Dáire O'Rourke: DÁIRE O'ROURKE, who has died aged 45, was city archaeologist with Dublin Corporation. She played a major role in developing policies for the local authority and promoting the tourism and heritage benefits of a more progressive approach to preserving the city's early and medieval history.
Born in Dublin in 1965, O’Rourke was educated at the Holy Faith Convent, Glasnevin, and at University College Dublin. She graduated in 1986 in archaeology and history. A master’s degree in archaeology followed, for which she was awarded the Ruaidhrí de Valera Memorial Prize. She supported herself through college by working as a bus conductor.
Her first professional job in archaeology was working on the excavations of medieval Wexford and on a variety of sites elsewhere in Ireland and Germany. Her specialisation in ancient leather shoes from Viking Dublin equipped her to be the expert reporting on rich leather finds from Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Dublin. By the early 1990s she had moved from being a research assistant and supervisor on excavations to directing excavations herself.
In August 1991 she moved to Dublinia as a researcher, rising through the posts of education and research officer to become assistant director by June 1995. In that year she became city archaeologist with Dublin Corporation, where her innate abilities to think strategically and to organise work came fully into play. She excelled not only in solving day-to-day problems, but in developing a vision for the role of city archaeologist.
From the mid-1990s the pace of development in Dublin city was accelerating and, in the historic core, development and heritage interests frequently clashed. Managing development to preserve the archaeological resource, or to ensure its systematic excavation, was a constant challenge, but the application of principles and a consistent approach were the hallmark of Dáire’s methodology.
She advised on the archaeological implications of integrated area plans; developed a strategy for the industrial archaeology of Dublin; and improved the assessment and mapping of the archaeological potential of the city. Her hard work paid off, by underscoring the need for the city to have systematic archaeological policies.
Meanwhile, her willingness to explore other desirable developments, including the tourism potential of some of the older areas of the city, showed flair and imagination. She brought to this work not just her keen intellect, but also her considerable skills as a negotiator and persuader. It gave her a clear insight into the stresses and strains of working for the benefit of heritage within a frequently fraught atmosphere of developmental priorities.
During her time as city archaeologist, important excavations took place which previously might not have happened or might have been carried out to unrealistic deadlines and under too much pressure. Much development-led excavation in the 1990s took place literally in front of the blade of the bulldozer. All of this was excellent preparation for her next appointment, in 2001, as chief archaeologist of the National Roads Authority (NRA), at a time of intense pressure in the redevelopment of existing roads and the construction of motorways.
In some cases, most notably with the M3 and the site of Tara and at Carrickmines in Co Dublin, the conflict between advocates of archaeology on the one hand and development on the other became heated. Dáire’s insistence on a clear vision for the work for which she was ultimately responsible was nowhere more clearly seen than in the development of suitable protocols for the conduct of archaeological excavations on the road schemes.
The agreement in 2000 between the NRA and the State archaeological services was crucial, and Dáire’s task was to put it into effect. A regime of geophysical and other prospection was put in place along the lines of proposed roadways to establish more accurately the full extent of the archaeological resource likely to be affected by construction. Excavations were begun well in advance of construction.
The remit of the NRA was to build and maintain arterial roads. It was by no means an archaeological enterprise, but it is a testament to Dáire’s skills of persuasion that so much attention was paid on her watch to identification and recording of the archaeological heritage. She built up a team of committed colleagues in the NRA who responded enthusiastically to her directness, her work ethic, her good humour, courage and collegiality.
Dáire died at a young age from an illness which she bore uncomplainingly, and always with great courage. During her treatment at St James’s Hospital following the implementation of EU Clinical Trials Directive, she was asked by her consultant to join the St James/Tallaght Ethics Committee as a patient representative. This was a task which she took on with enthusiasm and commitment, and continued until she was no longer capable of participating. There is something so characteristic of her in this – her intellectual curiosity, her commitment to being of practical help, and the decency and humanity which were her great underlying strengths.
In her final illness, she was cared for devotedly by her husband Ed (Bourke), her family and by close friends. Her funeral Mass saw the Oblate Fathers’ church in Inchicore thronged with the very many people whose lives she had touched professionally and personally.
She was a remarkable person who packed a great deal of achievement into her short life. She will be greatly missed.
Dáire O’Rourke: Born March 8th, 1965; Died April 28th, 2010