Henry Joseph Monk Mason (15 July 1778 – 14 April 1858) was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
writer who, although not a native speaker, specialised in Irish-language activities. He was a founder of
The Irish Society, dedicated to spreading the Scripture in Irish, and a campaigner for prison reform.
Life
He was born at
Powerscourt,
County Wicklow, the son of Lieutenant-colonel Henry Monck Mason of Kildare Street,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, by his second wife, Jane, only daughter of
Bartholomew Mosse
Bartholomew Mosse (1712 – 16 February 1759) was an Irish surgeon and impresario responsible for founding the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin.
Early life
Bartholemew Mosse was born in Dysart, 2 km east of Portlaoise (then called Maryborough), ...
, M.D. After attending schools at
Portarlington and Dublin he entered
Trinity College, Dublin in 1793, was elected scholar in 1796, and on graduating B.A. in 1798 was awarded the gold medal. At college he was contemporary with
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...
the poet, and afterwards met him during visits to Kilkenny.
In 1800 he was called to the Irish bar, but did not seek practice. Instead he held the post of examiner to the prerogative court. In 1814 he was appointed assistant librarian of King's Inns, and became chief librarian in 1815.
In conjunction with Bishop Daly, Mason founded, in 1818, the "
Irish Society for Promoting the Education of the Native Irish through the Medium of Their Own Language". He acted as its secretary for many years, besides writing several tracts in furtherance of its objectives. The same year he assisted in organising an association for the improvement of prisons and of prison discipline in Ireland, and in 1819 he wrote a pamphlet on the objects of the association. He likewise visited the prisons with a view to reclaiming first offenders.
In 1851 Mason resigned the librarianship of King's Inns, and gave up his house in Henrietta Street, Dublin, to spend the remainder of his days at
Bray, County Wicklow. He died there on 14 April 1858, and was buried in the old cemetery of Powerscourt Demesne. In 1816 he married Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Langrishe, by whom he had two sons and four daughters.
[The Gentleman's Magazine, 1858, part 1, p. 570]
At Mason's suggestion the committee of the Irish Society founded in 1844 two Bedell scholarships and a premium in Dublin University for encouraging the study of the Irish language. He was mainly instrumental in the establishment there of a professorship of Irish. In 1812 he was elected member of the
Royal Irish Academy. In the summer session of 1817 the degrees of LL.B. and LL.D. were conferred on him by Dublin University.
He was a good musician; he composed several pretty airs, and was a fair violoncellist. His lack of tact saw him become embroiled in several disputes, for example with
Owen Connellan
Owen Connellan (1797 – 4 August 1871) was an Irish scholar who translated the Annals of the Four Masters into English in 1846.
Life
He was born in County Sligo, the son of a farmer who claimed descent from Lóegaire mac Néill, High King ...
.
Select works
*''Essay on the Antiquity and Constitution of Parliaments in Ireland'', Dublin, 1820 (dedicated to
Henry Grattan
Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...
*Irish-language version of the ''Book of Common Prayer'' issued at Dublin in 1825.
*Pamphlets written in support of the Irish Society and the Association for the Improvement of Prisons
*''The Catholic Religion of St. Patrick and St. Columbkill, and the other Ancient Saints of Ireland'', Dublin, 1823
*''The Lord's Day: a Poem'', Dublin, 1829.
*''The Life of William Bedell, D.D., Lord Bishop of Kilmore'', London, 1843
*''Memoir of the Irish Version of the Bible'', Dublin, 1854, a series of papers reprinted from the Christian Examiner.
See also
*
Owen Connellan
Owen Connellan (1797 – 4 August 1871) was an Irish scholar who translated the Annals of the Four Masters into English in 1846.
Life
He was born in County Sligo, the son of a farmer who claimed descent from Lóegaire mac Néill, High King ...
References
Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Henry Joseph Monk
1778 births
1858 deaths
Irish scholars and academics
Writers from County Wicklow
Linguists from Ireland
People from Enniskerry
19th-century Irish writers