Standish James O'Grady ( ga, Anéislis Séamus Ó Grádaigh; 18 September 1846 – 18 May 1928) was an Irish author, journalist, and historian. O'Grady was inspired by Sylvester O'Halloran and played a formative role in the

Celtic Revival The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gael ...

, publishing the tales of

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...

, as the ''History of Ireland: Heroic Period'' (1878), arguing that the Gaelic tradition had rival only from the tales of

Homeric Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. O'Grady was a paradox for his times, proud of his

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 ...

heritage, he was also a member of the

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 ...

, a champion of

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

virtues (particularly decrying bourgeois values and the uprooting cosmopolitanism of modernity) and at one point advocated a revitalised Irish people taking over the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and renaming it the Anglo-Irish Empire. O'Grady's influence crossed the divide of the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

and Irish-Ireland traditions in literature. His influence was explicitly stated by 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 ...

set with

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

and

George William Russell George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935), who wrote with the pseudonym Æ (often written AE or A.E.), was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism, and a centra ...

attributing their interest in the

Fenian Cycle The Fenian Cycle (), Fianna Cycle or Finn Cycle ( ga, an Fhiannaíocht) is a body of early Irish literature focusing on the exploits of the mythical hero Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill and his warrior band the Fianna. Sometimes called the Ossian ...

of Gaelic tradition in part to him. Some of the figures associated with the political party

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 ...

, including its founder Arthur Griffith, had positive things to say about his efforts in helping to retrieve from the past the Gaelic heroic outlook.

Family

His father was the Reverend

Thomas O'Grady Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, the scholarly

minister of Castletown Berehaven,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, and his mother Susanna Doe (or Dowe). Standish O'Grady's childhood home – the Glebe – lies a mile west of Castletownbere near a famine mass grave and ruined Roman Catholic chapel. He was a cousin of

Standish Hayes O'Grady Standish Hayes O'Grady ( ga, Anéislis Aodh Ó Grádaigh; 19 May 1832 – 16 October 1915) was an Irish antiquarian. He was born at Erinagh House, Castleconnell, County Limerick, the son of Admiral Hayes O'Grady. He was a cousin of the writer St ...

, another noted figure in Celtic literature, and of

Standish O'Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore The Rt. Hon. Standish O'Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore, PC (1766 – 21 April 1840), from Cahir Guillamore, County Limerick, served as Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer for Ireland for a number of years. He was created Viscount Guillamore by a p ...

. He married Margaret Allen Fisher, daughter of William Allen Fisher and had three sons. Advised to move away from Ireland for the sake of his health, he passed his later years living with his eldest son, a clergyman in England, and died on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. His eldest son, Hugh Art O'Grady, was for a time editor of the

Cork Free Press The ''Cork Free Press'' (11 June 1910 – 9 December 1916) was a nationalist newspaper in Ireland, which circulated primarily in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, and was the newspaper of the dissident All-for-Ireland League par ...

before he enlisted in the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

early in 1915. He became better known as Dr Hugh O'Grady, later Professor of the Transvaal University College, Pretoria (later the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

), who wrote the biography of his father in 1929. After a rather severe education at Tipperary Grammar School, Standish James O'Grady followed his father to

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 won several prize medals and distinguished himself in several sports.

Career

He proved too unconventional of mind to settle into a career in the church, and took a job as a

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled afte ...

Midleton College Midleton College is an independent co-educational boarding and day school in Midleton, County Cork, Ireland. In past centuries it has also been called Midleton School. Although founded in 1696, the school did not open until 1717. It went thr ...

, then in a period of expansion. He also qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, while earning much of his living by writing for the Irish newspapers. Reading Sylvester O'Halloran's "General history of Ireland" sparked an interest in early Irish history. After an initial lukewarm response to his writing on the legendary past in "History of Ireland: Heroic Period" (1878–81) and "Early Bardic Literature of Ireland" (1879), he realised that the public wanted romance, and so followed the example of

James Macpherson James Macpherson (Gaelic: ''Seumas MacMhuirich'' or ''Seumas Mac a' Phearsain''; 27 October 1736 – 17 February 1796) was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of epic poem ...

in recasting Irish legends in literary form, producing historical novels including " Finn and his Companions" (1891), "The Coming of Cuculain" (1894), "The Chain of Gold" (1895), "Ulrick the Ready" (1896) and "The Flight of the Eagle" (1897), and "The Departure of

Dermot Diarmaid () is a masculine given name in the Irish language, which has historically been anglicized as Jeremiah or Jeremy, names with which it is etymologically unrelated. Earlier forms of the name include Diarmit and Diarmuit. Variations of the ...

" (1913). He also studied Irish history of the Elizabethan period, presenting in his edition of Sir Thomas Stafford's "Pacata Hibernia" (1896) the view that the Irish people had made the Tudors into kings of Ireland to overthrow their unpopular landlords, the Irish chieftains. His "The Story of Ireland" (1894) was not well received, as it shed too positive a light on the rule of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

for the taste of many Irish readers. He was also active in social and political campaigns in connection with such issues as unemployment and taxation. Until 1898, he worked as a journalist for the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' of Dublin, but in that year, finding Dublin journalism in decline, he moved to

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

to become editor of the '' Kilkenny Moderator'', which was printed at number 28 High Street. It was here he became involved with

Ellen Cuffe, Countess of Desart Ellen Odette Cuffe, Countess of Desart (; 1 September 1857 – 29 June 1933) was a London-born Jewish woman who was best known as an Irish politician, company director, Gaelicist and philanthropist in Ireland. She has been called '"the most impo ...

and Captain Otway Cuffe. He engaged in the revival of the local woollen and woodworking industries. In 1900 he founded the '' All-Ireland Review'', and returned to Dublin to manage it until it ceased publication in 1908. O'Grady contributed to James Larkins' ''

The Irish Worker ''The Irish Worker'' was a newspaper produced by James Larkin, initially edited by Larkin and published in 1911 as ''The Irish Worker and Peoples' Advocate'', it was suppressed in August 1914. James Connolly edited the paper when Larkin was in ja ...

'' paper. O'Grady's works were an influence on

WB Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

and George Russell and this led to him being known as the "Father of the

". Being as much proud of his family's Unionism and Protestantism as of his

Gaelic Irish The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...

ancestry – identities that were increasingly seen as antithetical in the late 1800s – he was described by

Augusta, Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...

as a "

fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated ...

unionist".

Published works

*''The Emigrant: A Poem in Four Cantos'' (1842) *''History of Ireland: The Heroic Period'' (1878) * ''Early Bardic Literature of Ireland'' (1879) * ''History of Ireland: Cuculain and His Contemporaries'' (1880) * ''Toryism and the Tory Democracy'' (1886) *''Red Hugh's Captivity: A Picture of Ireland, Social and Political, in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth'' (1889) * ''Finn and his Companions'' (1891) * ''The Bog of the Stars'' (1893) *''Lost On Du-Corrig Or Twixt Earth And Ocean'' (1894) * ''The Coming of Cuculain'' (1894) *''The Chain of Gold'' (1895) *''In the Wake of King James, Or, Dun-Randal on the Sea'' (1896) * ''Ulrick the Ready'' (1896) * ''The Flight of the Eagle'' (1897) *''All Ireland'' (1898) *''Hugh Roe O'Donnell: A Sixteenth Century Irish Historical Play'' (1902) * ''The Departure of Dermot'' (1913) *''Sun and Wind'' (1928)

Notes

References

Memoir of Standish James O'Grady by Dr. Hugh O'Grady, 1929

External links

* *
Between Imperial Romance and Irish Revival
(2004) by Patrick Maume * Maume, Patrick:

History Ireland ''History Ireland'' is a magazine with a focus on the history of Ireland. The first issue of the magazine appeared in Spring 1993. It went full-colour in 2004 and since 2005 it is published bi-monthly. It features articles by a range of writers ...

, p. 44, article feature
''A nursery of editors: the Cork Free Press, 1910–16''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogrady, Standish James 1846 births 1928 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin 19th-century Irish historians Irish folklorists Irish journalists Irish writers Irish Anglicans O'Grady family People from County Cork People educated at The Abbey School (Tipperary)