Gerald Griffin
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Gerald Griffin ( ga, Gearóid Ó Gríofa; 12 December 1803 – 12 June 1840) was an Irish novelist, poet and playwright. His novel ''The Collegians'' was the basis of
Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...
's play
The Colleen Bawn ''The Colleen Bawn, or The Brides of Garryowen'' is a melodramatic play written by Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre, New York, on 27 March 1860 with Laura Keene playing Anne Chute and Boucicau ...
. Feeling he was "wasting his time" writing fiction, he joined the Christian Brothers, a Catholic religious congregation founded by
Edmund Ignatius Rice Edmund Ignatius Rice ( ga, Éamonn Iognáid Rís; 1 June 1762 – 29 August 1844) was a Catholic missionary and educationalist. He was the founder of two religious institutes of religious brothers: the Congregation of Christian Brothers and t ...
to teach the children of the poor.


Biography


Early life

Gerald Griffin was born in Limerick in 1803, the youngest son of thirteen children of a substantial Catholic farming family. Patrick Griffin, his father, also made a living through brewing, and he participated as one of Grattan's
Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respons ...
. His mother came from the ancient Irish family of the O'Brien's, and first introduced Gerald to English literature. When he was aged seven, Griffin's family moved to Fairy Lawn, a house near Loghill, Co. Clare, which sat on a hill above the bank of the Shannon estuary, about twenty-seven miles from
Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
. Here Griffin had an idyllic childhood and received a classical education. "When free from his books he was wont to roam through the neighbouring countries, so rich in ruins, which told him of the past glories of his native land. At that time, too he got an insight into the customs of the people and became familiar with the popular legends and folk-tales which he later worked into his stories."Flaherty, Matthew. "Gerald Griffin." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 25 July 2021


London

In 1820 the family at Fairy Lawn was broken up. The parents with several of the children emigrated to America and settled in the State of Pennsylvania. Gerald, with one brother and two sisters, was left behind under the care of his elder brother William, a practicing physician in Adare, County Limerick. Griffin met
John Banim John Banim (3 April 1798 – 30 August 1842), was an Irish novelist, short story writer, dramatist, poet and essayist, sometimes called the "Scott of Ireland." He also studied art, working as a painter of miniatures and portraits, and as a drawin ...
in Limerick city. Inspired by the successful production of Banim's play ''Damon and Pythias'' (1821), Griffin moved to London in 1823; he was nineteen years of age. After an unsuccessful attempt at becoming a playwright, Griffin endured years of poverty in London, managing only to scrape by through writing reviews for periodicals and newspapers. At the end of two years he obtained steady employment in the publishing house as reader and reviser of manuscripts, and in a short time became frequent contributor to some of the leading periodicals and magazines. Griffin's early ''Literary Gazette'' pieces vividly described the rural setting of his childhood; recounted Irish folklore; translated the Celtic Irish language for the English readers; and, as Robert Lee Wolff has observed, "waxed richly sardonic about Irishmen who tried to be more English than the English."


Return

Griffin's ''"Holland-Tide;" or, Munster Popular Tales'' was published by Simpkin and Marshall in 1827. ''"Holland-Tide"'' is a collection of seven short stories, all of which are told in the house of a hospitable Munster farmer during All Hallows' Eve in
Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
. ''"Holland-Tide"'' established his reputation and he returned to Ireland, where he wrote ''Tales of the Munster Festivals'' in
Pallaskenry Pallaskenry () is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. Pallaskenry derives its name from Kenry Castle (the palisaded castle at Kenry), nowadays known as Shanpallas Castle. opographical Dictionary of Ireland, p455, Lewis It was one of the prin ...
to which his brother William had moved. Experience led Griffin to modify his expectations in relation to literary work, and, with a view to the legal profession, he entered as a law student in the university of London, but in a short time removed to Dublin for the study of ancient Irish history, preparatory to his work "The Invasion", which was published in 1832. This work had a good sale and was highly praised by scholars, but never became popular.


Christian brother

With the exception of a tour through Scotland and a short trip on the Continent, he lived with his brother, keeping up to some extent his literary labours. By 1833, Griffin was increasingly concerned that "he was wasting his time", and began to devote himself to teaching the poor children of the neighborhood. In 1838, Griffin burned all of his unpublished manuscripts and joined the
Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...
, a Catholic religious order which has as its special aim the education of children of the poor. Writing to an old friend he said "he felt a great deal happier in the practice of this daily routine than he ever did while roving about the great city, absorbed in the modest project of rivaling Shakespeare and throwing Scott in the shade". In June, 1839, he was transferred from Dublin to Cork, where he died of
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
fever at the age of thirty-six.


Legacy

However, his play ''Gisippus'' was produced posthumously at the
Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...
on February 23, 1842 by
William Macready William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor. Life He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the ...
, and it ran to a second edition in print. One of Griffin's most famous works is ''The Collegians'', a novel based on a trial that he had reported on, involving the murder of a young Irish Catholic girl (Ellen Hanley) by a Protestant Anglo-Irish man (John Scanlon). The novel was later adapted for the stage as ''
The Colleen Bawn ''The Colleen Bawn, or The Brides of Garryowen'' is a melodramatic play written by Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre, New York, on 27 March 1860 with Laura Keene playing Anne Chute and Boucicau ...
'' by
Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...
. He has a street named after him in Limerick City and another in Cork City, Ireland. Loughill/Ballyhahill GAA club in west Limerick play under the name of ''Gerald Griffins''.Gerald Griffins G.A.A. Club
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Works


''The Collegians''''Tales of the Munster Festivals''
* ''Tales illustrative of the Five Senses'' (1830)
''Poetical works and Tragedy of Gisippus''
* ''The Rivals; and, Tracy's ambition'' (1830) * ''The invasion'' (1832) * ''Tales of my Neighbourhood'' (1835)
''The Duke of Monmouth''
(1836) * ''The Fate of Cathleen: a Wicklow story'' (1841)
''Tales of the Jury Room''
(1842)


References

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Selected bibliography

*Griffin, D. ''The Life of Gerald Griffin, Vol. I'' (London: 1843)
online


External links


''The Life of Gerald Griffin'', Daniel Griffin, James Duffy, Dublin, 1872.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Gerald 1803 births 1840 deaths 19th-century Irish poets Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish folklorists Writers from County Limerick Irish male novelists 19th-century Irish novelists 19th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish male poets 19th-century male writers Irish Christian Brothers