A well-known Co Longford teacher and folklorist, who was one of the oldest men in Ireland, has died.
Former primary-school teacher Patrick Greene, of Ballinalee, Co Longford, died peacefully at his home yesterday. He was 106.
Mr Greene received an honorary Master of Arts from NUI Galway in 2003, in recognition of his contribution to Irish education.
He was also recognised for his contribution to the Irish Folklore Commission, especially material he collected from the Traveller community.
Some 10,000 pages of material he collected, along with taped recordings, are now in the Irish folklore archive.
Mr Greene spent most of his 40-year career as principal of Lislea national school, close to the village in Ballinalee.
As part of his folklore studies, he also became an expert in the Traveller language, Cant, which he taught to the community.
Mr Greene gave the weekly classes to members of the Traveller community in Longford town. The town has a large community of settled Traveller families.
Speaking to The Irish Times in advance of receiving his honorary degree in October 2003, he said he had picked up the language from a Traveller woman 70 years previously. "It was in the early days of the Folklore Society. I had started collecting folklore, and I just stopped to talk to an old Traveller woman."
His funeral Mass will take place at noon tomorrow at the Holy Trinity Church, Ballinalee, followed by burial in St Emer's Cemetery, Ballinalee.