Angela Bourke facts for kids

Angela Bourke (who used to be known as Partridge after her marriage) was born in 1952. She is an Irish writer, historian, and university teacher. She is famous for studying and writing about Irish oral traditions and literature. This means she looks at old stories, songs, and poems that were passed down by people speaking, not just by writing. She shares her knowledge in her books, lectures, and on radio shows.

About Angela Bourke

Angela Bourke was born in Dublin, Ireland. She is a writer, a historian who studies spoken stories, and a university professor. She is especially interested in the voices of women in old folk tales.

She studied at University College Dublin (UCD) and earned a special degree in Celtic Studies. In 1974, she traveled to France to the University of Western Brittany. Later, she finished her main degree (doctorate) back at University College Dublin. Her research was about religious poetry by women in Irish folklore.

In the 1970s, Angela Bourke collected many songs in a place called Carna, in Connemara, Ireland. She was the very first person to receive a special award from the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco in 2002. This award helps academic writers.

She has also traveled a lot to teach at other universities. She has been a guest professor in places like Japan, Europe, and the US. She even taught at Harvard University from 1992 to 1993. Today, she is a Professor of Irish-Language Studies and leads the Modern Irish department at UCD. Angela Bourke is also a member of the Royal Irish Academy, which is a group of top experts in Ireland.

Awards and Recognition

Angela Bourke has won several important awards for her writing:

• The Frank O’Connor Award for Short Fiction in 1992.
• The Irish Times Literature Prize for non-fiction in 2000.
• The American Conference for Irish Studies James S. Donnelly Prize in 2001. She won these last two awards for her book, The Burning of Bridget Cleary: A True Story.

Her Books and Studies

Angela Bourke has written many books and articles. Here are some of her well-known works:

Exploring Folklore and Lives

• Caoineadh na dTrí Muire: Téama na Páise i bhfílocht bhéil na Gaeilge (published in Dublin in 1983).
• The Burning of Bridget Cleary: A True Story (published in London in 1999). This book tells a real story.
• Maeve Brennan of the New Yorker (published in London in 2004). This is a book about the life of another writer.

Fun Stories

• By Salt Water (published in Dublin in 1996).
• “Iníon Rí na Cathrach Deirge” (1989).
• “Iníon Rí an Oileáin Dhorcha (1991).

Other Writings

• ‘Working and Weeping: Women’s Oral Poetry in Irish and Scottish Gaelic Poetry’ (1988). This was part of a series of papers on women's studies.
• Fish stone water: Holy Wells of Ireland (2001). Angela Bourke wrote the introduction for this book by Anna Rackard.
• The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing, volumes four and five (2002). She helped to edit these books, which focus on Irish women's writing and traditions.
• ‘Adventures with old things’ (2001). This was an article in The Dublin Review magazine.