Proinsias Mac Cana (6 July 1926 – 21 May 2004) was an academic and Celtic scholar. He held professorships at 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 ...

and

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 ...

Career

Proinsias Mac Cana was born in

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 ...

on 6 July 1926 to George McCann and his wife Mary Catherine, ''née'' Mallon; his

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parents were supporters of

Irish nationalism Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

. He attended

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, graduating with a degree in

Celtic languages The Celtic languages ( usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...

in 1948. After a year at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, he completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree at Queen's, where he was appointed an assistant lecturer in 1951. Two years later, the university awarded him a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

(PhD). In 1955, he moved to the

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

, as an assistant lecturer in

Early Irish The history of the Irish language begins with the period from the arrival of speakers of Celtic languages in Ireland to Ireland's earliest known form of Irish, Primitive Irish, which is found in Ogham inscriptions dating from the 3rd or 4th cen ...

. In 1957, he was promoted to a

lectureship Lecturer is an academic rank Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals ...

. While there, he taught

Old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

and

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...

. In 1961, he was appointed Professor of Celtic Studies at the

and two years later became Professor of Welsh at

where he became Professor of Early Irish in 1971. In 1985, he returned to the Dublin Institute to take up a senior professorship, and retired in 1996 afterwards being appointed to

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

professorship. He had been President 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 ...

between 1979 and 1982."A respected scholar of the Celtic languages, culture and traditions"
''The Irish Times'', 29 May 2004. Retrieved 17 December 2018.W. J. McCormac

''The Independent'', 2 June 2004. Retrieved 17 December 2018. According to ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', Mac Cana's "main field of research was early Irish tales, and the mythology informing them, and in this field he was pre-eminent. ... He broadened and deepened the understanding of the links between the languages, cultures and traditions of the

Celtic peoples The Celts (, see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-Europea ...

of Ireland and Britain. And through his scholarship and teaching he was an interpreter of the Irish to the Welsh and of the Welsh to the Irish." Mac Cana published widely and in retirement worked to restore the Collège des Irlandais in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He died on 21 May 2004.

Honours and awards

Mac Cana was a member of

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

and an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Gustavus Adolphus Academy. In 1997, the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

awarded him its Derek Allen Prize for Celtic Studies. He was also awarded

honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

by several universities, and was presented with a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

: ''Ildánach Ildírech'' in 1999.John Carey, John T. Koch and Pierre-Yves Lambert (eds.), ''Ildánach Ildírech'' (Celtic Studies Publications, 1999).

Selected publications

* ''Celtic Mythology'' ( Hamlyn, 1970). * ''The Learned Tales of Medieval Ireland'' (

, 1980). * ''Literature in Irish'', Aspects of Ireland series, no. 8 ( Department of Foreign Affairs, 1980). * (Co-edited with Michel Meslin) ''Rencontres de Religions: Actes du Colloque du Collège des Irlandais tenu sous les Auspices de l'Académie Royale Irlandaise'' (Les Belles Lettres, 1986). * (Co-edited with Jeanne-Marie Boivin) ''Mélusines Continentales et Insulaires: Actes du Colloque International tenu les 27 et 28 Mars 1997 à l'Université Paris XII et au Collège des Irlandais'' (

Honoré Champion Honoré Champion (1846–1913) was a French publisher. He founded Éditions Honoré Champion in 1874 and published scientific works geared towards laymen, particularly concerning history and literature. Champion died from an embolism on 8 Apri ...

, 1999). * ''Collège des Irlandais Paris and Irish Studies'' (

, 2001). * ''The Cult of the Sacred Centre: Essays on Celtic Ideology'' (

, 2011).

Career

Honours and awards

Selected publications

References

Further reading