Daniel Anthony Binchy (1899–1989) was a scholar of Irish

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and

early Irish law Early Irish law, also called Brehon law (from the old Irish word breithim meaning judge), comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norman invasion of 1169, but underwe ...

. He was educated at Clongowes Wood College (1910–16),

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

(UCD) and the King's Inns (1917–20) after which he was called to the bar. He also studied at the universities of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. From 1919 to 1920, he was Auditor of the Literary and Historical Society of UCD. He served the Department of Foreign Affairs in

as Ireland's first ambassador to Germany, then ruled by the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, from 1929 to 1932. While there he received instruction in

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

from pioneering

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

Celticist Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history ...

Rudolf Thurneysen. This allowed Binchy to read original manuscripts and begin his study of

. He was for a time the main academic investigating the legal system, and for some time, his ideas were the orthodoxy. While his contributions still underlie the foundations, some of his analysis, however, has since been re-examined. Many of his attempts to connect early Irish law to Celtic law and even to

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

law have come under considerable doubt. However, his contributions are also lasting on account of his production of numerous translations and editions of legal texts. From 1949, he worked as a senior professor of

Celtic studies Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celts, Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art h ...

at the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) () is a statutory independent research institute in Dublin, Ireland. It was established, under the Institute For Advanced Studies Act 1940, by the government of the then Taoiseach, Éamon de Vale ...

. His activities are affectionately satirized in Brian O'Nolan's poem ''Binchy and Bergin and Best'', originally printed in the '' Cruiskeen Lawn'' column in the Irish Times and now included in ''The Best of Myles''. He was a close friend of Frank O'Connor. His final major work, the six-volume '' Corpus Iuris Hibernici'', collected almost all texts in the native Irish legal tradition and thus offers later scholars a firm ground to stand upon.D.A. Binchy, Corpus Iuris Hibernici, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Binchy was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1962. He was the uncle of the author Maeve Binchy and of the academic William Binchy.

References

External links

''Binchy and Bergin and Best'' by Flann O'Brien
{{DEFAULTSORT:Binchy, D. A. Celtic studies scholars 1899 births 1989 deaths Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Alumni of King's Inns Alumni of University College Dublin Ambassadors of Ireland to Germany Auditors of the Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin) Binchy family Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni People educated at Clongowes Wood College University of Paris alumni 20th-century Irish historians Irish expatriates in Germany Irish expatriates in France