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

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

who led the excavation and restoration of

Newgrange Newgrange () is a prehistoric monument in County Meath in Ireland, placed on a rise overlooking the River Boyne, west of the town of Drogheda. It is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3100 BC, makin ...

, a major

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

passage tomb Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * Passage (2008 film), ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * Passage (2009 film), ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ...

in the Boyne Valley,

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, Ireland, now a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Early life

O'Kelly was born in Abbeyfeale,

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

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 in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, before entering

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

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 land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

and

architectural drawing An architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building (or building project) that falls within the definition of architecture. Architectural drawings are used by architects and others for a number of purposes: to deve ...

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 () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

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. 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, County Limerick, for which he also won the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

's coveted travelling studentship in archaeology. After receiving his M.A. he was appointed curator of the new Cork Public Museum 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, including the Germanist scholar Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly, and lived in

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, Cork.

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 The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

, and the following year, he was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. He was also a vice-president of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland and the Prehistoric Society.

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 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