James Carney along with
Eoin MacNeill put forward the theory that Ogham was first created as a cryptic alphabet or secret language designed by the Irish at the time of Roman invasion and rule. Both historians believed that the Irish designed it in response to political, military and/or religious reasons so that those with knowledge of just Latin could not read it. Carney identified the genealogies of the
Kerry poet
Luccreth moccu Chiara back to the ancient people of
Cíarraige, he provided extensive research on his poem
Conailla Medb Míchuru’ ("Medb enjoined evil contracts"), which contains the oldest surviving reference to characters and events from the Ulster Cycle and it is strongly connected to the
Táin Bó Cúailnge saga. He was married to Maura Morrissey, also an academic and a member of the
Royal Irish Academy, who predeceased him in 1975. The couple had a son,
Paul, who was a judge in the
Irish High Court. == Select publications ==