Thomas J. Barron (13 November 1903 – 5 March 1992), known as Tom, was an Irish

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

and amateur historian. A

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

teacher by profession, Barron became respected through extensive local field research, conservation efforts, and his regular contributions to the

Irish Folklore Commission The Irish Folklore Commission () was set up in 1935 by the Irish Government to study and collect information on the folklore and traditions of Ireland. History Séamus Ó Duilearga (James Hamilton Delargy) founded ''An Cumann le Béaloideas Éir ...

, with articles largely gathering and detailing the folklore of the East Cavan area.Smyth (2012), p. 88 He is best known for bringing a number of pre-historical Irish objects to national attention, including a late Neolithic

gold lunula A gold lunula ( pl. gold lunulae) was a distinctive type of late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, andmost oftenearly Bronze Age necklace, collar, or pectoral shaped like a crescent moon. Most are from Prehistoric Ireland. They are normally flat and t ...

,Smyth (2012), p. 89 objects excavated from late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

crannog A crannog (; ; ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually constructed in lakes, bogs and estuary, estuarine waters of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were built ...

s, and the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

Corleck and Corraghy stone idol heads. According to the writer and archeologist Anne Ross, Barron was the first to associate the cultic stone heads with calendar festivals, specifically the

Lughnasadh Lughnasadh, Lughnasa or Lúnasa ( , ) is a Gaels, Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Traditionally, it is held on 1 August, or abo ...

harvest festival.

Life and career

Thomas Barron was born on 13 November 1903 to John James and Margaret (née White) Barron, and had two brothers and a sister.Smyth, Jonathan.
Thomas J. Barron: The life of a noted historian
. ''Irish Identity''. Retrieved 29 June 2024 He was raised in

Knockbride Knockbride () is a civil parish in County Cavan, Ireland. It is located to the north of the town of Bailieborough. There are two Roman Catholic churches in the parish – both are dedicated to Saint Brigid (Bríd) and located in the Diocese ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

, and spent all his life in the county. The Barron family descended from Scottish

Covenanters Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...

who settled in

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, before moving to Cavan c. 1760.Duffy (2012), p. 153 Barron started work as an assistant teacher in the early 1930s, before attaining a permanent position at Knockbride National School in 1935. He became principal of

Bailieborough Bailieborough or Bailieboro (; ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Cavan, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the population was 2,974, up from 1,529 as of the 1996 census. Bailieborough's prox ...

National School in 1950. He married Sarah Elizabeth Mahood Canningstown (also a teacher) in August 1944.Thomas J. Barron
. Cavan County Library. Retrieved 29 June 2024 Throughout his life he was a respected educator, and in 1990, he was asked to advise on a proposed cross-community curriculum in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

.Smyth (2012), p. 83 The Corleck Gods

In 1934 Barron was the first to recognise the age and significance of the three-faced

Corleck Head The Corleck Head is a 1st or 2nd century AD Polycephaly#Mythological occurrences, three-faced Irish Celtic stone idol, stone idol discovered in Drumeague in County Cavan . Its dating to the Iron Age is based on its iconography, which is similar ...

, which had been found in 1855 by a local farmer.Ross (1998), pp. 65–66 He established its modern providence through interviews with locals who had early memories of viewing the head in different locations in the area.Smyth (2023), The History Barron contacted

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland () is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

in 1937Kelly (2002), p. 142 after which the museum's director

Adolf Mahr Adolf Mahr (7 May 1887 – 27 May 1951) was an Austrian archaeologist, who served as director of the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin in the 1930s, and is credited with advancing the work of the museum substantially. Mahr became a highly c ...

arranged its permanent loan to the museum for study. In a lecture to

The Prehistoric Society The Prehistoric Society is a British learned society devoted to the study of the human past from the earliest times until the emergence of written history. Now based at University College London in the United Kingdom, it was founded by V. Gord ...

that year, Mahr described the head as "certainly the most

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

looking sculpture of religious character ever found in Ireland". Mahr secured funding to acquire it into the museum's collection,Smyth (2012), p. 24 while study of the head and similar stone idols preoccupied Barron until his death.Smyth (2012), p. 88 He became a regular contributor to the

almost from his foundation in 1935. He excavated

crannogs A crannog (; ; ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually constructed in lakes, bogs and estuarine waters of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were built on shore ...

on Knockbride lake from the early 1950s, and found a number of

quern-stone A quern-stone is a stone tool for hand-grinding a wide variety of materials, especially for various types of grains. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a ''saddle quern'', while the upper mobile st ...

s, as well as a

cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

dated to the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

. He was praised in a 1942 article in the ''Ulster Journal of Archaeology'' where it was noted that he had "during the past ten years acquired or the National Museum of Irelanda great number of objects of archaeological significance from East Cavan. Barron died on 5 March 1992 from

bone marrow cancer Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are all ...

Our Lady's Hospital, Navan Our Lady's Hospital () is a general hospital in Navan, County Meath, Ireland. It is managed by Ireland East Hospital Group The Ireland East Hospital Group () is one of the hospital groups established by the Health Service Executive in Ireland. ...

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

Selected publications

* "Stone head, Clannaphilip Church, Co. Cavan", ''Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'', 1941. *"The prehistory of the Breifne region", ''Journal of Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne'', 1958}Barron, Thomas J.
.

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

. Retrieved 29 June 2024 *"Stone Axehead from County Cavan", ''Journal of Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne'', 1961 *"A 1798 Pikehead from Bailieborough", ''Journal of Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne'', 1966 *"Stair Nuadat Find Fenim, and Sliabh nDee, alias Sliabh na Trí nDee, alias Sliabh Guaire", ''Journal of Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne'', 1967Barron (Thomas J.) (1903-1992)
.

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 ...

. Retrieved 29 June 2024 * "A Poitin Affray near Ballybay in 1797", ''Clogher Record'', volume 8, nr 2, 1974. * "The Clones Stone Shrine", ''Clogher Record'', volume. 8, nr 3, 1975. *"Some Beehive Quernstones from Counties Cavan and Monaghan", ''Clogher Record'', volume 9, No. 1, 1976.

References

Sources

* Barron, Thomas J. "Some Beehive Quernstones from Counties Cavan and Monaghan". ''Clogher Record'', volume 9, No. 1, 1976. * Duffy, Patrick. "Reviewed Work: Landholding, Society and Settlement In Ireland: a historical geographer's perspective by T. Jones Hughes". ''Clogher Record'', volume 21, no. 1, 2012. * Ross, Anne. ''The Pagan Celts''. Denbighshire: John Jones, 1998. * Ross, Anne. ''Druids: Preachers of Immortality''. Cheltenham: The History Press, 2010. * Smyth, Jonathan. ''Gentleman and Scholar: Thomas James Barron, 1903 - 1992''. Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne, 2012.

External links

List of Barron's published works
in the

The Corleck Head and other aspects of east Cavan's ancient past
Video lecture on the Corleck Head's finding and significance by Barron's biographer Jonathan Smyth, Cavan Library, 2023 {{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Thomas J. 1903 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Irish archaeologists