Thomas William Hazen Rolleston (1 May 1857 – 5 December 1920) was an Irish writer, literary figure and translator, known as a poet but publishing over a wide range of literary and political topics. He lived at various times in

Killiney Killiney () is an affluent seaside resort and suburb in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring Dalkey, east of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century Killiney Churc ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, Germany, London and

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 ...

; settling finally in 1908 in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he died. His Killiney home, called Secrora, subsequently became the home of tennis player Joshua Pim.

Early years

Rolleston was born in Glasshouse,

Shinrone Shinrone () is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is in the southernmost part of the county, close to the border with County Tipperary. It lies at the junction of the R491 regional road between Nenagh and Roscrea with the R492 to Sharavo ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

, the son of a judge. He was educated at St Columba's College, Dublin and

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 ...

Career

After a time in Germany he founded the ''Dublin University Review'' in 1885; he published ''Poems and Ballads of Young Ireland'' (1888), and a ''Life of Lessing'' (1889). As the first managing director of the Irish Industries' Society, he helped preserve from extinction many Irish handicrafts, such as lacemaking, handmade tweeds, and

glassmaking Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container ...

. In London in the 1890s he was one of the

Rhymers' Club The Rhymers' Club was a group of London-based male poets, founded in 1890 by W. B. Yeats and Ernest Rhys. Originally not much more than a dining club, it produced anthologies of poetry in 1892 and 1894.''The Oxford Companion to English Literature' ...

and a founder-member of the

Irish Literary Society The Irish Literary Society was founded in London in 1892 by William Butler Yeats, T. W. Rolleston ,and Charles Gavan Duffy. Members of the Southwark Irish Literary Club met in Clapham Reform Club and changed the name early in the year. On 13 Febru ...

. He was to cross paths several times, and sometimes to clash, with

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 ...

, who described Rolleston in his memoirs as an "intimate enemy". He was also involved in Douglas Hyde's Gaelic League. He also spent time as a journalist, and as a civil servant involved with agriculture.

Family life

He had eight children, from two marriages. His first marriage was to

Edith de Burgh Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...

(1859-1896), daughter of the Rev. Dr W. de Burgh; and his second, in 1897, was to Maud Brooke, daughter of the Rev. Stopford A. Brooke.''The Times'', 6 December 1920.

Works

Approximately 168 books are associated with Rolleston, some as writer or editor. These are the more prominent works; publication dates listed if known. * ''The Teaching of Epictetus'' (1888) * ''Life of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing'' (1889) * ''Tannhauser: a dramatic poem'' by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

(illustrated by Willy Pogany) (1900) * ''A Treasury of Irish Poetry in the English Tongue'' by Stopford A. Brooke & T. W. Rolleston (1900)
''Parallel Paths: A Study in Biology, Ethics, and Art''
(1908) * ''The High Deeds of Finn Mac Cumhail'' (1910)
''Celtic Myths and Legends''
also entitled ''Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race'' (1911, reprinted 1917, 1990) ** ''The Illustrated Guide to Celtic Mythology''. London: Studio Editions, 1993 (Based on ''Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race'') * ''Parsifal or, The Legend of the Holy Grail, retold from ancient sources with acknowledgement to the "Parsifal" of Richard Wagner'' (1912) * ''The tale of Lohengrin, knight of the swan'' by Richard Wagner and T. W. Rolleston; illustrated by Willy Pogany (1913)

References

External links

Biography
at Offalyhistory.com
Details of address in Killiney
at nationalarchives.ie * * * * * (Rolleston, T. W., Commentator; Davis, Thomas, Creator) * ''849: the Dead at Clonmacnois'', from the Irish of Angus O'Gillan; ''The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolleston, T. W. 1857 births 1920 deaths Irish poets People from County Offaly Irish translators