Angela Bourke facts for kids

Angela Bourke (who was also known as Angela Partridge after her marriage) was born in 1952. She is an Irish writer, historian, and university professor. She is famous for her work on Irish stories and traditions. She writes books, gives talks, and appears on radio shows about these topics. She especially focuses on the voices and stories of women in Irish history and folklore.

About Angela Bourke

Angela Bourke is a writer and historian from Dublin, Ireland. She is very interested in the stories and traditions passed down by women. She studied at University College Dublin, earning a master's degree in Celtic Studies. In 1974, she traveled to France to study at the Université de Bretagne Occidentale.

Her Studies and Research

Angela Bourke completed her doctorate degree at University College Dublin. Her research focused on religious poems written by women in Irish folklore. In the 1970s, she also collected many songs in Carna, a place in Connemara, Ireland.

She was the first person to receive a special scholarship from the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco in 2002. This scholarship helps academic writers. Angela Bourke has traveled a lot, visiting universities in Japan, Europe, and the United States. She was even a visiting professor at Harvard University from 1992 to 1993. Today, she is a Professor of Irish-Language Studies at University College Dublin. She also leads the modern Irish department there.

Angela Bourke is a member of the Royal Irish Academy. This is a group of leading experts in Ireland.

Awards and Recognition

Angela Bourke has received several important awards for her writing and research:

• In 1992, she won The Frank O’Connor Award for Short Fiction.
• In 2000, her non-fiction book, The Burning of Bridget Cleary: A True Story, won The Irish Times Literature Prize.
• In 2001, the same book also won the James S. Donnelly Prize from the American Conference for Irish Studies.

Her Books and Writings

Angela Bourke has written many books and articles. These works cover different topics, from folklore to fiction.

Folklore Studies and Biographies

• Caoineadh na dTrí Muire: Téama na Páise i bhfílocht bhéil na Gaeilge (1983): This book is about a type of Irish poetry.
• The Burning of Bridget Cleary: A True Story (1999): This book tells a true story from Irish history.
• Maeve Brennan of the New Yorker (2004): This is a biography about another writer named Maeve Brennan.

Fiction Books

• By Salt Water (1996): A collection of short stories.
• “Iníon Rí na Cathrach Deirge” (1989): An Irish language story.
• “Iníon Rí an Oileáin Dhorcha (1991): Another Irish language story.

Other Writings

• ‘Working and Weeping: Women’s Oral Poetry in Irish and Scottish Gaelic Poetry’ (1988): An article about women's poetry in Irish and Scottish Gaelic.
• Fish stone water: Holy Wells of Ireland (2001): She wrote the introduction for this book by Anna Rackard about holy wells in Ireland.
• The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing, volumes IV and V (2002): She helped edit these books, which focus on Irish women's writing and traditions.
• ‘Adventures with old things’ (2001): An article published in The Dublin Review.