William Preston (1753 – 2 February 1807) was an Irish poet, playwright and

essayist An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...

Life

Born in the parish of St. Michan's, Dublin, he was admitted a pensioner at

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 ...

in 1766. He graduated B.A. in 1770, and M.A. in 1773, studied in the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...

, and was called to the Irish bar in 1777. At one point he was Commissioner of Appeals.From ''Compendium of Irish Biography''
/ref> Preston assisted in the formation of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...

, and was elected its first secretary in 1786, a post he held during the rest of his life. He also helped to found the Dublin Library Society, and was a contributor to its ''Transactions''. Preston, who was a member of the Monks of the Screw, died on 2 February 1807. He was buried in St. Thomas's churchyard, Dublin.

Works

Preston wrote occasional poetry for periodicals—including ''The Press'', the organ of the

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

, and the ''Sentimental and Masonic Magazine'', 1794—and he contributed to ''Pranceriana'' (1784) a collection of satirical pieces on John Hely-Hutchinson, provost of Trinity College, and to Joshua Edkins's collection of poems (1789–90 and 1801). His main success was his tragedy ''Democratic Rage'', based on incidents in the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. It was produced at Dublin in 1793, and ran through three editions in as many weeks. Other works were: * ''Heroic Epistle of Mr. Manly … to Mr. Pinchbeck'', satire (anon.), Dublin, 1775. * ''Heroic Epistle to Mr. Twiss, by Donna Teresa Pinna y Ruiz'', a satire, Dublin, 1775; 2nd edit. Dublin, 1775. * ''Heroic Answer of Mr. Twiss'', by the same, a satire, Dublin, 1775. These two works were aimed at Richard Twiss. * ''1777, or a Picture of the Manners and Customs of the Age'', poem (anon.), Dublin, 1778? * ''The Female Congress, or the Temple of Cottyto'', mock-heroic poem in four cantos, London, 1779 * ''The Contrast, or a Comparison between England and Ireland'', poem, 1780. * ''Offa and Ethelbert, or the Saxon Princes'', tragedy, Dublin, 1791. * ''Messina Freed'', tragedy, Dublin, 1793. * ''The Adopted Son'', a tragedy. * ''Rosmanda'', a tragedy, Dublin, 1793. * ''Democratic Rage'', a tragedy, London, 1793. * ''Poetical Works'', 2 vols. Dublin, 1793. * ''The Siege of Ismail'', a tragedy, Dublin, 1794. * ''A Letter to Bryan Edwards, Esq. … on some Passages of his "History of the West Indies"'', London, 1794. * ''The Natural Advantages of Ireland'', Dublin, 1796. * ''The Argonautics of Apollonius Rhodius'', translated into English verse with notes, 1803 (various other editions). * ''Some Considerations on the History of the Ancient Amatory Writers and the comparative Merits of the Elegiac Poets'', Dublin? 1805? * ''Posthumous Poems'', edited by Hon. Frances Preston, with portrait, Dublin, 1809.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, William 1753 births 1807 deaths Irish poets Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish male poets Irish male dramatists and playwrights Writers from Dublin (city) 18th-century Irish writers 19th-century Irish writers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin

Life

Works

See also

Notes