| William O'Brien | |
| Birth Place: | Cork, Ireland |
| Nationality: | Irish |
| Education: |
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| Thesis Title: | Primitive copper mining in south-west Ireland |
| Discipline: | archaeologist |
| Known For: | The archaeology of bronze metallurgy, Landscape archaeology |
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William O'Brien is an Irish archaeologist[1] well known for his research on the evolution of Bronze Age societies and the appearance of metallurgy in Ireland. O'Brien is a professor at University College Cork and an elected member of the Royal Irish Academy.[2]
O'Brien completed doctoral research at the University College Cork in 1987 on the emergence of prehistoric copper mining. He lectured for 16 years in the Department of Archaeology, NUI Galway. Research interests include the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in Ireland, early mining and metallurgy in Atlantic Europe, upland archaeology, hillforts and all aspects of monumentality in the later prehistoric period. He has a particular focus on south-west Ireland as a region in prehistory, where he has conducted numerous research excavations.[3] [4]