John Macken (c.1784 – 7 May 1823Date of death 7 May 1823 according to Dictionary of National Biography, 7 June 1823 according to Library Ireland.) was an Irish poet, and joint editor of the ''Enniskillen Chronicle''.

Life

Macken, born about 1784, was the eldest son of Richard Macken, a merchant of

Brookeborough Brookeborough (; Irish: ''Achadh Lon'', meaning 'Field of the Blackbirds') is a village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, at the westerly foot of Slieve Beagh. It lies about eleven miles east of Enniskillen, just off the A4 trunk road, and ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

. In

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

he helped to establish the ''Enniskillen Chronicle'', also known as the ''Erne Packet'', first published on 10 August 1808. He was fellow-editor with his brother-in-law Edward Duffy, and Macken contributed both prose and verse. He later became a sailor in the Navy, and was present at the bombardment of Algiers of 1816.John Macken
Library Ireland. Retrieved 15 October 2017. In 1818 he went to London, and published at his own expense a volume of poetry ''The Harp of the Desert'', under the pseudonym Ismael Fitzadam, about his experiences in Algiers. It was dedicated to

Lord Exmouth Viscount Exmouth, of Canonteign in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1816 for the prominent naval officer Edward Pellew, 1st Baron Exmouth. He had already been created a baron ...

, the hero of Algiers, but he ignored the compliment. The publication proved to be a failure. In London Macken met the Irish genealogist

Henry Nugent Bell Henry Nugent Bell (1792–1822) was an Irish genealogist. Biography He was the eldest son of George Bell, Esq., of Belleview, County Fermanagh (Inner Temple Admission Register). He followed the profession of a legal antiquary, and, in order to ob ...

, and assisted him in compiling ''The Huntingdon Peerage''. Bell introduced him to William Jerdan, the editor of the ''

Literary Gazette ''The Literary Gazette'' was a British literary magazine, established in London in 1817 with its full title being ''The Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences''. Sometimes it appeared with the caption title, "London Lite ...

''; Macken, as Ismael Fitzadam, contributed poems to the magazine. With the help of William Jerdan, Macken published of a volume of poems, ''Lays on Land''. It was promoted in the ''Literary Gazette'', Jerdan describing the poems as "combining Scott and Byron most admirably together", but it was not successful. In 1821 Macken returned in poor health to Ireland, and resumed his position as joint editor of the ''Enniskillen Chronicle''. He died on 7 May 1823, and was buried in Aughaveagh parish church. Letitia Elizabeth Landon wrote verses on his death in the ''Literary Gazette'' of June 1823.

Publications

* ''Minstrel Stolen Moments, or Shreds of Fancy'', published anonymously (Dublin, 1814) * ''The Harp of the Desert'', "containing the Battle of Algiers, with other Pieces in Verse. By Ismael Fitzadam, formerly able seaman on board the frigate" (London, 1818) * ''Lays on Land'' (London, 1821), also as Ismael Fitzadam

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macken, John 1780s births 1823 deaths Writers from County Fermanagh 19th-century Irish poets People from Brookeborough