Ellen Prendergast
Ellen Prendergast | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 June 1918 |
| Died | 10 May 1999 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Known for | archaeologist |
Ellen M. (Nell) Prendergast (11 June 1918–10 May 1999) was Ireland's first female professional archaeologist.
Career
Prendergast was born near Paulstown, County Kilkenny as one of a pair of twin girls. She was educated in the Brigidine Convent school in Mountrath. She took up a post as Technical Assistant at the National Museum of Ireland, and attended University College Dublin where she completed a BA, and in 1947 an MA, in Celtic Archaeology.[1]
Prendergast spent her professional life working in the National Museum of Ireland, specialising in areas including burials of the later Neolithic period, prehistoric pottery and Early Bronze Age cist burials. She remained deeply interested in the archaeology of County Kilkenny and was a regular contributor for the Old Kilkenny Review, and she was a member of the Irish Archaeological Society committee from 1945.[1]
In addition to her involvement in history, Prendergast was known as a feminist and trade unionist, and a supporter of the Irish language.
When she retired in 1983 Prendergast returned to live in Kilkenny.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Papers
- The Stoneyford Roman Finds.Archaeology Ireland, vol. 3, no. 4, 1989, pp. 159–159
- Bronze Age Burials in Co. Westmeath. The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland vol. 75, no. 2, 1945, pp. 107–111
- A fertility figure from Tullaroan, 1992
- A souterrain at Scurlockstown, 1971
- Amber Necklace from Co Galway, 1960
- Bronze Age Burials, Co Wexford, 1953
- Bronze Age burials in Co Westmeath, 1945
- Burial at Rossmakay, Co Louth, 1957
- Burials at Stephenstown, 1970
- Castlegarden sweat-house, Co Kilkenny, 1991
- Cist burial at Bolinready, Co Wexford, 1968
- Excavation of a mound at Blessington, Co Wicklow, 1946
- Group of bronzes from Charleville Forest, Co Offaly, 1961
- Images of the Holy Trinity -- two new examples, 1993
- National Museum of Ireland: archaeological acquisitions in the year 1965, 1968
- Prehistoric Burial at Rath, Co Wicklow, 1959
- Report on investigation of souterrain at Dowdallshill, Dundalk, 1968
- Ring-fort with Souterrain at Gorteen, Co Westmeath, 1959
- The history of the Abbotsbury duck decoy 1655-1982, 1985
- The history of the Morden duck decoy 1724, 1985
- Two Souterrains in Co Meath, 1962
- Two unrecorded graveslabs in County Dublin, 1977
- Urn Burial at Maganey Lower, Co Kildare, 1962
- Colonel Dan Bryan – Obituary, 1985
References and sources
- ^ a b "Ellen M. Prendergast". The Irish Times. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ "The 1st Irish Female Archaeologist". seekingthesociety. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ Wallace, P. F. (11 June 1918). "Ellen M. Prendergast (Born 11 June 1918; Died 10 May 1999)". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 129: 141–143. JSTOR 25509092.
- ^ "Search Results for "Ellen Prendergast" – Kilkenny Archaeological Society". Kilkenny Archaeological Society – Kilkenny Ireland Local History Genealogy Kilkenny City Buildings Culture. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ Freitag, B. (2005). Sheela-na-gigs: Unravelling an Enigma. Taylor & Francis. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-134-28249-4. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ "Code of Practice between the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the National Museum of Ireland and Bord na Móna" (PDF).
- ^ Chance, J. (2005). Women Medievalists and the Academy. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 469. ISBN 978-0-299-20750-2. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ "Ellen Prendergast – West Wicklow Bookshelf". West Wicklow Bookshelf. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ "Holdings: Bronze Age burials in Co. Westmeath". Search Home. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ "Helen Maybury Roe—A Pioneering Historian of Medieval Ireland". Yvonne Seale. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2019.