Thomas Johnson Westropp

Thomas Johnson Westropp (1860-1922) was an Irish antiquarian.

Early life

Westropp, a notable antiquarian in Victorian Ireland and a collector of folklore, was born at Attyflin Park, Patrickswell, County Limerick. Westropp's family were of English origin and settled in County Limerick in the mid 16th century. The family married into the O'Callaghans of Clare and were large landowners in both Clare and Tipperary in the 19th century. Thomas Johnson Westropp was the most recognised member of the family due to his deep interest in the history and folklore of the counties Clare and Limerick and his observations of many of the megalithic and Iron Age monuments of these counties.

From a very young age Thomas Johnson Westropp displayed an intense interest in the antiquities of County Limerick, Co. Mayo and County Clare and began making notes on the topography, antiquities and folklife of areas visited during trips. He attended the University of Dublin where he graduated in 1882 with a Master of Arts degree and as a civil engineer in 1885. Westropp was apprenticed to the eminent engineer Bindon Blood Stoney who was responsible for altering the structure of the port of Dublin enabling large vessels to navigate it at all times. Westropp went on to become assistant surveyor for County Meath, but by 1888 he had abandoned professional work to pursue his archaeological interests. He spent the remainder of his life researching antiquities in Co. Clare and the rest of the western seaboard, including the promontory forts of Erris, north west Co. Mayo. ^[1] ^[2] He drew accurate sketches of buildings, remains of antiquities, grave slabs etc. throughout Ireland. Many of these sketches are held by the Royal Irish Academy. His publications are widely available in libraries throughout the west of Ireland. His work is a very valuable resource in the state of antiquities in Ireland around the turn of the 20th century. [1][2]

Survey of Antiquities of County Clare

Thomas Johnson Westropp, during the course of his extensive survey of the field monuments of County Clare, became fascinated by the variety and vividness of the innumerable folk tales still being recited by the country people. He gathered these tales, beliefs and customs over many years and published them in a series of articles which appeared in ‘Folk-Lore: Transactions of the Folk-Lore Society’ between 1910 and 1913. In 2006 these folk-tales were published on the internet by the County Clare Library.^[3] The folk-tales are of particular relevance to the oral history of County Clare as they preserve many of the folk-tales of the peasantry that were still remembered late last century. Westropp also undertook research into the early history of Clare and Limerick - known by its ancient name Thomond - through publishing a series of three articles about the Normans in Thomond as well as other articles focusing on the palaces of early Killaloe and other articles on prehistoric stone-forts and notes on the 'peel towers'or tower houses of Clare.

Westropp's contribution to Irish and the history of County Clare was significant and he was acknowledged as the leading antiquary of Limerick and Clare early in the twenieth century. His contribution to the study of folk-lore was also significant and his methods and the scope of his work later provided the foundation for the work of the Irish Folklore Commission in Ireland during the 1930s and 1940s.

Articles on Local History

Some was Westropp's more notable articles are his three part historical essay on the "Normans in Thomond, 1275-1287"; "The Normans in Thomond 1287-1313" and "The Normans in Thomond 1313-1318". Westropp's other important contributions to Irish antiquities include the following articles:

The Promontory Forts and Early Remains of the coasts of County Mayo [3]
"Killaloe and Its Ancient Palaces and Cathedral" [4]
"Types of Ring-forts and Similar Structures Remaining in Eastern Clare (the Newmarket Group)"[5] ;
"Prehistoric Stone Forts of Central Clare - Moghane and Langough, near Dromoland"[6]
"Notes on the Lesser Castles or 'Peel Towers' of the County of Clare" [7].

Most libraries throughout the country will have the work of Thomas Johnston Westropp in store or will be able to acquire same. He contributed a vast amount of work listed here from the National Library of Ireland [8]