RONAN COGHLAN

'Ronan Coghlan' (Born 1948) is an Irish writer living in Bangor, County Down in Northern Ireland..
Coghlan was born Dublin in 1948. He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin.
Coghlan has worked as a schoolmaster in a large number of schools and is married with three children. He is a regular lecturer at The Weird Weekend, an event under the aegis of the Centre for Fortean Zoology. He is known for his unorthodox views on education and his generally eccentric personality. His wide variety of interests include the paranormal, theology, biblical studies, onomastics, mythology, folklore, medieval legend and etymology. Indeed, he has something of the reputation of a polymath. His best selling book has been "Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends" which sold 120,000 copies worldwide and has been translated into Japanese.
Coghlan's bitter opposition to modern social trends, both in education and generally, has frequently set him at odds with employers. Largely this was because of their inability to see the inconsistency of their behaviour. The tendency to make education increasingly bureaucratic has disillusioned him considerably.
In 2005 Coghlan founded a private publishing house under the name of Xiphos Books. The titles issued under this imprint are those which would probably not be commercially viable if issued by a mainstream publisher. They include a new edition of Jonathan Downes' celebrated book on UFOs, ''The Rising of the Moon''.
In 2006 he famously stole a camp bed from noted zoologist Dr Darren Naish.
His works include:

★ ''Encyclopedia of Arthurian Legends'' (1991)

★ ''Dictionary of Irish Myth and Legend'' (1979)

★ ''Irish Christian Names'' (1979)

★ ''Dictionary of Cryptozoology'' (2004)

★ ''Handbook of Fairies'' (2002)

★ ''Robin Hood Companion'' (2003)

★ ''Cryptosup'' (2005).

★ ''Sherlock Holmes and the Heir of Albion'' (2007)

★ ''Further Cryptozoology'' (2007)