Short Biography of James Hardiman
James Hardiman1 (1782-1855) was born in Westport Co Mayo, spent his early childhood in Galway, entered
King’s Inns Dublin (1809) to study law and was admitted a solicitor (1814). His first major work as a
historian was History of the town and county of Galway (1820), for which he researched sources in TCD, the
Record Tower at Dublin castle, the British Museum, the town records of Galway, Irish annals, and the
Bodleian library, Oxford. In keeping with his breadth of interests, in December 1827 Hardiman travelled in
Longford and Roscommon collecting Irish verse and songs which led to his major anthology, Irish
minstrelsy: or, Bardic remains of Ireland (2 vols, 1831). He was a founder member of the Irish
Archaeological Society in 1840 and in 1846 he became a founder member of the Celtic Society. On the
establishment of Queen’s College Galway (1849), Hardiman was appointed librarian, having declined the
chair of Irish. He was a prominent member of the Royal Galway Institute (later Galway chamber of
commerce), was instrumental in providing the institute's royal charter, and bestowed on its library some
1,000 volumes. Hardiman's personal library, attesting again to his deep roots as a historian and scholar,
was one of the most valuable Irish collections to come to market, and went to auction in 1,648 lots on 26
March 1856. Among the manuscripts offered for sale was Hardiman's eighteen-volume set of notes, as well
as primary sources relating to Galway Corporation, dating from 1679 to 1818.
James Hardiman displayed the breadth of interest, expertise and scholarship that led to the naming of the
award in his honour. His life and works will hopefully provide a source of inspiration to all those upcoming
researchers who will be awarded the accolade of Hardiman Research Scholars.
The James Hardiman Library at NUI, Galway, is also named in his honour and is home to a range of theatre,
literary, historical, political archives (http://www.library.nuigalway.ie/collections/archives/). Collections
include the archives of the Druid and Lyric theatres and of Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, the literary papers of
John McGahern and Tom Kilroy, and original documents relating to the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic
Association and the Northern Ireland “Troubles”. Complementing the archives at NUI Galway is a range of
special collections, acquired since 1849. Particular strengths include folklore, the literary output of seminal
Anglo-Irish writers like Douglas Hyde and Lady Augusta Gregory, Irish language materials and nineteenthand twentieth-century travel literature relating to Ireland. The Library’s book collections number 463,000
volumes. Online information resources include access to over 37,000 e-journals and 325,000 e-books and
provide wonderful resources to researcher at NUI Galway.
1
McGuire, JI and Quinn J (eds) (2009) Dictionary of Irish Biography, Royal Irish Academy, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.