Patrick Weston Joyce facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
P. W. Joyce
SPIL, RSAI
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Dr. P. W. Joyce
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| Born | 1827 Ballyorgan, County Limerick, Ireland |
| Died | 7 January 1914 (aged 86) Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | author, historian |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin |
| Subject | Irish place names, root words, literature, folklore |
| Notable works | The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places A Social History of Ancient Ireland |
| Relatives | Robert Dwyer Joyce, Seán Mór Seoighe |
Patrick Weston Joyce (1827 – 1914), often called P. W. Joyce, was an important Irish historian, writer, and music collector. He was especially famous for studying the Irish language and the names of places across Ireland.
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About P. W. Joyce
P. W. Joyce was born in 1827 in a place called Ballyorgan. This area is in the Ballyhoura Mountains, right where County Limerick and County Cork meet in Ireland. He grew up nearby in Glenosheen. His family believed they were related to Seán Mór Seoighe, a stonemason from Connemara, County Galway, who lived around the 1680s.
P. W. Joyce's younger brother was Robert Dwyer Joyce. P. W. Joyce spoke Irish from a young age. He first went to a "hedge school," which was a secret school in Ireland during times when formal education for Catholics was restricted. Later, he attended a school in Mitchelstown, County Cork.
Joyce's Career and Education
In 1845, Joyce began working for the Commission of National Education. He became a teacher and then the principal of the Model School in Clonmel. In 1856, he was one of only fifteen teachers chosen to help improve Ireland's national school system.
While working, he also continued his own education. He earned his first degree (B.A.) in 1861 and a master's degree (M.A.) in 1863 from Trinity College Dublin in Dublin.
From 1874 to 1893, he was the principal of the Training College on Marlborough Street in Dublin. He was also a member of the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language. For this group, he wrote a book on Irish grammar in 1878. From 1906 to 1908, he was the President of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. He had been a member of this society since 1865.
His Contributions to Irish Culture
P. W. Joyce was a very important person in Irish culture during his time. He was interested in many things, including:
- The Irish language
- Hiberno-English (English spoken in Ireland)
- Irish music and education
- Irish literature and folklore
- Irish history and old objects
- The names of places in Ireland
He wrote many books about Ireland's history and culture. His most famous work is The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places. The first part of this book came out in 1869. He was also a member of the Royal Irish Academy.
P. W. Joyce's Collection
The Cregan Library at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin, has a special collection of items from P. W. Joyce. This collection shows his many interests. It includes some rare books, like copies given by Joyce and his brother Robert with their signatures. It also has books from Joyce's own library.
The collection also contains nine old handwritten documents connected to Joyce and his family. One of these is a manuscript written by P. W. Joyce himself. It is a translation of a story called Adventures of Cormac in the Land of Promise from an old book called the Book of Ballymote.
Selected Works by P. W. Joyce
Here are some of the books and collections P. W. Joyce created:
- The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places (published in three parts: 1869, 1875, 1913)
- Irish Local Names Explained (1870)
- Ancient Irish music (1873), with piano music by John William Glover
- A Handbook of School Management (1876)
- An Irish Grammar (1878)
- On the Old Celtic Romances (1879)
- Old Irish Folk Music, a collection of 842 songs (1909)
- Irish Peasant Songs
- Irish Music and Song (1888)
- A Concise History of Rome: From the Foundation of Rome to the Death of Trajan, 117 A.D.
- A Concise History of Ireland
- A History of Gaelic Ireland from the Earliest Times to 1608 (1893)
- English as We Speak it in Ireland (1910)
- Ireland's Battles and Battlefields
- Irish Names of Places
- Old Irish Folk Music and Songs
- A Social History of Ancient Ireland, in two volumes (1906)
- The Story of Ancient Irish Civilisation (1907)
- The Wonders of Ireland (1911)
