John Duncan Craig (23 September 1830 – 10 October 1909) was an Irish poet, writer and

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

clergyman who was also an authority on the

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, son of John Craig of Dulsholm, Scotland, and Horsehead, County Cork, and Agnes Maria Taylor, of Edendale, County Dublin. He spent part of his youth in counties

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

and

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, where his father worked as a bank manager.Dónal Ó Luanaigh, Dublin Historical Record, Vol. 50 No. 1. 1997 He was educated at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

where he graduated B.A. in 1851, M.A in 1857 and B.D. and D.D. in 1869. He was ordained

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in Dublin in 1853 and became a chaplain in the Irish prison system. As

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of Temple Breda, County Cork, he was chaplain to the garrison of Camden, and held also an appointment as chaplain to the Church of Ireland convicts stationed there. In the 1850s and 1860s he held a number of posts as curate in St. John's,

Carrigaline Carrigaline () is a town and civil parish in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the River Owenabue. Located about south of Cork city, and with a population of 15,770 people, it is one of the largest commuter towns of the city. The R611 regiona ...

, Killanully,

Passage West Passage West (locally known as "Passage"; ) is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour, some 10 km south-east of Cork city. The town has many services, amenities and social outlets. Passage West was ...

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

and afterwards became the last Vicar of

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...

(1865–1872).Stephen Brown (ed) Ireland in Fiction. Maunsel, Dublin, 1919. p. 71 While still young he had to travel to the south of France for health reasons and while there became well acquainted with the language and literature of the region. He enlisted as a chaplain in the Prussian army during the Franco-Prussian War where he was shot and seriously wounded; he later wrote of his experiences. From 1873 to 1884 he was chaplain to the

Molyneux Asylum The Molyneux Asylum for Blind Females was opened June 1, 1815 in Peter Street, Dublin, in what was formerly the residence of Thomas Molyneux (1641-1733), whose sister-in-law, Lucy Domville, had been blind. The building had been sold to Philip ...

, and from then until his retirement in 1901 he was incumbent of Holy Trinity Church, Lower Gardiner Street in Dublin. He had to return to the south for the good of his health and died at the Villa Miramare, in San Remo, Italy, on 10 October 1909. He married, on 19 April 1860, Dorothea Bird of Kinsale, and had a son and a daughter. He later married Adelaide Allen, to whom he dedicated his 1877 book, ''Miejour''.John Harding Cole: Cole's Church and Parish Records at http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie

Select works

* ''Real Pictures of Clerical Life in Ireland'' * ''Reminiscences'' * ''Ballads of the Irish Reign of Terror'' (1880) * ''John Maverell, A Tale of the Riviera'' (1898) * ''Bruce Reynell, or The Oxford Man in Ireland'' (1898) * ''La Debanado: Scenes, Incidents and Sketches in France and Germany During the War'' (1871) * ''Scriptural Coincidences; or, Traits of Truth'' * ''Kinsale Tracts'' (1874) * ''Lady Wilmerding of Maison Rouge'' * ''The Handbook of the Modern Provençal Language'' * ''Miejour; or, Provençal Legend, Life, Language, and Literature in the Land of the Felibre'' (1877) * ''The Cross in Sardinia''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, John Duncan 1831 births 1909 deaths Irish male poets Writers from Dublin (city) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Church of Ireland priests Irish people of Scottish descent Franco-Prussian War chaplains 19th-century Irish poets 19th-century male writers 19th-century Irish Anglican priests Christian clergy from Dublin (city)