Background
He was born in Dublin, the son of a merchant, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated Bachelor in Natural Sciences.
He was born in Dublin, the son of a merchant, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated Bachelor in Natural Sciences.
High School, Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin.
He was later awarded M.Sc (1935) and Master of Arts (1937). He became Assistant to the Professor of Geology, Knud Jessen, in 1934 and under his guidance carried out field studies of post-glacial sediments in Ireland. His lifetime interest, however, was in integrating the various disciplines in the study of the Irish natural environment and he developed interests in fields such as botany and archaeology.
He bought Townley Hall from Trinity College and turned it into a study centre, which he personally funded and which enabled research in several different disciplines, particularly archaeological investigations at Knowth.
He was granted a Junior Fellowship at Trinity College in 1944, followed by a readership in Irish Archaeology and then appointed to the Chair of Quaternary Studies in 1965. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1973.
And medallist several learned societies
Married Lucy M. Gwynn in 1940 (died in 1987).