Denis Corish (1935–2024)

To the Bowdoin community,

I am writing with the sad news that Professor of Philosophy Emeritus Denis Corish passed away in the early morning hours of Saturday, October 26, at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, following a stroke. Denis was a beloved mentor, colleague, and friend, and he will be missed by the Bowdoin community.

Denis was born on March 19, 1935, in New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, the youngest of five siblings. He earned an AB degree and an LPh at St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth, Ireland, in 1956 and an MA at University College in Dublin. Denis taught at Villanova University in Pennsylvania for three years and at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, for four years. He completed a PhD in philosophy at Boston University in 1973 and joined the Bowdoin faculty later that year.

At Bowdoin, Denis taught courses in Greek philosophy, medieval philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of science. He was known for having his students read their papers aloud to him so they could review them together. He chaired the Department of Philosophy on several occasions and served regularly on a range of faculty committees and governing boards.

It is difficult to capture the breadth and depth of Denis’s interests, abilities, and curiosity. He was a dedicated student of English, Latin, Greek, Irish, Italian, French, and German. He wrote articles that explored the philosophical underpinnings of time as it is understood in Western thought, offered new interpretations of literary works, and acted as a sounding board for the ideas of colleagues across a wide range of disciplines. Denis immersed himself in the study of Greek at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC, and a series of summer seminars offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities on medieval philosophy, the philosophy of time, and Plato and the polis.

An accomplished poet as well as a scholar, Denis published numerous poems in The New Yorker, The Sewanee Review, The Kenyon Review, Notes and Queries (England), and the Poetry Ireland Review. He taught himself Old Irish in order to translate and give new life to the poetry of his ancestors.

Some may remember Denis as a chorister and a soloist with the Bowdoin College Chamber Choir and Chorus. He sang the role of Jesus in performances of Heinrich Schütz’s Passion and in the chorus of Handel’s Israel in Egypt and Mozart’s Requiem. Others may recall his delight at locating a place to collect choice, edible mushrooms. However, many of us knew him because of his walking prowess. Regardless of the weather, Denis could be seen walking everywhere—on campus, which is how I met him on several occasions, to the grocery store, and around town. What began as a twenty-five-year routine of running became a daily habit of walking. Into his eighties, Denis walked 2,500 miles a year, with a five-mile walk before breakfast. On his walks, he might translate the notes of a Beethoven symphony, a Gregorian chant, or an Irish folk tune into solfège (a mnemonic system that facilitates sight-reading of musical pitches). He often contemplated logic or philosophy problems or composed poetry during the walks.

Denis retired in 2007 as professor of philosophy emeritus, although in Denis’s case, it turned out to be a very active retirement. He retained a library carrel, where he had been working regularly on a book that unified his perspectives on the philosophy of time and also on a collection of his poems.

Denis is survived by his oldest brother Nick; his wife, Chooi-Siew Lim Corish of Brunswick; two daughters, Siobhan M. Niklasson (Anders), and Maeve Corish (Rui Lopes); and four grandchildren, Alex, Liv, Benjamin, and Tiago. We join them and Denis’s colleagues, former students, and friends in celebrating a life that enriched and continues to inspire us.

Sincerely,

Safa