Funeral on Monday of accomplished Tara-born professor

The funeral takes place in Slane on Monday next of Alfred P Smyth, the Tara-born former Professor of Medieval History at the University of Kent at Canterbury, England, who has died, aged 74.

The author of many major books and papers on Irish, British and Scandanavian history, he was for a period Warden of St George's House, Windsor Castle, where he worked closely with the Duke of Edinburgh in organising conferences and seminars.
Alfred Patrick Smyth, of Godmersham, Kent, died on Sunday 16th October at Pilgrim’s Hospice, Canterbury, after an illness of just under a year.

The hugely accomplished academic who never lost touch with his Meath roots and had a great pride in his native county, its heritage and history, will be laid to rest with his forebears on the Hill of Slane on Monday.

He was born on 1st July 1942 at Jordanstown House, Tara, to Mary Josephine (nee O’Brien) and Alfred P Smyth, BE, BSc, who was a civil engineer with Meath County Council. 

Following an education at Skryne NS and St Finian's College in Mullingar, he graduated with a first class honours BA in Archaeology and Early Irish History at University College, Dublin, and in 1966, he won a scholarship to pursue a Doctorate in Philosophy at Jesus College, Oxford. Before starting it, he spent a year in Iceland, at Reykjavik University, learning the language to better understand the Norse sagas which were an integral part of his research and later teaching.
In 1972, he was appointed a Research Fellow in Birmingham University School of History, before securing a position in the history department at the University of Kent at Canterbury in 1973, where he spent the next 24 years, rising to become Professor of Medieval History and master of his college, Keynes. He was also the university's public orator, delivering addresses at Canterbury Cathedral and awarding honorary degrees.
In 1997, he was appointed Warden of St George's House, Windsor Castle, where he worked with Prince Philip organising conferences and seminars on a range of theological and secular topics.
He returned to Canterbury in 1999 as Director of Research and latterly Dean of Humanities at Canterbury Christ Church University. He was part of the University’s senior management team during a period of rapid growth and adoption of full university status.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret (nee O'Connell) whom he married in 1969; daughter, Hilary; son, Edmund; sister, Angela; brother, Desmond, both Dublin; son-in-law, Alex; daughter-in-law, Rosie; grandchildren, Daniel, Thomas, Margaret-Rose and Cora; niece, Jennifer; nephew, Desmond; extended family, neighbours and many friends on both sides of the Irish Sea. A sister, Verona, died in 1950.
The funeral Mass takes place at St Patrick's Church, Slane, on Monday next, 31st October, at noon. Donations, in lieu of flowers, can be made to Pilgrims Hospices (www.pilgrimshospices.org).

 

A full obituary appears in this week's Meath Chronicle print edition