Thomas Crofton Croker

Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland. by Thomas Crofton Croker

Thomas Crofton Croker (15 January 1798 - 8 August 1854) was an Irish antiquary. Born at Cork, for some years Croker held a position in the Admiralty, where his distant relative, John Wilson Croker, was his superior. Croker devoted himself largely to the collection of ancient Irish poetry and Irish folklore. He assisted in founding the Percy Society and the Camden Society. He and his wife's testimonies about funereal customs, particularly the tradition of keening the deceased are among the earliest and most significant contributions to the understanding of the Irish language lament and the accompanying traditions. The first part of his Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland was published in 1825; it went to six editions, and was translated into German by the Brothers Grimm (Irische Elfenmarchen, 1826). Parts two and three followed in 1828, the latter including Croker's translation of the long Grimm preface to part one. Croker died in 1854 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.