John Windele was a native of Cork city. As an adult he was employed in the sheriff’s office and lived at Blair’s Hill on the outskirts of the city. He had a particular interest in archaeology and joined with others interested in antiquities to explore Counties Cork and Kerry, including islands such as Skellig Michael and Inis Tuaisceart. He became a member of the South Munster Antiquarian Society (forerunner of the Cork Archaeological Society) and in 1836 was a founder member of the Cork Cuvierian Society through which he could pursue his interest in antiquities. Architecture and druidism were other interests. Sketching antiquities in the landscape and collecting archaeological artefacts such as gold ornaments and Ogham stones were among his pursuits. Most of his collection of gold objects and Ogham stones is now in the National Museum of Ireland; one of the Ogham stones he helped preserve is in University College Cork.

Some of Windele’s early antiquarian and topographical researches on Kerry and West Cork were published in Bolster’s Quarterly Magazine in the late 1820s (NLI, MS 25,627 contains his original manuscript drafts of this material). His book on Historical and descriptive notices of the city of Cork and its vicinity: Gougaun-Barra, Glengariff and Killarney was first published in 1839 and regularly reprinted. James Coleman later prepared an abridged and annotated edition, published as Windele’s Cork in 1910. Windele also wrote a Hand-book to Killarney, through Bantry, Glengariff & Kenmare (1844), A guide to Cove and the harbour of Cork (1840), and a short pamphlet on The Irish antiquities of the National Exhibition (Cork, 1853).

John Windele assembled numerous scrapbooks of his own research notes, which included extracts from the researches of his contemporaries. These were arranged in a series of bound volumes, and include cuttings from printed sources. His notes on antiquities are illustrated with many small sketches, and include occasional lithographs that he commissioned.

The Royal Irish Academy collection includes twenty-four volumes of Windele’s notes on Irish history and antiquities (RIA MSS 3 B 41–42; 3 C 28; 12 C 102; 12 C 4; 12 C 9; 12 F 32, 12 G 15, 12 I 6–8; 12 I 20; 12 K 4; 12 K 17; 12 M 10–12; 12 N 18; 12 O 7; 24 C 26) eleven volumes on antiquities in County Cork (RIA MSS 12 I 4; 12 I 9–12; 12 K 15–16; 12 K 20; 12 K 24–5; 12 L 3; 24 I 6), and a further six on Munster and the south of Ireland (RIA MSS 12 C 3; 12 C 11; 12 K 27–8; 24 B 17). Other specialised volumes in the collection relate to architecture (RIA MSS 12 C 5; 12 K 21, 12 M 15), druidism (RIA MSS 12 F 19; 12 L 4), and ogham inscriptions (RIA MSS 12 C 12; 12 K 29–31).

Windele corresponded with many other researchers interested in antiquities, folklore and literature. His papers in the Royal Irish Academy include thirty-three volumes of this extensive correspondence: RIA MSS 4 B 1– 4 B 23 (4 B 24 is an index to foregoing); RIA MSS 12 K 6 and RIA MSS 12 L 5–12 L 12.

His interest in literature brought him into contact with Jeremiah J. Callanan (1795–1829), a Cork poet and translator. In the years after Callanan’s early death in Lisbon in 1829, John Windele made copies of some of his poems, notes and correspondence. This Callanan material is in one bound volume: RIA MS 12 I 13 (microfilm N5028).

Windele was largely self-taught, and studied the Irish language to an advanced level. He collected some Irish manuscripts and employed scribes to make copies of others. He worked on English translations of some of the Irish manuscripts he owned. These were among the items from his extensive collection that were purchased by the Royal Irish Academy after his death in 1865. Irish language manuscripts from his collection are catalogued in the printed Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in the Royal Irish Academy (Dublin, 1926-70).

Windele’s personal collection of books, artefacts and manuscripts was auctioned by John Fleming Jones, Dublin, in December 1865. Most of his manuscripts were purchased for the Royal Irish Academy. Some additional Windele manuscript material is in the National Library of Ireland, including some correspondence with George Petrie, while other volumes of his antiquarian research notes remain in private hands.

Further reading

Mary Cahill, ‘John Windele’s golden legacy: prehistoric and later gold ornaments from Co. Cork’, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 106C (2006), pp. 219–337.

Mary Cahill & Aideen Ireland, ‘John Windele’s antiquarian scholarship’, in Treasures of the Royal Irish Academy Library edited by Bernadette Cunningham & Siobhán Fitzpatrick (Dublin, 2009), pp. 229–235.

Catalogue of books, including the library of the late John Windele …, John Fleming Jones (Dublin, 1865). A copy of this can be found in the National Library of Ireland, NLI LO P 645(8).

Joan Rockley, ‘John Windele’, in Leabhar na Longanach : the Ó Longáin family and their manuscripts edited by Pádraig Ó Macháin & Sorcha Nic Lochlainn (Cork, 2018), pp. 139–160.

‘Windele, John, “Trismagistus MacSlatt”, Seághan Bhindele’ Dictionary of Irish Biography