John McDonald (19 September 1846 – 1932) was a noted
Irish cultural nationalist poet during the nineteenth century
Irish Literary Revival
The Irish Literary Revival (also called the Irish Literary Renaissance, nicknamed the Celtic Twilight) was a flowering of Irish literary talent in the late 19th and early 20th century. It includes works of poetry, music, art, and literature.
O ...
. Known for frequent contributions to weekly and periodical Irish publications, he published a book of poetry in 1886.
Biography
Born in the parish of
Cloone
Cloone () is a village in County Leitrim, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The village is located in the south of the county, just off the R201 road, R201 Regional road (Ireland), regional road; its nearest town is Mohill. Its name is an anglicise ...
in county Leitrim, John was the son of a small farmer and
Roman Catholic. He completed his education in local schools before pursuing a teaching career. From 1881, he lived in New York for a few years. McDonald married his wife Mary , and they raised eight children, named Michael, Patrick, Mary, John, Anne, Charles, and two unknown. The family lived at
Cloonboniagh South townland near
Dromod
Dromod () is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland. Dromod is a noted fishing village beside Bofin and Boderg, which are threaded by the River Shannon. Built along the River Shannon, this is a Tidy Towns winner with a modern harbour frequented ...
in county Leitrim, John running a farm whilst holding down a job as schoolteacher in
county Longford
County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...
. He died October 1932, and many of his children emigrated to America.
Poetry
An
Irish cultural nationalist, McDonald contributed verse to periodicals such as "", "", "", "", and to local newspapers in
county Leitrim
County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for th ...
and
county Longford
County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...
. While living in America for a time, he published poetry in the "". McDonald's sole book, a collection of poetry titled "", was published in 1886. He wrote most of his poetry in his spare time, mainly at night or Sunday evenings, explaining his motivation thus-
* "".
One copy of the book is kept at Keenans Hotel -Tarmonbarry in
county Roscommon
"Steadfast Irish heart"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Connacht
, subdi ...
, and another copy is kept in the archives of the
National Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland i ...
in Dublin. Reprints of his poems appeared in
the Leitrim Observer newspaper during the 1960s. All his poems usually appeared with the signature "".
Land League
McDonald was an Irish nationalist, supporting the
Irish National Land League
The Irish National Land League (Irish: ''Conradh na Talún'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farmer ...
movement. Writing to
John Devoy in 1881,
John Sexton
John Edward Sexton (born September 29, 1942) is an American lawyer, academic, and author. He is the Benjamin F. Butler Professor of Law at New York University where he teaches at the law school and NYU's undergraduate colleges. Sexton served as t ...
enthused "".
List of works
* ''
Irish National Poems'', Dublin, Sealy, Bryers & Walker, 1886. Bound with green cloth, title and author appear in gilt on upper cover and a gilt harp and bunch of shamrock in centre, gilt title on spine.
References and notes
Citations
Primary sources
*
Secondary sources
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, John
1846 births
19th-century Irish poets
Irish schoolteachers
Irish farmers
People from County Leitrim
Year of death missing