By Connie Bettison, Librarian, National Museum of Ireland

I am delighted to highlight a newly catalogued collection of the National Museum of Ireland Library comprising books, journals and pamphlets from the working library of the late Professor George Eogan. This exceptional collection of over 2,000 volumes represents a major research resource for Irish archaeologists. Being involved in the work to make it available to researchers has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my role at the Museum.

Professor George Eogan

Professor George Eogan (1930-2021) was an internationally renowned figure in Irish and European archaeology with a lifelong relationship with the National Museum of Ireland. This association lasted from the 1950s, when he worked in the Museum under Professor Paddy Hartnett, to his later years when he and his wife Fiona Eogan approached the Irish Antiquities Division with the offer to donate a section of his library. As an expert in the Irish Bronze Age, Professor Eogan worked on many of the Bronze Age artefacts in the Museum’s collections throughout his career.

Cataloguing the library

While cataloguing the books in the library, I was able to pick up several elements of Professor Eogan’s career. First off, his academic focus on the Neolithic and Bronze Age eras was soon evident with the titles that crossed my desk. Secondly, I was quickly aware of his ability with languages and travels to far-flung places since only half of his books are in English. The remainder are written in a wide range of European languages including many Slavic ones. At times this posed a challenge for my cataloguing abilities! Finally, the most striking element of the book collection, to me, is that in nearly every volume Professor Eogan has written – in his distinctive handwriting – his name and the date, and, if he is in a significant place, where he is. Often, there is an inscription from the book’s author with a dedication. This illustrates Professor Eogan’s wide professional network and the respect he garnered through it.

Midway through the cataloguing project, the Museum invited Fiona and James Eogan, Professor Eogan’s widow and son, to the Collections Resource Centre, to view the books in their new home. The Museum’s director, Lynn Scarff, curators of the Archaeology Collections in the Irish Antiquities Division in the National Museum, Kildare Street – many of whom were taught by Professor Eogan during their studies – and I spent some time together with the Eogan family in the stacks, talking about Professor Eogan’s life, work and book-collecting habits.

Find Out More

To find out more about the George Eogan Library here at the Museum, and how to access it for research, please contact library@museum.ie

To read more about the work of the Library at the National Museum of Ireland, see Jessica Foley’s article for Registration Corner on her time as a work placement student here: Work Placement at the National Museum of Ireland: A Transformative Experience | National Museum of Ireland