Cormac Bourke facts for kids
Cormac Bourke is an Irish archeologist who studies history from the Middle Ages. He also looks at the early history of the Christian church and a special type of Christian art from Ireland and Britain called Insular Christianity.
He used to be a curator (someone who looks after museum collections) of medieval items at the Ulster Museum in Belfast for a long time. Now, he works in the antiquities department at the National Museum of Ireland.
Cormac Bourke writes many books and articles. His work often focuses on old Irish metal objects and things connected to saints. He has written about early Irish hand-bells, special staffs called Insular croziers, fancy pins known as Celtic brooches, crucifixion plaques, and decorated boxes called cumdachs.
In 2022, he released a popular book called The Early Medieval Hand-bells of Ireland and Britain. This book was about hand-bells, a topic that hadn't been studied much before. The National Museum of Ireland praised his book, saying it had amazing research and details. They called it the most important study ever done on medieval hand-bells, and a huge success both in Ireland and around the world.
Selected Books and Articles
Cormac Bourke has written many important books and articles about his research. Here are some of them:
Books
- The Early Medieval Hand-bells of Ireland and Britain. This book, published in 2022, is his major work on old hand-bells from Ireland and Britain. ISBN: 978-0-9017-7788-1
- "Bell-Shrines". This chapter is part of a larger book called Medieval c. 400—c. 1600: Art and Architecture of Ireland, published in 2014. ISBN: 978-0-3001-7919-4
- Studies in the Cult of Saint Columba. This book from 1997 looks at the history and worship of Saint Columba. ISBN: 978-1-8518-2313-0
- Patrick: The Archaeology of a Saint. Published in 1993, this book explores the archaeology related to Saint Patrick. ISBN: 978-0-3370-8311-2
Articles
- "The Prosperous, Co. Kildare, Crozier: archaeology and use". This article from 2017 discusses a special staff found in County Kildare.
- "St Mel's Cathedral fire". In this 2010 article, he writes about the fire at St Mel's Cathedral.
- "The "Domnach Airgid" in 2006". This article from 2006 focuses on a famous old Irish book shrine called the Domnach Airgid.
- "The Shrine of St. Patrick's Hand". In this 1987 article, he examines a shrine believed to hold the hand of Saint Patrick.
- "A Crozier and Bell from Inishmurray and Their Place in Ninth-Century Irish Archaeology". This 1985 article looks at a crozier and bell found on Inishmurray island.
- "Early Irish Hand-Bells". This early article from 1980 was one of his first works on ancient Irish hand-bells.
