone died in her home on Patrick Street, Mullingar on 13 June 1973 and is buried in Ballyglass. The RIA hold a collection of the academic papers.

References

External links

List of Mulchrone's publications and contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulchrone, Kathleen 1895 births 1973 deaths People from County Westmeath 20th-century Irish writers 20th-century Irish women writers