O'Rahilly's historical model is a theory of Irish prehistory put forward by Celtic scholar T. F. O'Rahilly in 1946. It was based on his study of the influences on the Irish language and a critical analysis of Irish mythology.
He distinguished four separate waves of Celtic invaders:
- The Cruithne or Priteni (c. 700 – 500 BC)
- The Builg or Érainn (c. 500 BC)
- The Laigin, the Domnainn and the Gálioin (c. 300 BC)
- The Goidels or Gael (c. 100 BC)
O'Rahilly's work was and remains influential but much of his linguistic work has since been refuted by noted authors such as Kenneth Jackson and John T. Koch and is not generally the accepted model.
Nevertheless, and independent of his linguistic arguments, O'Rahilly's categorizations of most Irish kin groups generally remain accepted, although with important exceptions, e.g. those he believed were the true Gaels cannot actually be demonstrated to be. In any case it is this historical aspect of his work which is most frequently cited in current scholarship.
Read more about O'Rahilly's Historical Model: The Pretanic Colonisation, The Bolgic or Ernean Invasion, The Laginian Invasion, The Goidelic Invasion
Famous quotes containing the words historical and/or model:
“After so many historical illustrations of the evil effects of abandoning the policy of protection for that of a revenue tariff, we are again confronted by the suggestion that the principle of protection shall be eliminated from our tariff legislation. Have we not had enough of such experiments?”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“The Battle of Waterloo is a work of art with tension and drama with its unceasing change from hope to fear and back again, change which suddenly dissolves into a moment of extreme catastrophe, a model tragedy because the fate of Europe was determined within this individual fate.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)