Joseph Campbell (15 July 1879 – 6 June 1944) 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 ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

. He wrote under the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

form of his name Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil (also Seosamh MacCathmhaoil) Campbell being a common

anglicization Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by Culture of England, English culture or Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English ...

of the old Irish name

MacCathmhaoil McCaul, also spelt MacCawell is an Irish surname, derived from the Gaelic '' Mac Cathmhaoil'', meaning the "son of Cathmhaol", ''descendant of'' being implied. The name ''Cathmhaoil'' itself is derived from ''cath mhaol'' meaning "battle chief" ...

. He is now remembered best for words he supplied to traditional airs, such as ''

My Lagan Love "My Lagan Love" is a song to a traditional Irish air collected in 1903 in northern Donegal. The English lyrics have been credited to Joseph Campbell (1879–1944, also known as Seosamh MacCathmhaoil and Joseph McCahill, among others).''Songs of U ...

'' and ''

Gartan Mother's Lullaby "Gartan Mother's Lullaby" is an old Irish song and poem written by Herbert Hughes and Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil, first published in ''Songs of Uladh lster' in 1904. Hughes collected the traditional melody in Donegal the previous year and Campbel ...

''; his verse was also set to music by

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

and

Ivor Gurney Ivor Bertie Gurney (28 August 1890 – 26 December 1937) was an English poet and composer, particularly of songs. He was born and raised in Gloucester. He suffered from bipolar disorder through much of his life and spent his last 15 years in ps ...

Life

He was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, into a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

family from

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. He was educated at

St Malachy's College St Malachy's College, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is the oldest Catholic diocesan college in Ulster. The college's alumni and students are known as Malachians. History The college, founded by Bishop William Crolly, opened on the feast of Sain ...

, Belfast. After working for his father he taught for a while. He travelled to

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 ...

in 1902, meeting leading nationalist figures. His literary activities began with songs, as a collector in Antrim and working with the composer Herbert Hughes. He was then a founder of the Ulster Literary Theatre in 1904. He contributed a play, ''The Little Cowherd of Slainge'', and several articles to its journal ''Uladh'' edited by

Bulmer Hobson John Bulmer Hobson (14 January 1883 – 8 August 1969) was a leading member of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) before the Easter Rising in 1916.D.J. Hickey & J. E. Doherty, ''A New Dictionary of Irish History fro ...

. ''The Little Cowherd of Slainge'' was performed by the ULT at the Clarence Place Hall in Belfast on 4 May 1905, along with Lewis Purcell's ''The Enthusiast''. He moved to Dublin in 1905, failed to find work and the following year (1906) he moved to London where he was involved in Irish literary activities while working as a teacher. He married in 1910 Nancy Maude, and they moved shortly to Dublin, and then

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

. His play ''Judgement'' was performed at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

in April 1912. He took part as a supporter in the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

of 1916, doing rescue work. The following year he published a translation from Irish of the short stories of

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...

, one of the leaders of the Rising. He became a

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

Councillor in Wicklow in 1921. Later in the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

he was on the Republican side, and was interned in 1922/3. His marriage broke up, and he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1925. There he lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He lectured at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

, and worked in academic Irish studies, founding the University's School of Irish Studies in 1928, which lasted four years. He was the editor of ''The Irish Review'', a short lived (April, May and July 1934) "magazine of Irish expression". Business manager was George G. Lennon, former Officer Commanding of the Co. Waterford Flying Column during the Irish War of Independence. Managing editor was Lennon's brother in law, George H. Sherwood. Campbell returned to Ireland in 1939, settling at

Glencree Glencree ( ga, Gleann Crí from the older Gleann Criothach, which translates as Valley of the Shaking Bog) is a valley in the Wicklow Mountains in eastern Ireland. It is the third-closest valley in the mountains to Dublin city, the first being G ...

, County Wicklow, and dying at Lacken Daragh,

Enniskerry Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 1,889 at the 2016 census. Location The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains in the ea ...

on 6 June 1944.

Works

*''Songs of Uladh'' (1904) with Seaghan Campbell *''The Old Woman' by Joseph Campbell *''The Little Cowherd of Slainge'' (1904) play *''The Garden of the Bees'' (1905) poems *''The Rush-Light'' (1906) poems *''The Man-Child'' (1907) poems *''The Gilly of Christ'' (1907) poems *''The Mountainy Singer'' (1909) poems *''Mearing Stones'' (1911) travel writing *''Judgment: A Play'' (1912) *''Irishry'' (1913) poems *''Earth of Cualann'' (1917) poems *''Collected Poems of Joseph Campbell'' (1963) *''As I was Among the Captives: Joseph Campbell's Prison Diary'' (2001), edited by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin *''I Will Go with My Father A-Ploughing'' *''Four Irish Songs'' (n.d.) by Charlottr Milligan Fox, illustrations as Seaghan MacCathmhaiol.

References

*Norah Saunders, 1988. ''Joseph Campbell: Poet & Nationalist 1879-1944, a Critical Biography'',

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Joseph 20th-century Irish poets 1879 births 1944 deaths Writers from Belfast People from County Antrim People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) Fordham University faculty People educated at St Malachy's College Irish expatriates in the United States Translators from Irish Irish–English translators

Life

Works

See also

References

External links