Michael Joseph "Brian" O'Kelly (5 November 1915 – 14 October 1982) 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 ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

who led the excavation and restoration of

Newgrange Newgrange ( ga, Sí an Bhrú) is a prehistoric monument in County Meath in Ireland, located on a rise overlooking the River Boyne, west of Drogheda. It is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3200 BC, ...

, a major

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

passage tomb A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Wester ...

in the

Boyne Valley The River Boyne ( ga, An Bhóinn or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through C ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

, Ireland, now a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Early life

O'Kelly was born in

Abbeyfeale Abbeyfeale (; ) is a historic market town in County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Kerry. The town is on the N21 road (Ireland), N21 road from Limerick to Tralee, some south-west of Newcastle West and south-east of Listowel and ...

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

in 1915, the son of Elizabeth (née McAuliffe) and Joseph O'Kelly, a national school teacher. Although he was baptized ''Michael Joseph'', and published as ''Michael J.'' or ''M.J.'', he was known to family and friends as Brian, the name his mother originally wanted, throughout his life. He was educated at

Rockwell College Rockwell College ( ga, Coláiste Charraig an Tobair), founded in 1864, is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school near Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The school has a rugby tradition and has won the Munster Schools Sen ...

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 ...

, before entering

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

in 1934. He initially studied engineering, before switching to architecture after his first year, studying

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

and architectural drawing under Henry Houghton Hill. In the spring of 1937, while an undergraduate, he worked as a surveyor in the excavation of the ring-fort at Garranes,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

with Seán P. Ó. Ríordáin, then Professor of Archaeology at Cork. He was inspired to take a new career path, and in the autumn of that year, he switched courses at university again, this time to archaeology, becoming one of Ó. Ríordáin's students. That term he moved on to the

site of

Lough Gur Lough Gur () is a lake in County Limerick, Ireland between the towns of Herbertstown and Bruff. The lake forms a horseshoe shape at the base of Knockadoon Hill and some rugged elevated countryside. It is one of Ireland's most important archa ...

. He graduated with a first-class B.A. with honours in 1940, and the following year, he was awarded a first-class M.A. in archaeology for a survey of the antiquities of the barony of

Smallcounty Smallcounty or ‘’’Small County’’’ ( ga, An Déis Bheag) is a historical Barony (Ireland), barony in County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Settlements in the barony include Hospital, County Limerick, Hospital, Herbertstown, Fed ...

, County Limerick, for which he also won the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

's coveted travelling studentship in archaeology. After receiving his M.A. he was appointed curator of the new

Cork Public Museum Cork Public Museum ( ga, Músaem Poiblí Chorcaí) is a city museum in Cork, Ireland. Housed in a mid-19th century building within Fitzgerald Park in the Mardyke area of the city, the museum's exhibits focus mainly on the history and archaeolog ...

in Fitzgerald Park. In 1945 he married Claire O'Donovan, also an archaeologist, whom he had met as a student. The couple had three daughters, and lived in

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Career

In 1946 O'Kelly succeeded Professor Ó Ríordáin as head of the Archaeology Department at Cork, a position he held for 36 years. He led field work each summer, and from 1944 was published extensively in scholarly journals. In 1947, he was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

, and the following year, 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 learned society and one its leading cultural ...

. He was also a vice-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 ...

and

the Prehistoric Society The Prehistoric Society is an international learned society devoted to the study of the human past from the earliest times until the emergence of written history. Now based at University College London in the United Kingdom, it was founded by V. ...

Newgrange

Newgrange, the site O'Kelly is most associated with, was originally accidentally discovered in 1699. It was in extremely poor condition in 1961, with no public access. That year the archaeologist Patrick Hartnett selected O'Kelly to direct excavations. Work continued every season through to 1975. On 21 December 1967 O'Kelly confirmed a local legend that the rays of the sun on the midwinter sunrise go straight through the tomb – passing through a small 'roof-box' opening above the doorway to penetrate along the whole length of the passage as far as the center of the chamber. O'Kelly speculated: "I think that the people who built Newgrange built not just a tomb but a house of the dead, a house in which the spirits of special people were going to live for a very long time. To ensure this, the builders took special precautions to make sure the tomb stayed completely dry, as it is to this day. …" O'Kelly and his wife also led work on other sites within the Boyne Valley complex.

Death

O'Kelly died suddenly at the

Bon Secours Hospital, Cork The Bon Secours Hospital, Cork is a private hospital in Cork, Ireland. The hospital is part of Bon Secours Mercy Health. This includes sister hospitals in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Tralee. The hospital has over 18,000 admissions and 29,000 ou ...

on 14 October 1982, aged 66. He was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery, Cork.

Selected bibliography

* ''Irish Antiquity'' (1981) * ''Newgrange: Archaeology, Art and Legend'' (1982) * ''Early Ireland: An Introduction to Irish Prehistory'' (1989, posthumous)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okelly, Michael J. 1915 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Irish archaeologists Academics of University College Cork Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Members of the Royal Irish Academy People educated at Rockwell College People from Abbeyfeale Scholars and academics from County Limerick Alumni of University College Cork Irish curators Irish prehistorians