Kevin Danaher

Kevin Danaher (Irish, Caoimhín Ó Danachair) (30 January 1913 – 14 March 2002) was an Irish folklorist with a special interest in ethnography and military history.

Danaher authored ten books about Irish traditional customs and beliefs, the best known of which include The Year in Ireland, In Ireland Long Ago, and Folktales from the Irish Countryside. As a scholar, Danaher published more than 200 articles in academic journals.

Early life

Kevin Danaher was born in Athea (Ath an tSleibhe), County Limerick, Ireland, on 30 January 1913. Danaher's father, William, was the local schoolmaster. His early education was at Athea National School and Mungret College, County Limerick. In 1934, Danaher became a part-time collector for the Irish Folklore Commission.

Danaher attended University College Dublin, graduating with a BA in 1937. He was awarded a fellowship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to carry out postgraduate studies in Germany, and studied comparative folklore and ethnology for two years at the Universities of Berlin and Leipzig. training soldiers in Kildare in Ireland.

Works

Note on nomenclature: Danaher published his "popular" writings, on folklore and military history, as "Kevin Danaher". His "academic" works were signed with his Irish name, Caoimhín Ó Danachair.

The Danish Force in Ireland 1690–91 (With Dr. J. G. Simms) (1962) Dublin, Stationery Office for the Irish Manuscripts Commission. – A scholarly edition of original documents and letters relating to the Danish mercenaries in the Williamite war. In Ireland Long Ago (1962) Dublin, Mercier Press. . – Danaher's 1st collection of popular articles Irish Customs and Beliefs (Originally published as Gentle Places and Simple Things) (1964) Cork, Mercier Press. Danaher's 2nd collection of popular articles Irish Country People (1966) Cork, Mercier Press. – Danaher's 3rd collection of popular articles Folktales from the Irish Countryside Dublin, Mercier Press. (1967) . – Stories collected by Danaher in West Co. Limerick. The Pleasant Land of Ireland (1970) Cork, Mercier Press. – The scripts of the television series "The Hearth and Stool and All". The Year in Ireland (1972) Dublin, Mercier Press. . – Customs and ceremonies relating to feast-days and different seasons of the year. Foirgneamh na nDaoine: Ireland's Vernacular Architecture (1975) Cork, Mercier Press. – A fully illustrated account of traditional house designs and construction. This was also published in a new edition with many new illustrations as Ireland's Traditional Houses Dublin, Bord Fáilte. A Bibliography of Irish Ethnology and Folk Tradition (as Caoimhín Ó Danachair) (1978) Cork, Mercier Press. "That's How it Was" (1984) Cork, Mercier Press. – Danaher's 4th collection of popular articles The Children's Book of Irish Folktales (1984) Dublin, Mercier Press. . – Selected stories from Folktales from the Irish Countryside, simplified and illustrated. The Hearth and Stool and All!: Irish Rural Households (1985) Cork, Mercier Press. – The guidebook to the Bunratty Folk Park, revised and expanded.

Other media

From 1938 to 1970, Danaher shot and collected photographs from around Ireland. In the Spring of 1968, Danaher presented a five-part TV programme about Irish traditions, "The Hearth and Stool and All".

In 1948, Danaher recorded the last native Manx speakers on the Isle of Man, on behalf of the Irish Folklore Commission, redeeming a promise made by Éamon de Valera when, as Taoiseach, he visited the island in 1947. The transcriptions, translations and the digitally remastered recordings of this collection were published as Skeealyn Vannin/Stories of Man, by Eiraght Ashoonagh Vhannin/Manx National Heritage.