Born Rinn O gCuanach, Port Lairge/Waterford, grew up there and in Cork city. Studied Sociology, Irish, Celtic Civilisation and An Leann Duchais to degree level. After several years with the Department of Folklore in University College Cork he became Acting Head of the Department in 2007. His first publication Cá bhFuil Éire: Guth an Ghaisce i bPrós Sheáin Uí Ríordáin (Where is Ireland?The Heroic Voice in Sean O Riordain's Prose), written for a Masters in Modern Irish under the supervision of Professor Sean O Coileain, was nominated for an Irish Times Literature Award and earned him Duais Chuimhneacháin Phiarais Bhéaslaí in 1996, it was also chosen as book of the year by Cumann Merriman in 1999. Key interests are language, culture, representation, translation and interpretation within the intellectual formation of 'folklore', particularly vis-a-vis indigenous culture.