Irish Historical Studies Avant la Lettre: The Antiquarian Genealogy of Interdisciplinary Scholarship

Tracing an alternative genealogy for interdisciplinary Irish Studies, this chapter reevaluates the contribution of polymathic antiquarians, whose studies of oral traditions, written manuscripts, and material culture influenced developments in historiography, alongside Irish language, folklore, ethnomusicology, travel writing, fiction and poetry, visual art, archaeology, museology, and archivism. While this tradition of amateur erudition was largely rejected by the professionalisation of Irish history, the emergence of interest in memory suggests a new relevance for a reappraisal of antiquarianism