Daniel Anthony Binchy (1899–1989)[1] was a scholar ofIrishlinguistics andearly Irish law.
He was educated atClongowes Wood College (1910–16),University College Dublin (UCD) and theKing's Inns (1917–20) after which he was called to thebar. He also studied at the universities ofMunich,Berlin andParis. From 1919 to 1920, he was Auditor of theLiterary and Historical Society of UCD.[2]
He served theDepartment of Foreign Affairs inBerlin asIreland's first ambassador to Germany, then ruled by theWeimar Republic, from 1929 to 1932.[3][4] While there he received instruction inOld Irish from pioneeringSwissCelticistRudolf Thurneysen. This allowed Binchy to read original manuscripts and begin his study ofearly Irish law. He was for a time the main academic investigating the legal system, and for some time, his ideas were the orthodoxy. While his contributions still underlie the foundations, some of his analysis, however, has since been re-examined. Many of his attempts to connect early Irish law toCeltic law and even toIndo-European law have come under considerable doubt.[citation needed] However, his contributions are also lasting on account of his production of numerous translations and editions of legal texts.
From 1949, he worked as a senior professor ofCeltic studies at theDublin Institute for Advanced Studies. His activities are affectionately satirized inBrian O'Nolan's poemBinchy andBergin andBest, originally printed in theCruiskeen Lawn column in theIrish Times and now included inThe Best of Myles.[5] He was a close friend ofFrank O'Connor.
His final major work, the six-volumeCorpus Iuris Hibernici, collected almost all texts in the native Irish legal tradition and thus offers later scholars a firm ground to stand upon.[6]
Binchy was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1962.[7] He was the uncle of the authorMaeve Binchy and of the academicWilliam Binchy.[citation needed]
