DILLON, Myles. Dublin 11.4.1900 — Dublin 18.6.1972. Irish Indologist and Linguist, partly in the U.S.A. Professor in Dublin, etc. Son of the well-known politician and freedom fighter John D. (1851–1927) and Elizabeth Mathew. Educated in Dublin and Wexford, then studies at University College (National University of Ireland), B.A. 1921, M.A. 1923. As a travelling fellow in 1922-25 further studies (mainly Celtology) at Berlin (Pokorny), Bonn (Thurneysen) and Heidelberg (Zimmer). In 1925-27 Reader of English at Sorbonne in Paris (and further studies under Vendryes, Meillet and Lévi). Ph.D. 1926 Bonn, M.A. 1930 Trinity College, Dublin. In 1928-30 Lecturer in Comparative Philology and Sanskrit at Trinity College in Dublin, 1930-37 the same at University College in Dublin. In 1937-46 Professor of Gaelic and Irish history and literature at University of Wisconsin, 1946-47 Professor of Celtic Philology and Comparative Linguistics at University of Chicago. Then for a while in Irish government service, i.al. as an attaché in London Embassy. After a brief time as Professor of Celtic at Edinburgh University he became Senior Professor of Celtic Studies at Institute for Advanced Studies in Dublin, and was in 1960-68 its director. Thus Boylan, but MacCana and Raghallaigh say that he moved directly from Chicago to Edinburgh (1947-49 there) and then to Dublin. In 1969-70 visiting Professor in India (Simla and Pune). Married 1938 Elizabeth Mary La Touche, three sons and two daughters.
Publications: The Nāṭakalakṣaṇa of Sāgaranandin. 1. Text. 20+147 p. Oxford 1937; translation of the same, The N.-ratnakośa of S., a 13th century Treatise on the Hindu Theater. Revised by M. Fowler and V. Raghavan. 74 p. Tr. Amer. Phil. Soc. N.S. 50:9. Philadelphia 1960.
– “The Hindu act of truth in Celtic tradition”, Modern Philology 44, 1947, 137-140; “Celt and Hindu”, VIJ 1, 1963, 203-223; Celts and Aryans. 153 p. Simla 1975.
– Important books about and translations from Old Irish, many articles, also on comparative Celtic and Indo-European philology.
Sources: H. Boylan, A Dict. of Irish Biography. 1978; P. MacC[ana], Annual Report of R. Irish Acad. 1972-73; E.Ó Raghallaigh, D.I.B. 3, 311f.; Dir. of Am. Sch. 1st ed. 1942; Wikipedia.
*J. Fischer and J. Dillon (eds.), The Correspondence of Myles Dillon, 1922—1925: Irish German Relations and Celtic Studies. Dublin 1998.
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