Dr. Joseph Hernon, 70, poet and popular UMass professor

In front of a lecture hall packed with college students squeezing into his always overbooked class "The Irish Experience," Joseph M. Hernon would weave a historical tapestry, juxtaposing long ago sagas with recent events.

"He would be talking about the Irish Republicans and revolutionary issues one minute and Sinead O'Connor the next," said Laura McNeil, who was among the 150 or so students in one of Dr. Hernon's classes years ago. "He had a way of pulling in modern issues, pop culture, and also his own life philosophy -- not just historical philosophy."

Professor and poet, author and storyteller, Dr. Hernon was among the most popular professors at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for 27 years. He was so renowned for his engaging presence, students said, that the course probably would have attracted as many students if he had called it "The Joe Hernon Experience."

Dr. Hernon had survived prostate cancer several years ago. He died in his Boston home June 29 of lung cancer that had metastasized . He was not a smoker. Dr. Hernon was 70, and in retirement had been working on a book of poems, a discipline he had pursued on the side during his many years as a history professor.

A decade ago he published "Profiles in Character: Hubris and Heroism in the US Senate 1789-1990," a collage of political careers he believed had been unjustly overshadowed by the enthusiasm historians show for the executive branch.

"Too much of our history centers on presidencies, and virtually every modern president has his own court historian with an extensive staff to exaggerate his importance and influence," Dr. Hernon wrote in the book's introduction. "Yet some senators who served unbroken terms for two or three decades were more politically significant than many of the presidents."

Born in Washington, D.C., he was the son of "a lawyer's lawyer" and a mother who was "a loving teacher of a sickly child," he wrote on the dedication page of "Profiles in Character." His spiritual path ran through Catholic schools and two years at St. Mary's Seminary in Catonsville, Md., from which he transferred credits to Catholic University in Washington.

After graduating from Catholic University in 1959 with a bachelor's degree in history, he won a fellowship to study at Trinity College in Dublin, where he received a doctorate in 1963.

Over the next five years he taught at Ohio State University, Catholic University, and the University of Massachusetts before joining the University of Massachusetts faculty in 1968, staying there until taking professor emeritus status in 1995.

History was his academic discipline, but Dr. Hernon was just as passionate about the unfolding history of daily events. He had worked on John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign with the College Young Democrats during his days at Catholic University, and with other faculty members and students to organize a campus movement calling for the impeachment of President Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew in May 1970.

Dr. Hernon, who also coauthored a book called "The Irish Experience," brought the country to life for decades of students, many of whom found in his classes a way to connect with their heritage. Nearly as popular as his class "The Irish Experience" were Dr. Hernon's courses "The Life and Trials of Oscar Wilde" and "New Approaches in History: The Mystery of Jack the Ripper."

"It was clear almost immediately that he was unconventional and someone who genuinely had a passion for teaching and a true love for his students," said Jerry Sullivan of Wilbraham, who took courses taught by Dr. Hernon at the University of Massachusetts. "A lot of times, professors will keep a certain distance from students, but with him, you never had the sense of a barrier there. He was willing to share his time and take an interest in us.

"It wasn't just pontificating, he had an interest in what we thought."

McNeil, an assistant professor of Irish history at Elms College in Chicopee, now teaches Dr. Hernon's "Irish Experience" course as a visiting professor at the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Hernon, she said, would at times settle into a dilapidated green chair in his office, relaxing in its worn and torn upholstery, and hold discussions with students that were unusually long and perceptive.

"Not just on a professional level, but as a person, he helped you develop into who you wanted to be," she said. "He was a terribly formative influence. The inheritance he left to people was worth more than money, I can tell you that."

"He would host his smaller classes at his home -- these spaghetti dinners, which he would usually have us prepare. He would socialize while we prepared," Sullivan said.

Dr. Hernon was as sociable away from the classroom, even with people he encountered for the length of a phone call about mundane matters.

"He would talk with anyone about politics -- in the waiting room, at the dentist, on the bus," said Matthew Griffing, Dr. Hernon's companion for more than a decade. "He could strike up a conversation wherever he was. When he was calling customer service representatives, he would ask them where they were from and start talking about politics."

A storyteller with a keen appreciation of irony, Dr. Hernon kept in touch with many students from his decades of teaching.

"He was always curious about people," Griffing said. "He was a gentle friend to the people he was closest to, and he valued integrity and honesty in his friendships. He really believed that there was a kind of connection between what you do in life, and the person you are, and who you are spiritually."

Having written poetry most of his life, Dr. Hernon had been preparing a collection for publication, said Griffing, who said the book, "Clio Bemused," will soon be published.

A devotee of Emily Dickinson, Dr. Hernon liked to walk to her grave in Amherst and was attracted to her brevity. In "Pressed Flowers," a poem about love, he concludes with the couplet:

Like a keepsake-flower in crushed detail

A lost love lingers in memory frail.

In addition to Griffing, Dr. Hernon leaves a brother, Donald of Lyman, Maine.

A funeral Mass will be said at 3 p.m. tomorrow in Grace Church in Amherst, preceded by a service in Wildwood Cemetery in Amherst. A memorial service will be announced later.