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Papers by Tadhg O'Keeffe

The Journal of Medieval Monastic Studies, 6 (2017), 51–76, 2017

Abstract: Small relative to its importance as the capital of the Anglo-Norman lordship of Meath, ... more Abstract: Small relative to its importance as the capital of the Anglo-Norman lordship of Meath, the medieval town of Trim was home to communities of canons regular and mendicants, and among the former were Victorine canons who served as the chapter of a cathedral that was newly-built just outside the town at the start of the thirteenth century. This paper presents a discussion of monastic observance in Trim before and after the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169, and an exploration of the context of the foundation of the Victorine priory and its cathedral church. It is argued that the Victorine church, one of the first Gothic buildings in Ireland, offers us a glimpse of what was possibly the earliest work of Gothic architecture in Ireland, a now-demolished Victorine house in Dublin.

the acquisition of biological information and assessment of the most probable geographic origin o... more the acquisition of biological information and assessment of the most probable geographic origin of unidentified individuals for obtaining positive identification is central in forensic sciences. Identification based on forensic DNA, however, varies greatly in relation to degradation of DNA. our primary aim is to assess the applicability of a petrous bone sampling method in combination with Next Generation sequencing to evaluate the quality and quantity of DNA in taphonomically degraded petrous bones from forensic and cemetery cases. A related aim is to analyse the genomic data to obtain the molecular sex of each individual, and their most probable geographic origin. six of seven subjects were previously identified and used for comparison with the results. To analyse their probable geographic origin, samples were genotyped for the 627.719 SNP positions. Results show that the inner ear cochlear region of the petrous bone provides good percentages of endogenous DNA (14.61-66.89%), even in the case of burnt bodies. All comparisons between forensic records and genetic results agree (sex) and are compatible (geographic origin). The application of the proposed methodology may be a powerful tool for use in forensic scenarios, ranging from missing persons to unidentified migrants who perish when crossing borders. One of the main focuses of forensic anthropology is to facilitate the personal identification of human remains. Forensic anthropologists assess biological parameters in order to narrow the potential matches and which can also assist in a personal identification (or "positive identification"). The aim of personal identification is to obtain an exact match between postmortem data and the data associated with a specific person, for instance by comparison of specific bony traits with antemortem radiographs (e.g. frontal sinus comparison), surgical implants (e.g. manufacturer information/serial number) and comparison using dental prosthesis or unique dental features. Often, taphonomic alterations heavily damage diagnostic skeletal traits thus limiting the scope and level of confidence of the biological profile which can be generated by the anthropological analysis 1. Degradation and alteration factors can be physical or biological, including water, temperature, burial depth, acidity, clothing, insect activity, carnivore activity, bodily trauma, as described by Mann et al. 2. Recently, cutting edge developments in molecular genetics have had a major impact on forensic anthropology and legal medicine; for instance, the identification of human remains on the basis of DNA data obtained from the body which is then compared to various genetic databases of family members of missing persons (e.g. National Missing Persons DNA Database-NMPDD) 3. Ancient DNA studies which focus on the degradation of DNA are particularly relevant to forensic research since DNA molecules fragments size decrease rapidly after death, with the average length of fragments extracted from hard tissues (bone and teeth) of ancient or sub-ancient human

Journal of Irish Archaeology, 2019

Some historians have argued that, in the two centuries before the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169, ... more Some historians have argued that, in the two centuries before the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169, the culture of governance in Ireland exhibited characteristics of feudalism — a model of social-political organisation commonly believed to have originated in post-Carolingian western Europe. In that context, the late Donnchadh Ó Corráin drew attention in 1972 to the annalistic records of native Irish kings starting to build ‘castles’ — regarded by modern scholarship as indicators par excellence of feudalism — in the early twelfth century. Over the past 30 years, Irish archaeologists have speculated on the nature of these castles but have engaged with neither the theory that they signify a feudal order nor the meaning of the construct of feudalism itself. Both issues are addressed in this paper, whose main title questions the subtitle of Tom McNeill’s 1997 book on Irish castles. As a necessary exercise, the relationship between feudalism and castle-building in France (the birthplace of the theory of a relationship) and England prior to the twelfth century is explored. It is suggested, based on a rethinking of that relationship in France in particular, that the archaeological study of native encastellation in pre-Norman Ireland is best served by consciously excluding the construct of feudalism from the analysis.

Surveying Ireland’s Past, 2004

European Journal of Post-Classical Archaeologies, 2019

This paper is divided into two parts. The first outlines the development of the discipline of med... more This paper is divided into two parts. The first outlines the development of the discipline of medieval archaeology on the island of Ireland since the 1950s, highlighting some of the key research outputs produced by archaeologists. The second focuses on research into the archaeology of the period from AD 900 to 1300, which is the period which surrounds the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169, and the argument is made that a better understanding of the archaeological evidence requires a paradigm shift.

Journal of Irish Archaeology, 2018

Almost 30 years on from David Austin’s advocacy of a praxis informed by the postprocessual develo... more Almost 30 years on from David Austin’s advocacy of a praxis informed by the postprocessual developments that had recently revolutionised prehistory, the discipline of medieval archaeology remains in the long shadow of medieval history, with no indisputable claim to possess an authentically independent epistemology. Relatively few medieval archaeologists anywhere bought so fully into the type of theory-led research which Austin had adumbrated that they loosened their reliance on historical evidence or questioned established ways of reasoning. It is suggested in this paper that a theoretical sensibility can indeed liberate medieval archaeology from an overdependence on medieval history, but that it will probably not be achieved unless archaeologists think about the nature of narrativism, which is the organisation and presentation of historical data in narrative, or storytelling, form.This paper was conceived in large part as a missive to graduate stu- dents in Ireland who are interested in exploring the potential of theory in medieval archaeology. Using some Irish examples to illustrate some of the points that are made, it invites them to provide leadership to the wider international discipline by developing a consciousness of those ideas about narrativism which practising historians (as distinct from philosophers of history) rarely address.

Dublin's Monto was among the most notorious red-light districts in the world during the Victorian... more Dublin's Monto was among the most notorious red-light districts in the world during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Although less than a square kilometer in area, the number of prostitutes working there was reputedly the largest in Europe at the time. A concerted campaign over several decades by Christian activists to have its brothels closed down eventually bore fruit shortly after Irish independence, and during the subsequent decades the houses and streets were cleared away. Virtually nothing survives today. Even the original street names have been changed. This paper tells the story of the landscape and people of the now-forgotten Monto from its birth in the 1870s to its death in the 1920s.

Ruralia XII: Transitions and Transformations in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside

Draft paper for Ruralia XII: Transitions and Transformations in the Medieval and Early Modern Cou... more Draft paper for Ruralia XII: Transitions and Transformations in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside in Brady, N. and Theune, C. edited volume forthcoming

T. O'Keeffe (2017) 'Trim before 1224: new thoughts on the caput of de Lacy lordship in Ireland' I... more T. O'Keeffe (2017) 'Trim before 1224: new thoughts on the caput of de Lacy lordship in Ireland' In: P. Duffy, T. O'Keeffe & J.-M. Picard (eds). From Carrickfergus to Carcassonne. The Epic Deeds of Hugh de Lacy during the Albigensian Crusade. Brussels: Brepols. , pp.31-56

P. Duffy, T. O'Keeffe and J.-M. Picard (2017) 'The Cathar Heresy and Anglo-Norman Ireland' In: P.... more P. Duffy, T. O'Keeffe and J.-M. Picard (2017) 'The Cathar Heresy and Anglo-Norman Ireland' In: P. Duffy, T. O'Keeffe and J.-M. Picard (eds). From Carrickfergus to Carcassonne. The Epic Deeds of Hugh de Lacy during the Albigensian Crusade. Turnhout: Brepols. , pp.1-6

T. O'Keeffe (2018) 'The design of the early thirteenth-century cathedral church of Newtown Trim, ... more T. O'Keeffe (2018) 'The design of the early thirteenth-century cathedral church of Newtown Trim, Co. Meath' Riocht na Mide 29

T. O'Keeffe (2018) 'Archaeologies of a medieval Irish castle: thinking about Trim' In: S.Silliman... more T. O'Keeffe (2018) 'Archaeologies of a medieval Irish castle: thinking about Trim' In: S.Silliman (eds). Engaging Archaeology: 25 Case Studies in Research Practice. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. , pp.167-174

D. Kelly & T. O'Keeffe (2018) 'A new world man in an old world town: the identification of Sir Wa... more D. Kelly & T. O'Keeffe (2018) 'A new world man in an old world town: the identification of Sir Walter Raleigh's residence in late sixteenth-century Youghal, Co. Cork'. International Journal Of Historical Archaeology,

P. Duffy & T. O'Keeffe (2017) 'A stone shrine for a relic of St Thomas Becket in Dublin?' Archaeo... more P. Duffy & T. O'Keeffe (2017) 'A stone shrine for a relic of St Thomas Becket in Dublin?' Archaeology Ireland 34 (1)

CHARITABLE CONSTRUCTIONS Author(s): David Kelly and Tadhg O’Keeffe Source: Archaeology Ireland, V... more CHARITABLE CONSTRUCTIONS
Author(s): David Kelly and Tadhg O’Keeffe
Source: Archaeology Ireland, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Spring 2018), pp. 30-34

T. O'Keeffe (2017) 'A cryptic puzzle from medieval Dublin: the pre-Gothic architecture of Christ ... more T. O'Keeffe (2017) 'A cryptic puzzle from medieval Dublin: the pre-Gothic architecture of Christ Church Cathedral' Archaeology Ireland 31 (2) :39-43

T. O'Keeffe (2017) 'Routes across the familiar past: reflections on the NRA excavations and the c... more T. O'Keeffe (2017) 'Routes across the familiar past: reflections on the NRA excavations and the challenge facing the 'post-medieval' archaeology of rural Ireland' In: M. Stanley, R. Swan & A. O'Sullivan (eds). Stories of Ireland's Past: knowledge gained from NRA roads archaeology. Dublin: Transport Infrastructure Ireland. , pp.153-164

Disproves the so-called 'Templar' origins of this site and argues instead that it was an early se... more Disproves the so-called 'Templar' origins of this site and argues instead that it was an early semi-fortified manor house of an estate belonging to the Knights' Hospitallers

The Journal of Medieval Monastic Studies, 6 (2017), 51–76, 2017

Journal of Irish Archaeology, 2019

Surveying Ireland’s Past, 2004

European Journal of Post-Classical Archaeologies, 2019

Journal of Irish Archaeology, 2018

Ruralia XII: Transitions and Transformations in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside

Places and Spaces, Medieval to Modern is an exciting series that brings together new research and... more Places and Spaces, Medieval to Modern is an exciting series that brings together new research and innovative approaches to explore the material and imagined landscapes, environments and locales through which people engaged with each other and their surroundings in the Middle Ages. In the context of the ongoing “spatial turn” in the arts and humanities globally, the series seeks to shape the field of medieval studies through connecting both academic and practitioner research across disciplines including history, geography, literature, architecture, archaeology, heritage science, and tourism studies, as well as those working in heritage conservation, management, interpretation, and marketing of medieval spaces and places today.

To achieve this, the series invites contributions which share an interest in exploring medieval spaces, places and spatial practices through the widest possible range of spatial and temporal contexts, from urban to rural environments, sacred to secular settings, real and imagined geographies, and in relation to diverse ethnic, social and cultural communities, as well as research which offers new perspectives on medieval spaces in the modern world. We welcome monographs, essay collections and minigraphs (45,000-60,000 words) from scholars, and from practitioners. Interdisciplinary work, multi-disciplinary essay collections, practice-led research, and proposals which seek to challenge other kinds of boundaries or divides in scholarship are particularly welcomed.

Archaeology Ireland, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Winter 2017), pp. 18-23

Medieval Irish Architecture and the Concept of Romanesque Building Traditions in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Europe, 2024

This book presents a fresh perspective on eleventh-and twelfth-century Irish architecture, and a ... more This book presents a fresh perspective on eleventh-and twelfth-century Irish architecture, and a critical assessment of the value of describing it, and indeed contemporary European architecture in general, as "Romanesque". Medieval Irish Architecture and the Concept of Romanesque is a new and original study of medieval architectural culture in Ireland. The book's central premise is that the concept of a "Romanesque" style in eleventh-and twelfth-century architecture across Western Europe, including Ireland, is problematic, and that the analysis of building traditions of that period is not well served by the assumption that there was a common style. Detailed discussion of important buildings in Ireland, a place marginalised within the "Romanesque" model, reveals the Irish evidence to be intrinsically interesting to students of medieval European architecture, for it is evidence which illuminates how architectural traditions of the Middle Ages were shaped by balancing native and imported needs and aesthetics, often without reference to Romanitas. This book is for specialists and students in the fields of Romanesque, medieval archaeology, medieval architectural history, and medieval Irish studies. is Full Professor of Archaeology in University College Dublin (Ireland), where he has taught since 1996. A specialist in medieval archaeology, he has lectured and published extensively on medieval buildings and on urban and rural settlements and landscapes.