Máire de Paor (6 May 1925 – 6 December 1994), née MacDermott, was an Irish historian and archaeologist who also worked as a researcher and presenter for the national broadcaster

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

Early life and education

Máire de Paor was born Máire MacDermott to Eamonn MacDermott and Delia MacVeigh in

Buncrana Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in Inishowen in the north of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. The town sits on the eastern shores of Lough Swilly, being northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. I ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, on 6 May 1925. She was educated in the Convent of Mercy in Buncrana before going to

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 ...

, where she completed a master's degree and a doctorate on early Christian archaeology and metalwork.

Career

de Paor worked in the Department of Archeology in UCD from 1946 to 1958. She married Liam de Paor in 1946 and they had a daughter and four boys. They collaborated on a number of publications. de Paor published her papers in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Archaeologia, Seanchas Armagh and Comhar. Her husband also worked in the university, and as a result of policies about married women, de Paor was forced to leave. Initially she lectured in the US, Canada, Scandinavia, France and the UK. She worked as lecturer in archaeology at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. The de Paors spent a year in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

on a UNESCO project in 1963. de Paor worked as a freelance researcher for Radio Telefís Éireann until she was given a full time position in the 70s. de Paor was elected a 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 ...

in 1960 and was a member of the

Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

from 1973. She became a member of

Conradh na Gaeilge (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

from 1962. From 1968 she was working with Cumann Merriman, the Irish cultural organisation named after

Brian Merriman Brian Merriman or in Irish Brian Mac Giolla Meidhre (c. 1747 – 27 July 1805) was an 18th-century Irish-language bard, farmer, hedge school teacher, and Irish traditional musician from rural County Clare. Long after his death, Merriman's li ...

; de Paor worked with the group as a director of the schools and spent four years as chairperson. In 1992 de Paor was appointed to the board of Amharclann de hÍde. UCD created the Dr Máire de Paor Award for best PhD thesis.

Personal life

Her biographer identifies her as a committed republican, socialist and feminist.

Selected bibliography

* Françoise Henry. ''L'art irlandais'', 1954 * ''Early Christian Ireland'', 1958 * "The crosiers of St. Dympna and St. Mel and tenth century Irish metal-work", Dublin: Hodges, Figgis and Co., 1957 (in ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy''). * ''Ceist agam ort, bunaithe ar an gcúrsa comhrá An dochtúir sa teach'', 1976 *
Treasures of Irish Art, 1500 BC-1500 AD
' (contributor). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977 * ''Early Irish Art''. Dublin: Dept. of Foreign Affairs, 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Paor, Máire 1925 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Irish archaeologists Alumni of University College Dublin Irish art historians Irish television presenters Irish women archaeologists Irish women television presenters Members of the Royal Irish Academy People from Buncrana Scholars and academics from County Donegal Academics of Trinity College Dublin Broadcasters from County Donegal