Michael McGovern (1848 – 1933) was a working-class poet who gained national recognition in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was widely known as "the Puddler Poet", and his work reflected his support of labor unions.Rev. Darren Cushman Wood, "Radicals, Revivalists, and Reformers: The Heritage of Labor and Religion in the United States", Division of Labor Studies, Indiana University, 4 September 2002. Born in astlefield, Williamstown, County Galway

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, McGovern emigrated first to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and then 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 ...

. He eventually settled in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

, along with his wife, the former Anne Murphy, and secured work in the local steel mills. McGovern rose to the position of puddler, a skilled laborer responsible for converting pig iron into wrought iron by removing impurities. In 1899, McGovern secured national celebrity with the publication of ''Labor Lyrics and Other Poems''. He went on to author a popular newspaper column in the ''

Youngstown Daily Vindicator Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

''. McGovern's poems fall into three basic categories: rolling mill rhymes, labor growls and miscellaneous trifles, and amorous verses "to show that a rolling mill man has a heart as susceptible to the purest motives of love as those who have millions wherewith to purchase a title". Some scholars have argued that McGovern's work, which features religious themes, shows the influence of the

Social Gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean envir ...

movement. This intellectual movement drew sharp connections between social justice causes and the teachings of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

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