Bríd Mahon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bríd Mahon
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| Bríd Ní Mhathúna | |
Mahon in 1966
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| Born | 14 July 1918 |
| Died | 20 February 2008 (aged 89) Dublin, Ireland
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| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation | folklorist, writer |
Bríd Mahon (born July 14, 1918 – died February 20, 2008) was an Irish expert in folklore and a talented writer. She started her career very young, even writing a radio script about the history and music of County Cork for Radio Éireann (Ireland's national radio station).
Later, she worked as a typist for the Irish Folklore Commission. This was a special group that collected and saved traditional Irish stories, songs, and customs. Bríd stayed there until 1970. While working with folklore, she also became a successful journalist. She wrote about plays as a theatre critic and managed the women's section for The Sunday Press newspaper.
Bríd Mahon wrote a popular children's book called The Search for the Tinker Chief. It was so good that Disney even considered making it into a movie! Even though she was told not to publish the folklore information she collected, she still did her own research. She wrote non-fiction books about traditional Irish clothes and food. After the Folklore Commission closed in 1970, Bríd became a lecturer at University College Dublin. She also taught at the University of California in the United States.
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Early Life and Writing
Bríd Mahon was born on July 14, 1918. When she was a young girl going to school in Dublin, she loved to write. She sent a script to Radio Éireann about the history and music of Cork.
This was just the beginning! She went on to write over 500 radio scripts for Radio Éireann. She also wrote scripts for the BBC in the United Kingdom.
A Career in Folklore and Journalism
On October 9, 1939, Bríd Mahon started working at the Irish Folklore Commission. She was hired as a typist. At that time, women working at the Commission had to be unmarried. This meant that women usually did office work, not the collecting of folklore in the field.
In 1947, Bríd took over the bookkeeping and much of the office work. This allowed another important person, Máire MacNeill, to spend more time organizing the collected folklore. Two years later, Bríd became the office manager.
Even though the Commission didn't usually let staff publish their own work, Bríd did her own research. She used the Commission's old records and published articles and books about Irish clothing and food. This helped her become known as a journalist.
In the 1950s, besides her work at the Commission, Bríd also reviewed plays for newspapers. In the 1960s, she was the women's editor for The Sunday Press. She even interviewed The Beatles when they played their only concert in Dublin in 1963!
In 1968, Bríd was on a trip to California. At Los Angeles airport, she met and spoke with Robert F. Kennedy, a famous American politician. As her flight was returning to Dublin, the pilot announced that Kennedy had been assassinated. Bríd was quickly taken to the offices of The Sunday Press and wrote the main story for the next day's newspaper.
Through her work, Bríd Mahon also became friends with the famous author J. R. R. Tolkien, who wrote The Lord of the Rings. She famously introduced him to fish and chips with vinegar during his visits to Dublin.
Bríd continued to work as the office manager for the Irish Folklore Commission. In 1966, her title changed to "Secretary and Publications Officer." She stayed there until the Commission closed in 1970. In 1971, she became a senior lecturer in the Folklore Department at University College Dublin. Later, she taught at the University of California at both the Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses.
Bríd Mahon's studies on food were very important. She looked at the history of what people ate in Ireland. She also explored the old beliefs and traditions around food during different festivals. Her 1991 book, Land of Milk and Honey: The Story of Traditional Irish Food and Drink, is considered a very important book on Irish food history. It showed how rich and varied the diet of ordinary people was in the 1600s, before big changes led to the Irish Potato Famine.
In 1998, Bríd wrote her own life story, sharing many fun stories about her time at the Commission. One story involved Walt Disney. In 1946, he asked the Commission for ideas for a story about leprechauns. The director of the Commission tried to get Disney interested in other Irish folk heroes, but Disney wanted leprechauns. In 1959, Disney's movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People came out. Members of the Commission who helped with the film, including Bríd, got tickets to see it.
Later, Bríd Mahon's own children's book, The Search for the Tinker Chief (published in 1968), became a bestseller. Disney even considered making it into a movie!
Later Life and Legacy
Bríd Mahon passed away in Dublin on February 20, 2008. She was buried the next day at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium. Her work helped to save and share many important Irish traditions and stories for future generations.
Selected Works
Non-fiction
- Land of Milk and Honey: The Story of Traditional Irish Food and Drink (1991)
- While Green Grass Grows: Memoirs of a Folklorist (1998)
