Pathfinders to the Past: The Antiquarian Road to Irish Historical Writing, 1640-1960

Compiled in celebration of the 150th anniversary of one of Ireland’s most distinguished and long-lived cultural institutions - the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland - this collection of essays by distinguished scholars in a variety of academic fields examines the remarkable course of antiquarian enquiry from the 17th to the 20th century. By placing the antiquarians in chronological order by date of birth, one senses an evolving pattern reflecting social conditions and concerns over that period of time. Scholars such as Harris, Hardiman, Petrie, Reeves, and Westropp have been the subject of historical comment in the past, but usually in isolation from one another. Here, one can see patterns of change and development, perhaps for the first time in this context. Illustrations have been selected from the resources of the RSAI and of the Royal Irish Academy with a view toward reinforcing, though images, an original approach to the advent of professional historiography in this country.