Alan Harrison: Alan Harrison, who has died aged 61, was professor of Irish at University College Dublin. An expert in 17th- and 18th-century Irish literature, he published studies of the Irish-speaking clergyman, Anthony Raymond, a friend of Jonathan Swift, and John Toland, the controversial philosopher. He was editing Toland's letters at the time he became ill.
His background informed his researches. A former boy chorister at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, where his uncle, John Armstrong, was a former dean, he consequently had a special understanding of the milieu in which Jonathan Swift lived.
The dedication in his groundbreaking 1999 book, The Dean's Friend: Anthony Raymond 1675-1726, reads: "To deans past and present who have been also friends." In the preface he wrote: "I felt a certain sympathy with Raymond because like myself he had been raised a member of the Church of Ireland, had been educated in Trinity College Dublin, and had become an Irish language scholar and enthusiast."
Born on November 19th, 1943, he was one of the two children of Reg and Marjorie Harrison of Terenure, Dublin. His father was a barrister, who in the 1950s edited the Law Reports Digest of Cases.
He shone academically at Wesley College, and was also a keen sportsman. Captain of both the senior rugby cup team and the senior cricket XI in 1962, he was selected for Leinster Schools in both sports. As a student at Trinity, he gained a place on the 1966 colours team as hooker and later played for the Old Wesley first team. After hanging up his boots he excelled in badminton and squash.
He read ancient and modern literature (Latin and Irish) at TCD, majoring in Irish. His lecturers included Máirtín Ó Cadhain and David Greene, and he graduated with a BA(Mod) in 1966. Although not a native Irish speaker, he developed a deep knowledge of the language during his time as a student.
It was honed by many visits to the Kerry Gaeltacht and by his involvement in An Cumann Gaelach. At David Greene's suggestion he chose crosántacht, a form of comic satire comprising prose and verse, as the subject of his PhD thesis (1973).
In 1967, he secured an appointment in the Department of Modern Irish at UCD among Prof Tomás de Bhaldraithe's expanding staff. He soon became senior lecturer and, in 1994, associate professor.
As well as 17th- and 18th-century literature, he loved and taught the modern authors. The Blasket Island and other autobiographies, Seán Ó Ríordáin and Máire Mhac an tSaoi were important to him and he enjoyed a well-earned reputation, not only as a fine and witty lecturer, but also as a kindly and effective teacher. Fear caoin, oide mín ("a kind man and a gentle instructor") is how he is affectionately remembered by one of his earliest students.
His departmental colleagues, by whom he will be especially missed, held him in the highest regard as one who was always ready to offer sound advice. During more than three decades in the Irish department, he proved ever imaginative and tireless in promoting the development of new programmes and helping to consolidate the department's teaching and research base.
He did much to bring about the introduction of the modular degree for night students at UCD, and was particularly pleased at the number of mature students who were successful in securing degrees. He was in July 2002 appointed director of quality assurance at the college.
A founder member of the Eighteenth Century Ireland Society, he co-edited the society's journal for a number of years. He was a contributing editor of the Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing (1991) and contributed to a wide range of journals including the Irish University Review, Cahiers de Gita and Études Irlandaises.
His books include Ag Crinniú Meala: Anthony Raymond (1675-1726) agus léann na Gaeilge i mBaile Átha Cliath (1988), The Irish Trickster (1989) and Béal eiriciúil as Inis Eoghain: John Toland (1670-1722) (1994).
With Philip and Richard McGuinness, he edited Toland's Christianity not Mysterious; and he was joint editor of Seanchas Annie Bhán (1997), folklore collected by Gordon Mac Gill-Fhinnein from a sister of Séamus Ó Grianna and Seosamh Mac Grianna.
Most recently he wrote the introduction to a new edition of Hubert Butler's Ten Thousand Saints, to be published next year.
For many years he was a highly-respected member of the board of the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. He also served on the Wesley College board of governors and was a trustee of AFS International, a New York-based organisation dedicated to cultural understanding among nations.
For many years he sailed to France and back each summer with Bill O'Riordan, a UCD colleague. Such was the number of books brought on board in case they were becalmed that some friends thought they were ballast.
He was passionate and knowledgeable about birds. Not only could he identify the songs of every bird but he could also respond, mimicking their song. A walk in the woods with him was a fascinating experience.
Always cheerful and easy-going, he had a wide circle of friends. He and his wife, Corinne, hosted many students while they were in Dublin and some returned from France, Italy and Greece to attend his funeral, reflecting the affection that he inspired.
He bore his final illness with fortitude and patience. His sense of humour never deserted him and, shortly before his death, remarked he had finally realised that "rugby was only a game". His wife, Corinne (née Dennison), and son, Ashley, survive him.
Alan James Harrison: born November 19th, 1943; died April 22nd, 2005