Thomas Francis O'Rahilly (; 11 November 1882 – 16 November 1953)
[Ó Sé, Diarmuid.]
O'Rahilly, Thomas Francis (‘T. F.’)
. ''Dictionary of Irish Biography''. (ed.) James McGuire, James Quinn. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2009. was an influential Irish scholar of the
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages ( ) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, descended from the hypothetical Proto-Celtic language. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yve ...
, particularly in the fields of
historical linguistics
Historical linguistics, also known as diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of how languages change over time. It seeks to understand the nature and causes of linguistic change and to trace the evolution of languages. Historical li ...
and
Irish dialect
A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
s. He was a member of the
Royal Irish Academy and died in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
in 1953. He is the creator of O'Rahilly's historical model, which has since been discredited.
Early years and education
He was born in
Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland to Thomas Francis Rahilly of
Ballylongford, County Kerry and Julia Mary Rahilly (''née'' Curry) of
Glin, County Limerick.
He was the seventh of his parents fifteen children. His younger sister was the scholar
Cecile O'Rahilly.
He received his secondary education at
St. Michael's College, Listowel, and later at
Blackrock College in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
at the same time as future Irish politician
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
.
He took an interest in Irish and Celtic languages early in his life, buying Irish language newspaper ''
An Claidheamh Soluis'' with his pocket money while still a school boy.
De Valera commented on this unusual sight:

If O'Rahilly had been reading Greek I would not have been too surprised; I could attempt that myself. But to be reading Gaelic from a newspaper - that was something extraordinary indeed in those days.
He was educated at the
Royal University of Ireland, and received his B.A. in Irish and Classics in 1905. He spent a year teaching Irish at
University College Dublin, before taking up a permanent position as a clerk in the
Four Courts in 1906, where he stayed until 1919.
On 17 October 1918 he married Mary Buckley in
Carrigtwohill, County Cork. They had no children.
Academic career
O'Rahilly worked full-time in the Irish civil service as a clerk in the Four Courts. He founded and edited journal ''Gadelica: a Journal of Modern Irish Studies which'' "sought to pursue and promote investigation into the area of Celtic studies, including philology". The journal was short-lived due to a shortage of subscriptions and four issues were published between 1912 and 1913.
He completed his MA thesis ''The Accentuation of Gaelic'' in 1916.
Fellow Celtic languages scholar and lecturer of
Trinity College, Dublin Eleanor Knott described his work during this period:
His unsurpassed knowledge of modern Irish dialects and manuscript literature was acquired in his early manhood when as a civil servant his chosen studies had perforce to be relegated to evenings, weekends and vacations. Unceasing application during this period together with recurrent attacks of influenza brought about a definite decline in his health and this should be taken into account in considering a characteristic asperity in criticising the work of other scholars.
In 1919 he entered academic life in a full-time capacity upon taking up his first professorship in Irish at Trinity College, Dublin (1919–1929). He was appointed research professor in Celtic languages in 1929 at
University College Cork and stayed in this position until 1935.
[Thomas Francis O'Rahilly Papers 1883-1953](_blank)
Queen's University Belfast Special Collections & Archives. Retrieved 28 August 2020. He returned to academic life in Dublin as professor of Celtic languages at University College Dublin (1935–1941). He was director of the School of Celtic Studies at the
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies from 1942 to 1947. He received an honorary degree in D.Litt.Celt. from the
National University of Ireland in 1928 and D.Litt. from Trinity College, Dublin in 1948.
O'Rahilly edited ''
Celtica'', a journal of the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, between 1946 and 1950.
Other publications by O'Rahilly include a series of anthologies of Irish language poetry publish in the 1920s.
Later years
O'Rahilly retired from academia in 1948. He suffered from poor health for many years and died suddenly on 16 November 1953 at his home.
He was buried in
Glasnevin Cemetery. His wife believed that his death was due to overwork and burned many of his remaining papers at their home.
Some of his surviving papers are held by School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. His collection of books, correspondence, and Irish manuscripts, including an annotated draft of the 1937
Constitution of Ireland
The Constitution of Ireland (, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executi ...
, were bequeathed to the
Queen's University of Belfast.
Controversial theories
O'Rahilly was known for his sometimes controversial theories of Irish history. In his book ''Early Irish History and Mythology'' (1946), O'Rahilly developed a model of
Irish prehistory based on his analysis of early Irish literature and language, especially the ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn''. He suggested that there were four waves of
Celtic migrations or invasions: the
Cruthin (c. 700–500 BC), the
Érainn
The Iverni (, ') were a people of early Ireland first mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography'' as living in the extreme south-west of the island. He also locates a "city" called Ivernis (, ') in their territory, and observes that this se ...
or
Builg (c. 500 BC), the
Laigin,
Domnainn and Gálioin (c. 300 BC), and the
Gaels
The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...
(c. 100 BC). He argued that the first three groups spoke
Brittonic languages, and that many of Ireland's 'pre-Gaelic' peoples flourished for centuries after 100 BC. Although highly influential, O'Rahilly's theory has been challenged by historians, archaeologists and linguists—such as
Kenneth H. Jackson and
John T. Koch—and it is no longer accepted.
In 1942 his lecture where he proposed that there were two
Saint Patricks, was published. Irish author
James Plunkett described the controversy caused by O'Rahilly's theory:
I can still recall the great scandal of 1942, when a book called ''The Two Patricks'' was published by a learned Irish Professor who advanced the theory that there was one Patrick (Palladius Patrick) whose mission lasted from 432-461, and another who arrived in 462 and died about 490. The suggestion caused a national unheaval. If the careers of the two Patricks, through scholarly bungling, had become inextricably entangled, who did what? And worse still – which of them was the patron saint? If you addressed a prayer to one, might it not be delivered by mistake to the other? There was a feeling abroad that any concession to the two Patricks theory would lead unfailingly to a theory of no Patrick at all.
His views on
language contact and
bilingualism were equally controversial. In ''Irish Dialects Past and Present'' (1932) he wrote the following about the
Manx language
Manx ( or , or ), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic language, Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the heritage language of the Manx ...
:
From the beginning of its career as a written language English influence played havoc with its syntax, and it could be said without much exaggeration that some of the Manx that has been printed is merely English disguised in a Manx vocabulary. Manx hardly deserved to live. When a language surrenders itself to foreign idiom, and when all its speakers become bilingual, the penalty is death.
This view has more recently been challenged by
Nicholas Williams, who suggests that Manx is Gaelic pidginized by early contact with
Norse, long before there was any English spoken on the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
.
Family
His sister
Cecile O'Rahilly was also a Celtic scholar, and published editions of both recensions of the ''
Táin Bó Cúailnge'' and worked with her brother in the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Their brother
Alfred O'Rahilly, himself a noted academic, was President of University College Cork and
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...
(TD) for
Cork City
Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...
.
His first cousin
Michael O'Rahilly (better known as The O'Rahilly) was a founding member of the
Irish Volunteers and died in the
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
.
Published works
* ''Dánta Grádha: An Anthology of Irish Love Poetry (1350–1750)'' (1916)
* ''Dánfhocail – Irish Epigrams in Verse (1921)''
* ''A Miscellany of Irish Proverbs'' (1922)
* ''Papers on Irish Idiom by Peadar Ua Laoghaire, together with a translation into Irish of part of the First Book of Euclid (''1922)
* Laoithe Cumainn (1925)
* ''Búrdúin Bheaga: Pithy Irish Quatrains (''1925)
* ''Measgra Dánta I: Miscellaneous Irish Poems'' (1927)
* ''Duanta Eoghain Ruaidh Mhic an Bhaird'' (1930)
* ''Irish Dialects Past & Present, with Chapters on Scottish and Manx'' (1932)
* ''The Goidels and their Predecessors'' (1936)
* ''Desiderius, otherwise called Sgáthán an chrábhaidh, by Flaithrà Ó Maolchonaire (Florence Conry)'' (1941)
* ''The Two Patricks: A Lecture on the History of Christianity in Fifth-century Ireland'' (1942)
*
References
External links
Bibliography of T. F. O'Rahillyfrom the A. G. van Hamel Foundation for Celtic Studies
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orahilly, T. F.
Academics of Trinity College Dublin
1882 births
1953 deaths
Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
Alumni of the Royal University of Ireland
Celtic studies scholars
Members of the Royal Irish Academy
Historical linguists
People from Listowel, County Kerry
20th-century Irish linguists
Academics of University College Cork
Academics of University College Dublin
People educated at Blackrock College