Interview with Jerry Knowles

Interview with Jerome Knowles.

Mr Knowles, do you mind if I start by asking you, how did you meet Dr Gairne?

Please call me Jerry and no, I don’t mind at all. 

Orlagh and I met just over a year ago.  She was giving a talk one evening at the museum on Life in Celtic Ireland or something like that and when it was finished, I took the opportunity to chat with her.  I enjoyed her talk and I certainly enjoyed her company.  We hit it off from the start and our relationship has developed from there.

You are a student at Trinity College here in Dublin.  Can you tell me a little more about your area of study?

I am a student of history but what I do is a little different.  I specialise in Neo-Pagan faiths such as Wicca, Neo-Druidism, Germanic Neo-Paganism and Slavic Neo-Paganism just to name a few.  My area of study includes Polytheism, Animism and Pantheism, but there are others.  These are mostly ancient ethnic religions as found in historical folklore sources.  One of my favourite quotes is by JRR Tolkein; ‘the distortion of Germanic mythology by the Nazi regime, Hitler’s corruption of that noble northern spirit,’ which I used as a title for one of my papers.

Wow, that is an unusual area of study.  Why did you choose this subject?

I have to admit that it’s quite a specialised subject.  It stems from my interest in ancient religions and once I began to dig deeper I discovered that my questions outnumbered the answers. 

There is no set curriculum.  I have to attend a number of lectures then research around the subjects.  My essays have to satisfy both my tutors and the awarding body.  It is quite a unique course but the guidelines are very strict.

 I’m sure we could go discussing this fascinating subject all evening but unfortunately we have to move on.  From your accent, you are obviously an Englishman.  Where in England do you come from and why did you choose to study in Dublin?

I’m a Man of Kent and proud of it; that means I was born east of the River Medway.  We have a thing about that where I come from, you should look it up.

There are of course some very good universities in London, but I wanted to move away from home and London was not far enough.  I did a little research and narrowed my choice to Edinburgh or Dublin, the frozen north or the emerald isle?  The choice was not an easy one to make, but I ended up in Dublin and as it turns out, I made the right choice.

You come from a family of historians.  Tell me a little about that.

My father teaches history in a secondary school, but it was my great grandfather Sir Geoffrey Knowles who was the family historian.  He became quite well known after the discovery of the Belgae Torc in 1912.  Of course, he didn’t do it all alone, his archaeological partner was Sir Cecil Mountjoy and their benefactor Lord Sevington-Smythe.  Unfortunately, both men died in strange circumstances during the dig.  Some say that the whole project was cursed, a bit like when Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen.  The Belgae Torc was a significant find, but the terrible tragedies did nothing to dampen public interest in British history.

It was indeed an exciting time for British history.  Being an historian yourself, does this affect your relationship with Dr Gairne?

Our fields of experience are very different and we do at times find ourselves at loggerheads.  Our academic disagreements can be rather intense.  You see, Orlagh is very passionate about her work and her beliefs are not always shall we say rational.  She likes to believe in animal allies and she swears that she has experienced a dream quest, but I’m afraid that I don’t share some of her ideas.  You might say that we agree to disagree.  At times, we have had some amazing discussions and we regularly bounce ideas off each other.  She is an amazing source of information and this can be invaluable.

 Where do you see yourself going in the short term?

By this time next year, I should have completed my studies.  I don’t intend to become settled in a cosy research post at a university and I’m certainly not yet ready to teach.  I have one or two options developing but we will just have to wait and see.

Do you intend to return to England once you have completed your studies?

I can’t see myself going home, not just yet anyway.  I love it here in Ireland and intend to stick around for the foreseeable future.

Do you mind my asking; does your future include Dr Orlagh Gairne?

I very much hope so.

Would you care to elaborate?

No.  (Said with a cheeky grin).

Thank you to Jerome Knowles for talking with me so honestly. 

Katherine Kinsella in conjunction with the Peoples Independent Irish News.

May 2016