John Grainger was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 cleric

Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

 and antiquarian

Antiquarian

An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...

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Grainger was educated at Belfast Academy and Trinity College

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

, Dublin. After gaining a Doctorate of Divinity he became Rector of Broughshane

Broughshane

Broughshane is a village within the Borough of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is northeast of Ballymena and north of Antrim, on the A42 road. It had a population of 2,364 at the 2001 Census....

, County Antrim. He was an indiscriminating collector, who filled his house with a mass of often unlabelled specimens including stuffed birds, shells, insects, coins, minerals, a dolmen

Dolmen

A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...

, weapons from New Zealand, and archaeological finds.According to Robert Lloyd Praeger

Robert Lloyd Praeger

-Life:Of a Unitarian background, he was born in Holywood, County Down, and grew up in that town where he was educated, first in the school of the Rev McAlister and then at nearby Sullivan Upper School. He worked in the National Library of Ireland in Dublin from 1893 to 1923. He co-founded and...

 his collection of Irish stone tools was ‘’especially valuable as a study in the gentle art of forgery’’.

Works

Partial list

• 1853.Catalogue of the Shells found in the Alluvial Deposits of a Belfast site of the Irish Mesolithic. Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. 56 C, 1-195.
• --- Results of excavations in High St., Belfast. Ulster Journ. Arch. ix. 113-121.
• 1874 On the Fossils of the Post-tertiary Deposits of Ireland. Rep. Bmt. Assoc, for 1874 ; Sections, pp. 73–76.

He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy

Royal Irish Academy

The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...

 and of the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society and the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club

Belfast Naturalists' Field Club

The Belfast Naturalists' Field Club is a club of naturalists based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1863, the club was an important part of the education system for Victorian naturalists and worked largely through first-hand field studies...

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