Tributes to ‘gentleman and scholar’ John Bryson

The archaeologist and medieval historian, Brian Lacey, described Mr Bryson’s landmark 2001 book as ‘a great testament to his scholarship’.

Mr Bryson had been had been working on a new edition of his book, which has been described as ‘one of the most comprehensive and authoritative histories of

the city ever written’, when he took ill last autumn.

He was regarded both in the city and beyond as a leading authority on medieval and post-Plantation Derry.

Professor Lacey said he had been very sorry to learn of his friend’s death: “From my perspective, he will be a great loss to everyone interested in the history of Derry. I knew John for about thirty, maybe forty, years. When I lived in Derry, he used to come to visit me in my office when he was home from London on holidays. He always had some fascinating historical morsel in the white plastic bag he invariably carried around with him.

“I was always greatly impressed by his knowledge of medieval Derry and the Gaelic sources - knowledge that wouldn’t have been very common. I think he

attributed his interest in those matters to his education at St Columb’s College.

“His book on the history of the street names of Derry is a great testament to his scholarship and unremitting research. But my main appreciation of John was for his researches on the medieval period and the wonderful reconstructed map of pre-Plantation Derry that he made. John and I didn’t always agree on matters of history - but that was immaterial. Good history is always a discourse - a discussion - rather than a set of hard and fast facts. John was literally, in the words of that great Irish compliment, ‘a gentleman and a scholar’. Ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh a anam uasal.” 

Born in January 1947, John Bryson was the only child of John and Georgia Bryson, formerly of 49 Duke Street, where his father owned an antique business.

He was educated at St Columb’s College and, upon completion of his degree at Queen’s University, went to work in England for 40 years.

An avid historian, Gaeilgeoir and lover of Derry, he published “The Streets of Derry”, with Guildhall Press in 2001, following more than a decade of research at the British Library in London.

When he took ill last autumn, he was in the process of updating the work for next year’s Columban aniversary and had just completed ‘The Bryson Map’

of ‘Daire’ - Derry as it would have looked in 1510.

Mr Bryson’s cousin and friend Danny McCay, who collaborated with him on research in recent years, revealed that John was also a very generous man.

“His father was a joiner and boat builder, who had a great respect for the Foyle and, as a tribute to him, John purchased a boat for Foyle Search and Rescue in February 2019 and named it ‘Spirit of John’ after his late father.

“His knowledge, wisdom, wit and presence on the streets of Derry will be sorely missed by all who knew him.”

Mr Bryson was never shy of controversy and supported Professor Lacey’s thesis that St Fiachra – and not Colmcille – had been the main founder of the original

Derry monastery.

He also disputed recent claims that the ruins in the grounds of Lumen Christi College had been a high round tower or part of the original (6th to 7th century) Columban monastery, arguing,, instead that it was more probably a medieval windmill. Mr Bryson used sketches and paintings of the area produced at the time of Plantation to back up his argument.

But the fastidious scholar also had more than a spark of devilment and, on completing the first edition of his book, decided to name a short road inside Ráth

Mór Enterprise Park ‘McAllister’s Brae’, after his long-suffering production manager, and great friend, Joe McAllister.

Ráth Mór’s Conal McFeely thanked Mr Bryson for his great contribution to ‘so many Derry and Creggan history projects’.

“Because of his lifetime spent in research and his huge wealth of knowledge, John was a great authority on our history and heritage,” said Mr McFeely. “In many cases, he was the last word. He advised us on so many books, pamphlets, articles and historical murals. He is irreplaceable.”

The former director of the Institute of Ulster Scots Studies, Dr Billy Kelly, said Mr Bryson’s passing was ‘a very sad day for Derry’. While Maura Craig, of Libraries ,NI described Mr Bryson as ‘a true gentleman’.

“John was a great historian who was always very willing to use his extensive knowledge to help other people,” she said.

The Honourable The Irish Society, who had supported Mr Bryson’s research, have also sent their condolences.