Raghnall Ó Floinn
Irish art historian, curator and museum director (1953–2024)
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Raghnall Ó Floinn, FSA (August 1953 – 10 December 2024) was an Irish art historian who was the director of the National Museum of Ireland.[1] He joined its staff in 1976 and served as its director from 2013 to 2018.[2][3]
Biography
Born in August 1953,[4] Ó Floinn studied at University College Dublin, attaining a Master of Arts in Celtic Archaeology in 1976, and joined the NMI that year as Assistant Keeper in the Irish Antiquities Division.[5] He published a wide variety of books and papers on bog bodies, the archeology of the early Irish church, and insular art (particularly metalwork). He co-authored an overview of the museum's collection with his predecessor as NMI director, Pat Wallace.[6]
He also acted as chairman of the Council of National Cultural Institutions,[7] and a vice-chairman of the Society for Medieval Archaeology, London.[5]
Ó Floinn died on 10 December 2024, at the age of 71.[3]
Selected publications
Books
- "Viking Graves and Grave-Goods in Ireland (Medieval Dublin Excavations 1962-81, Series B)" (2015). ISBN 978-0-9017-7799-7
- "Irish Shrines and Reliquaries of the Middle Ages (Irish treasures)" (2014). ISBN 978-0-9461-7240-5
- "Franciscan Faith: Sacred Art in Ireland, AD 1600-1750" (2011). ISBN 978-1-9055-6958-8
- "Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities" (2002). Co-author with Patrick Wallace. ISBN 978-0-7171-2829-7
Monographs
- "The 'Shannon' shrine: a suggested provenance" (2015)
- "An Anglo-Saxon Disc-Brooch From Sjerring, Jutland" (2013)
- "Ireland and Scandinavia in the Early Viking Age" (1998)
- "A Fragmentary House-Shaped Shrine from Clonard, Co. Meath". The Journal of Irish Archaeology, volume 5. 1989/1990
- "In Ireland and Insular Art A.D. 500–1200". Proceedings of a Conference at University College Cork, 31 October–3 November 1985. Royal Irish Academy