Irish Leaders and Learning Through the Ages

Described as the prince of Irish historians by the great Belgian medievalist Paul Grosjean, SJ, Fr Paul Walsh (1885-1941) produced an astonishing body of original research and editorial work in various areas of Irish history and literature over a period of more than thirty years prior to his untimely death at the age of 56. His output included more than twenty books and some three hundred articles scattered through a variety of journals (many of them not now readily accessible). Some of these articles were collected and published posthumously in two volumes edited by his friend Colm Ã? Lochlainn, Irish Men of Learning (1947) and Irish Chiefs and Leaders (1960). A projected third volume never appeared. The present volume contains all of the articles that were to be included in that last volume, together with several additional items on a variety of historical topics. This collection of more than eighty articles includes many important and original contributions to Irish learning that have not been superseded by subsequent scholarly endeavor. Many of the insights they provide into the world of medieval Gaelic Ireland are still remarkably fresh and vivid. Making them available to a wider readership will, it is hoped, inspire further study in at least some of the areas covered. The volume has an introduction giving bibliographical details of the articles included and, as an appendix, a complete list of Paul Walsh's writings.