The religious and intellectual culture of medieval Ireland and Scotland, medieval Irish saga, medieval Irish law, Neoplatonism, patristics, medieval philosophy and theology, theurgy/liturgy, mythology and mythography, metaphysics, cosmology, theories of interpretation, historiography
Biographical Sketch
Daniel Watson completed his BA in English Literature at Trinity Western University, Langley, British Columbia, Canada in 2001. Following a number of varied and inglorious adventures, he began to study Classics at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 2009, with an emphasis on Neoplatonic philosophy, in both its Christian and its pagan forms. This culminated in a research MA on Proclus’ interpretation of Homer’s poetry which was conducted under Professor Wayne Hankey’s supervision and completed in 2013.
Daniel began his PhD in Medieval Irish Literature at Maynooth University under Dr Elizabeth Boyle’s supervision in 2014. His PhD research was concerned with the patristic mediation of philosophical ideas to medieval Ireland, with a focus on the way such ideas were taken up and transformed in early Irish saga and law texts. More specifically, it broadly outlined what ‘fellsamnacht’ (philosophy) means and entails in an early Irish vernacular context. He was awarded this degree in January 2019.
In February 2019, Daniel started as an O’Donovan Scholar in the School of Celtic Studies, at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. His primary research project extends his PhD research more decisively into the eleventh century and beyond. During this time, early Irish ideas concerning ‘natural law’ (recht aicnid / lex naturae) – i.e. concerning non-ecclesiastical forms of knowledge – began to be more engaged with the natural law tradition that tended prevail elsewhere in the Latin West. The Acallam na Senórach will be central to assessing the results of this encounter. Current side-projects include research on early Irish portrayals of reembodiment, the influence of Orosian themes on early Irish literature, and the Irish epitome of Eriugena’s Periphyseon found in Oxford Bodleian Library MS Auct. F.III.15.
Articles
‘A Law Beyond Grace in The Prologue to Senchas Már’, Dionysius 36 (2018), 200–14.
‘Irony and Inspiration: Homer as the Test of Plato’s Philosophical Coherence in the Sixth Essay of Proclus’ Commentary on the Republic’, International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 11 (2017), 149–72.
‘Images of Unlikeness: Proclus on Homeric σύμβολον and the Perfection of the Rational Soul’, Dionysius 31 (2013), 57–78.
Reviews
‘Review Article: Immo Warntjes and Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, eds, Late Antique Calendrical Thought and its Reception in the Early Middle Ages: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on the Science of Computus in Ireland and Europe, Galway, 16–18 July, 2010 (Turnhout 2017)’, Irish Theological Quarterly 84.4 (2019), 424–30.
Other publications
‘The Trouble with Origen and the Idea of Catholicity’, in Susan Harris, ed., The Church Visible and Invisible: ‘The Blessed Company of All Faithful People’: The Proceedings of the 36th Annual Atlantic Theological Conference (Charlottetown: St. Peter Publications, 2017), 117–52.
‘Eating Butter and Honey: On the Practical Means of Discerning between Good and Evil according to St. Antony the Great and the Book of Common Prayer’, in Susan Harris, ed., The Meaning of Evil: The Proceedings of the 34th AnnualAtlantic Theological Conference (Charlottetown: St. Peter Publications, 2015), 175–88.
The British Ordanance Survey who sent a theodolite, and of course for the work of Cambridge University as well as Ireland's own national bodies. (3/3)
Amazing what can be accomplished when we work together.
#DIASdiscovers
An example being Lord Moyne, who offered a Guinness van for conversion to a mobile laboratory. And the Carnegie Trust's Institute at Washington who provided equipment to Thomas Murphy who led the Magnetic Survey. (2/3)
Date: 25 April 1951
Paper: The Irish Press
Synopsis:
How did the DIAS led, All Island Magnetic Survey, Gravity Survey, and Agricultural meteorological survey come to pass? With a little help from local and international agencies. (1/3)
Our @mathsweek talk is now confirmed!
Join Dr Ian Jubb of @StpDias for this online event to discover how Einstein's theory of relativity opened up a whole new world of understanding and exploration.
Tickets are free but booking is essential!
eventbrite.ie/e/einsteins-re…
The Annals of Connacht is a vellum manuscript that was written in the mid-16th century. The contents were derived from older annals compiled for the O’Conors of the Connacht and contain an annual record of significant events over 320 years, and... (2/3)
Date: 19 October 1944
Paper: The Irish Press
Synopsis:
DIAS has been publishing books since it's founding. One such early publication is the edited manuscript of the Annals of Connacht (Annála Connacht) which was edited for the first time by Martin Freeman of DIAS. (1/3)
This work was to help towards the preservation of the Irish Language, to maintain it's continuity with the past, and was to become a resource for teachers to check pronunciation
#DIASdiscovers#Irish#Irishlanguage#CelticStudies#Gaelic
Date: 02 June 1943
Paper: The Irish Press
Synopsis:
In 1943, a phonetic investigation led by Brian Ó Cuív, Risteárd B. Breathnach and Tomás de Bhaldraithe of DIAS would begin the first systematic scientific recording of the varied sounds of modern Gaelic speech.
The researchers used the International Phonetic Alphabet, slightly modified to represent vowels and consonants of living speech. At that time there were concerns over the deterioration of the Irish language due to the "overpowering influence of English"
The papers were
1) Affine Field Theory: conservation identitites and relation to Weyl and Eddington
2)The Union of the three fundamental fields (Gravitation, Menson, Electromagnetism)
Which went on to secure worldwide acclaim.
#DIASdiscovers
Date: 01 December 1943
Paper: The Irish Press
Headline: Two Papers by Dr. Schroedinger
Synopsis: 1943 was a busy year for Schroedinger. Not only did he deliver the "What is Life?" Lectures in @tcddublin in February in November he delivered two papers in the @RIAdawson (1/2)
"In the lives of St. Patrick, the two saints are invariably fused into one", said Prof. O'Rahilly in his lecture.
The lecture was a condensation from O’Rahilly’s book “The two Patricks: a lecture on the history of Christianity in fifth-century Ireland”. (4/5)
He was known by his first name Patricius, which in later times would lead to confusion as he was succeeded by another apostle of the same name (Saint Patrick or Patricius in Latin). (3/5)
Date: 21st March 1942
Paper: The Irish Press
Headline: Palladius and Patrick | School Of Celtic Studies Lecture
Synopsis: The first public lecture under the auspices of the School of Celtic Studies was delivered in Trinity College by Professor T. F. O'Rahilly in 1942. (1/5)
Dr Daniel Watson
Research Interests
The religious and intellectual culture of medieval Ireland and Scotland, medieval Irish saga, medieval Irish law, Neoplatonism, patristics, medieval philosophy and theology, theurgy/liturgy, mythology and mythography, metaphysics, cosmology, theories of interpretation, historiography
Biographical Sketch
Daniel Watson completed his BA in English Literature at Trinity Western University, Langley, British Columbia, Canada in 2001. Following a number of varied and inglorious adventures, he began to study Classics at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 2009, with an emphasis on Neoplatonic philosophy, in both its Christian and its pagan forms. This culminated in a research MA on Proclus’ interpretation of Homer’s poetry which was conducted under Professor Wayne Hankey’s supervision and completed in 2013.
Daniel began his PhD in Medieval Irish Literature at Maynooth University under Dr Elizabeth Boyle’s supervision in 2014. His PhD research was concerned with the patristic mediation of philosophical ideas to medieval Ireland, with a focus on the way such ideas were taken up and transformed in early Irish saga and law texts. More specifically, it broadly outlined what ‘fellsamnacht’ (philosophy) means and entails in an early Irish vernacular context. He was awarded this degree in January 2019.
In February 2019, Daniel started as an O’Donovan Scholar in the School of Celtic Studies, at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. His primary research project extends his PhD research more decisively into the eleventh century and beyond. During this time, early Irish ideas concerning ‘natural law’ (recht aicnid / lex naturae) – i.e. concerning non-ecclesiastical forms of knowledge – began to be more engaged with the natural law tradition that tended prevail elsewhere in the Latin West. The Acallam na Senórach will be central to assessing the results of this encounter. Current side-projects include research on early Irish portrayals of reembodiment, the influence of Orosian themes on early Irish literature, and the Irish epitome of Eriugena’s Periphyseon found in Oxford Bodleian Library MS Auct. F.III.15.
Articles
‘A Law Beyond Grace in The Prologue to Senchas Már’, Dionysius 36 (2018), 200–14.
‘Irony and Inspiration: Homer as the Test of Plato’s Philosophical Coherence in the Sixth Essay of Proclus’ Commentary on the Republic’, International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 11 (2017), 149–72.
‘Images of Unlikeness: Proclus on Homeric σύμβολον and the Perfection of the Rational Soul’, Dionysius 31 (2013), 57–78.
Reviews
‘Review Article: Immo Warntjes and Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, eds, Late Antique Calendrical Thought and its Reception in the Early Middle Ages: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on the Science of Computus in Ireland and Europe, Galway, 16–18 July, 2010 (Turnhout 2017)’, Irish Theological Quarterly 84.4 (2019), 424–30.
Other publications
‘The Trouble with Origen and the Idea of Catholicity’, in Susan Harris, ed., The Church Visible and Invisible: ‘The Blessed Company of All Faithful People’: The Proceedings of the 36th Annual Atlantic Theological Conference (Charlottetown: St. Peter Publications, 2017), 117–52.
‘Eating Butter and Honey: On the Practical Means of Discerning between Good and Evil according to St. Antony the Great and the Book of Common Prayer’, in Susan Harris, ed., The Meaning of Evil: The Proceedings of the 34th Annual Atlantic Theological Conference (Charlottetown: St. Peter Publications, 2015), 175–88.
The British Ordanance Survey who sent a theodolite, and of course for the work of Cambridge University as well as Ireland's own national bodies. (3/3) Amazing what can be accomplished when we work together. #DIASdiscovers
An example being Lord Moyne, who offered a Guinness van for conversion to a mobile laboratory. And the Carnegie Trust's Institute at Washington who provided equipment to Thomas Murphy who led the Magnetic Survey. (2/3)
Date: 25 April 1951 Paper: The Irish Press Synopsis: How did the DIAS led, All Island Magnetic Survey, Gravity Survey, and Agricultural meteorological survey come to pass? With a little help from local and international agencies. (1/3)
Our @mathsweek talk is now confirmed! Join Dr Ian Jubb of @StpDias for this online event to discover how Einstein's theory of relativity opened up a whole new world of understanding and exploration. Tickets are free but booking is essential! eventbrite.ie/e/einsteins-re…
...obituaries of prominent individuals The manuscript has been preserved in the @Library_RIA since 1883. (3/3) @HistFest #DIASdiscovers #connacht #books
The Annals of Connacht is a vellum manuscript that was written in the mid-16th century. The contents were derived from older annals compiled for the O’Conors of the Connacht and contain an annual record of significant events over 320 years, and... (2/3)
Date: 19 October 1944 Paper: The Irish Press Synopsis: DIAS has been publishing books since it's founding. One such early publication is the edited manuscript of the Annals of Connacht (Annála Connacht) which was edited for the first time by Martin Freeman of DIAS. (1/3)
This work was to help towards the preservation of the Irish Language, to maintain it's continuity with the past, and was to become a resource for teachers to check pronunciation #DIASdiscovers #Irish #Irishlanguage #CelticStudies #Gaelic
Date: 02 June 1943 Paper: The Irish Press Synopsis: In 1943, a phonetic investigation led by Brian Ó Cuív, Risteárd B. Breathnach and Tomás de Bhaldraithe of DIAS would begin the first systematic scientific recording of the varied sounds of modern Gaelic speech.
The researchers used the International Phonetic Alphabet, slightly modified to represent vowels and consonants of living speech. At that time there were concerns over the deterioration of the Irish language due to the "overpowering influence of English"
Happy Birthday! twitter.com/thecelticist/s…
The papers were 1) Affine Field Theory: conservation identitites and relation to Weyl and Eddington 2)The Union of the three fundamental fields (Gravitation, Menson, Electromagnetism) Which went on to secure worldwide acclaim. #DIASdiscovers
Date: 01 December 1943 Paper: The Irish Press Headline: Two Papers by Dr. Schroedinger Synopsis: 1943 was a busy year for Schroedinger. Not only did he deliver the "What is Life?" Lectures in @tcddublin in February in November he delivered two papers in the @RIAdawson (1/2)
Available to buy on the DIAS bookshop: books.dias.ie/index.php?main… (5/5) #DIASdiscovers #celtic #studies #twopatricks
"In the lives of St. Patrick, the two saints are invariably fused into one", said Prof. O'Rahilly in his lecture. The lecture was a condensation from O’Rahilly’s book “The two Patricks: a lecture on the history of Christianity in fifth-century Ireland”. (4/5)
He was known by his first name Patricius, which in later times would lead to confusion as he was succeeded by another apostle of the same name (Saint Patrick or Patricius in Latin). (3/5)
He spoke on "Palladius and Patrick". Palladius was the first bishop of the Christians of Ireland. (2/5)
Date: 21st March 1942 Paper: The Irish Press Headline: Palladius and Patrick | School Of Celtic Studies Lecture Synopsis: The first public lecture under the auspices of the School of Celtic Studies was delivered in Trinity College by Professor T. F. O'Rahilly in 1942. (1/5)