Dáibhí Iarla Ó Cróinín (born 29 August 1954) is an Irish historian and authority on Hiberno-Latin texts, noted for his significant mid-1980s discovery in a manuscript in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

of the "lost" Irish 84-year

Easter table Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

. Ó Cróinín was Professor of History at

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

and Member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

. He specialises in the history of Ireland, Britain and Europe during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and Hiberno-Latin texts.

Early life and education

Ó Cróinín received a B.A. in Early Irish History from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

(UCD) in 1975 and an M.Phil. in Medieval Studies from the same in 1977.

Academia

While wandering around

in the mid-1980s Ó Cróinín happened upon an example of the Irish 84-year

in a manuscript there - this Easter table, so central to the Easter controversy, had until that time been presumed lost but Ó Cróinín had found one covering the period AD 438–521. For this he received his Ph.D. from

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

in 1985; the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

published Ó Cróinín's work on that seventh-century Hiberno-Latin computistical tract which he had discovered. Alongside Daniel McCarthy, Ó Cróinín published "The 'Lost' Irish 84-Year Easter Table Rediscovered" in the journal '' Peritia'' in the late 1980s, explaining the implications of his discovery for our understanding of the period. Ó Cróinín succeeded

Donnchadh Ó Corráin Donnchadh Ó Corráin (28 February 1942 – 25 October 2017) was an Republic of Ireland, Irish historian and professor emeritus of medieval history at University College Cork. He earned his BA in history and Irish from UCC, graduating in 1964. ...

as editor of ''Peritia'' at some point in the mid-2010s.

Publications

A list of Ó Cróinín's books follows: * '' The Irish Sex Aetates Mundi'', Dublin (1982) * ''Cummian's letter 'De controversia Paschali' together with a related Irish compustical tract 'De rationae conputanti, edited with Maura Walsh (Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies; Studies and texts, lxxxvi), Toronto (1988) * ''An Cúigiú Díochlaonadh'', Indreabhan, Connamara (1994) * ''Early Medieval Ireland, 400–1200'', London and New York (1995) * ''The Songs of Elizabeth Cronin, Irish Traditional Singer'', Dublin (2000) * ''Early Irish History and Chronology'', Dublin (2003) * ''A New History of Ireland'', volume one, Dublin (2006)

Awards and honours

Ó Cróinín was awarded the Parnell Fellowship in Irish Studies at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

for the year 2017–18.

Personal life

His father was the scholar Donncha Ó Cróinín (1919–1990), and his paternal grandmother was the sean-nós singer Elizabeth Cronin (1879–1956).

References

External links

Dáibhí Ó Cróinín
at

Entry at the ''Bibliography of Irish Linguistics and Literature 1972-''
{{DEFAULTSORT:OCroinin, Daibhi 1954 births Living people Academics of the University of Galway Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of the University of Galway Celtic studies scholars Date of Easter 20th-century Irish historians 21st-century Irish historians Irish-language writers Members of the Royal Irish Academy People from County Galway