Kevin Danaher

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

Danaher is the author of 10 books about Irish traditional customs and beliefs, the best known of which are The Year in Ireland, In Ireland Long Ago, and Folktales from the Irish Countryside. A respected scholar, Danaher published more than 200 articles in academic journals.

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.

When World War II broke out, Danaher returned to Ireland and joined the Irish Army. He rose to the rank of Captain, and served as an instructor for the Artillery Corps, training soldiers in Kildare, Ireland.

After his discharge from the army, Danaher resumed his studies, being awarded his MA from the National University of Irelandin 1946.

In early 1940 he once again worked for the Irish Folklore Commission, first as a field worker and then as the Commission's official ethnographer, collecting, cataloguing and illustrating large amounts of traditional tales and folklore, primarily from his home county of Limerick. Some of his sources were family members, such as his father, Liam. His groundbreaking work in the area of seasonal customs and folk practices would later appear in his many articles and books.

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