Thomas J. Barron

Thomas J. Barron
Born13 November 1903
Knockbride, County Cavan
Died5 March 1992
NationalityIrish
Occupations
  • Education
  • Folklore
  • Archaeology
  • historian

Thomas J. Barron (13 November 1903 – 5 March 1992), known as Tom, was an Irish folklorist and amateur historian. A primary school teacher by profession, Barron became respected through extensive local field research, conservation efforts, and his regular contributions to the Irish Folklore Commission, with articles largely gathering and detailing the folklore of the East Cavan area.[1]

He is best known for bringing a number of pre-historical Irish objects to national attention,[2] including a late Neolithic gold lunula,[3] objects excavated from late Bronze Age crannogs, and the Iron Age 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 harvest festival.[4]

  1. ^ Smyth (2012), p. 88
  2. ^ Raftery, J. "Finds from Three Ulster Counties. Through the instrumentality of Mr Thomas J. Barron, N.T., of Knockbride, County Cavan". Ulster Journal of Archaeology, 1942. p. 120
  3. ^ Smyth (2012), p. 89
  4. ^ Ross (2010), p. 66