Talk:Kevin Danaher

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Autobiography, notability, and other Wikipedia guidelines[edit]

The version of this article that appears to be self-penned was destined for deletion. I think the activist Kevin Danaher is also notable, but due to the Conflict of interest guidelines, autobiographies are not permitted.

Wikipedia does, however, have a number of links to Kevin Danaher, the folklorist, so I have converted this page into an article about that Kevin Danaher.

Here is the version about Kevin Danaher the activist, if someone wants to start a Kevin Danaher (activist) or Kevin Danaher (anti-globalization activist) article. But please note, User:Kevin Danaher, or anyone who is closely associated with Kevin Danaher the activist, you need to wait for someone else to start the article about you. I'll read up on what sources are available, and maybe I'll start it ;-) Has Kevin Danaher the activist published any books or notable articles? ~ Kathryn NicDhàna 05:27, 9 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've done some searching and think it's worth starting a stub at Kevin Danaher (activist). ~ Kathryn NicDhàna 06:10, 9 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Academic Career[edit]

The link to The Irish Sword in this section does not appear to go to a publication, but to a somewhat confusing stub that refers to Irish winners of the Victoria Cross. Not sure what to do about it, but surely someone more experienced than I can address the issue. Have at it!
*Septegram*Talk*Contributions* 14:50, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Geez, you're right. Good catch. We'll just have to de-Wikify it unless and until someone writes an article about the Irish Military History Society. ~ Kathryn NicDhàna 07:39, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
 Done I've made a stab at converting The Irish Sword from what was previously a book stub to a journal stub, tried to clarify that the cited list of Irish VC recipients was originally an article and not a book, provided a pointer to the IHMS web site and redirected Irish Military History Society to it until someone can write an article about the society itself. Hope it was worth a 4 year wait! :) KenBailey (talk) 14:09, 29 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Draft Article[edit]

I'm KD's son and I have written an article about him. Kathryn NicDhàna suggested I post it here, so here it is:


Note on names:[edit]

Kevin Danaher was also known by the Irish form of his name, Caoimhín Ó Danachair. He divided his writings on folklore into "popular", which he signed Kevin Danaher, and "academic" which he signed Caoimhín Ó Danachair.[1] When writing on military history he always wrote as "Kevin Danaher".[7]

Biography.[edit]

Kevin Danaher was born on 30th January, 1913, in Athea, Co. Limerick, Ireland where his father, William Danaher, was the local schoolmaster. He was educated first at Athea National School and Mungret College, Co. Limerick, and subsequently at University College, Dublin, from which he graduated 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 in Berlin and Liepzig. When World War II broke out, he returned to Ireland and joined the Irish Army. He finally rose to the rank of Captain, and served as an instructor for the Artillery Corps.[5,7] After his discharge from the army, he resumed his studies, being awarded his MA in 1946.[5] Since 1934 he had been a part-time collector for the Irish Folklore Commission;[6] in 1946 he became the Commission's ethnographer. For the academic year 1952-53 he was visiting lecturer at the.University of Uppsala, Sweden[5,7] In 1971 the Irish Folklore Commission was dissolved and its library, folk materials collection, and staff were transferred to the. Department of Irish Folklore, University College Dublin He was appointed to the post of College Lecturer, which he held until retirement in 1983[6]. In 1974 he was awarded the degree of D. Litt. by UCD in recognition of his published research.[5,6,7] In 1986 he suffered a stroke, the effects of which put an end to his professional career.[7] He died on 14th March, 2002, after a long illness. [3,4]

Professional achievements[edit]

Dr. Danaher pioneered the use of the questionnaire system for researching traditional customs and beliefs.[5] He made detailed surveys of traditional craftsmanship in house design and the manufacture of agricultural implements throughout Ireland. He also travelled widely over Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s and made extensive recordings of stories, music etc. These include the only existing recordings of the piper Johnny Doran, and other famous traditional musicians.[2] In 1948 he travelled to the Isle of Man and made extensive recordings of native speakers of the Manx language.[5,6,7] He also was a skilled photographer and built up a large archive of images of traditional crafts, artefacts and customs.[5] All of this work is in the archives of the Department of Irish Folklore, UCD; only a very small proportion of his recordings have been published. He contributed over 100 articles to academic journals.[1] He was a member of the National Monuments Advisory Council; An Foras Forbartha's Nature and Amenity, Conservation and Amenity Committee; and Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann (The Folklore Council of Ireland). From 1965 to 1980 he was general editor of the Irish Life and Culture series of the Cultural Relations Committee of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. He was Vice-president of the Society for Folk Life Studies 1978-80 and president 1981-84.

Popular writings and other work[edit]

From 1959 Kevin Danaher contributed dozens of articles to various magazines, including Biatas (the Irish tillage farmer's magazine), Ireland of the Welcomes (published by the Irish Tourist Board) and Cara (in-flight magazine of the Irish Airline, Aer Lingus).[1] Four collections of these articles were published in book form; the best known of these is "In Ireland Long Ago." Of his other works, "The Year in Ireland", a study of traditional festivals and customs connected to different times of the year, and "A Bibliography of Irish Ethnology and Folk Tradition" are especially valuable. Kevin Danaher was also a broadcaster, appearing on Irish radio and television as an expert on folklore.[5,7] In 1968 he researched, scripted and presented 5 half-hour TV documentaries for RTE, the Irish television station, under the title "The Hearth and Stool and All".[6,7] The scripts of these programmes were subsequently published in book form as "The Pleasant Land of Ireland." He was deeply involved in the original design and implementation of the Irish Folk Park at Bunratty, Co. Clare, Ireland.[5] This is a collection of replica farm houses, built in traditional style and furnished with genuine artefacts. The guide book to this, revised and expanded, was published separately as "The Hearth and Stool and All!".

The Military Historian[edit]

Kevin Danaher's hobby was military history. He was a Committee member of the Irish Military History Society from 1951 to 1988; editor of the society's journal "The Irish Sword" 1960-1971, and to which he contributed numerous articles, and was president of the society 1978-1988.[7]

Publications[edit]

Books[edit]

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

Recordings[edit]

  • Skeealyn Vannin, or Stories of Mann. (Manx National Heritage, 2004) 6 CD set and book of KD's recordings of Manx speakers.
  • Bunch of Keys: the complete recordings of Johnny Doran. (Comhairle Bhéaloideais Éireann: CBÉ 001.) KD's recordings of the famous piper.
  • An Béaloideas sa Scéalíocht, sa Creidimh, san Uirlis: (Department of Irish Folklore, University College, Cork, 2006.) Software CD – includes some of Kevin Danaher's photographs.


References[edit]

1. Gold Under the Furze by Alan Gailey and Daithí Ó hÓgáin (editors) (Glendale Press, Dublin, 1983) Festschrift -- includes a full bibliography of his published work in the field of folklore, and a selection of his photographs. 2. While Green Grass Grows: Memoirs of a Folklorist by Bríd Mahon (Mercier Press, Cork, 1998) 3. Obituary, The Irish Times, Mar 23rd, 2002 4. Obituary, The Guardian, 27th April 2002 5. Obituary, Folklore. Volume: 113. Issue: 2, 2002 by Patricia Lysaght 6. Obituary, Folk Life, Summer 2002 by Alan Gailey and Chris Lynch 7. Obituary, The Irish Sword, Summer 2002 by Patrick Hogan

-Hypnopomp 21:54, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]


This looks really good, Hypnopomp! I say we integrate the two. I think I somewhat prefer the structure of the current article, for the most part, so I'm going to start with that and integrate your work into it. In other places I prefer your structure, so we'll see how it develops as we go. (And here we go... ;-)) ~ Kathryn NicDhàna 07:36, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

OK, I did an initial pass, so far just with material from the Biography section above. Hypnopomp, I personally think it's fine if you want to join in and continue to integrate text into the article. ~ Kathryn NicDhàna 08:46, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]


I've updated the list of books, which is now complete except for the ISBN numbers of the out-of-print ines, which I will add in later. Note that the inverted commas in "That's How It Was" are actually part of the title of the book and so should be left in. Hypnopomp 09:54, 22 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]


I've removed a reference to service in Europe during World War II. I think this was added as a result of a misunderstanding of a sentence in Lysaght's obituary reading "Kevin remained in the Irish Defence Forces for the duration of the War in Europe" -- "in Europe" refers to the war, not to the service. Hypnopomp 11:47, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

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