The very imperfect work issued by me under the same title twenty years ago, although brought out under many disadvantages, met with such success that from the first I was encouraged to contemplate an improved edition in a form more worthy of its subject. Originally published in parts, and from the author’s private residence, never: advertised or pushed in any way, conceived and carried through in London, away from the most fruitful sources of information, nevertheless, not only did the original parts go quickly out of print, but for some years hardly a week passed which did not bring its batch of interesting and suggestive correspondence from well-wishers and subscribers in the United Kingdom, America, and Australia con- cerning the book. It was warmly praised by the Press, which recognised its utility to all interested in Irish literary effort, and appreciated what it not unfairly described as the enthusiasm of the author.
But, if the work was received far more generously than I had expected, still, I, at least, never failed to observe its many defects and shortcomings. The information was too loosely strung together, it was often too vague and general, and occasionally the bibliographies lacked directness and method. I realised the want of a book of the kind on a more comprehensive plan.
No sooner was the original publication issued than I commenced to glean additional information from all available sources, and I continued that unwearying research which had become such a hobby with me that no occasion for increasing my rapidly accumulating material was allowed to slip. From friendly correspondents in three Continents I gained many valuable items of information. To such an extent did the work grow, that the edition which I am nov, by the enterprise of a Dublin publisher, enabled to offer to the public, may almost claim to be an entirely new book.
Twenty years ago Irish biographical literature was in a rather bad way. There was no publication in existence to which one could confidently turn for information about an Irish writer. Alfred Webb’s Compendium of Irish Biography was excellent as far as it went, but it was too restricted in scope to include many names which never- theless have their interest to students of literature. There was no Who’s Who. The Dictionary of National Biography had not long been launched, and such biographical works as were available were edited and managed by people to whom Ireland and its literary achievements meant nothing.
With this general ignorance and indifference to Irish writers, it is not surprising that the most absurd mistakes were made every day by editors of anthologies, and writers of literary matter for the press, and naturally the field of selection from Irish poets was narrowed down to a very small space. It was not the least of its merits, if I may say so, that the original issue of this work cleared up innumerable mysteries of authorship, and gave the right author the credit (or other- wise) of his literary effort. A close and persistent following of clues in Irish literary journals, a patient tracking of the nom-de-guerre to its true owner, afforded for the first time a true insight into the nature and extent of a particular author’s activity. I spared no pains in attempt- ing to unravel any doubtful ma,tter, and the elucidation of the smallest point often entailed real and prolonged trouble.
I have been asked why I did not enlarge the scope of the work — why I restricted it to poetical writers, and even of these only the Anglo-Irish. To which I may reply, that to record one section of Irish authors has proved sufficiently onerous. It has necessitated constant research for many years, and has not precluded anybody, with the necessary qualifications, from doing a similar work for, say, the Gaelic poets. An old friend of mine and an excellent Gaelic scholar — under whom I studied Irish when I was thirteen years of age — told me my title was a misnomer, and reproached me for incompleteness, and forgetfulness of the ancient time when “a third of the men of Erin"were poets. The criticism was sufficiently alarming to decide me to keep to my original plan, which was in itself likely to be fairly comprehensive. Has not Dion Boucicault told us that every Irishman carries a harp in his breast? So I confined myself to the Irish men and women who used the English language, and found the record of achievement no small one.
At first I was disposed to deal only with those who had published volumes, but I soon saw that this would exclude many notable Irish singers who had never taken the trouble to collect their verses, and I never expected to see their insouciant countrymen do it for them. Therefore all those poets who had found an anthology wide enough to take them in, under whatever pretext, were eligible to some extent, while the search through scores of Irish newspapers and magazines for biographical and bibliographical information, revealed some hundreds of writers who were quite well worth recording and who in any country but Ireland would have been corralled long ago by some conscientious editor within the bounds of an anthology. And if the reader thinks I have not been critical, I would remind him that not every contributor to a “Poet’s Corner” could be admitted. Only those fugitive writers who had a genuine poetical gift came within my survey. As the proportion of people who write verse in Ireland is enormously greater than an Englishman would believe, considerable discrimination has been necessarily observed. But I am confident that one will never look for an Irish writer of real talent, even though he may have written only one pleasant song, and fail to find him. I have, of course, never refused admission to the author of a volume, if only for bibliographical reasons. To shut out those who had been so indifierent to their fame as to let their verses remain buried in forgotten or inaccessible periodicals would have been to exclude Michael Doheny, Joseph Brenan, John Walsh, Charles Kickham, Charles Gavan Duffy, and a host of others whose names speak eloquently to many an Irish reader who has kept the files or treasured cuttings of verse from his favourite periodical. One of the first things I did was to make an exhaustive index of the poems which appeared in the immortal Nation newspaper over a long period, and all its contributors who seemed to me to have any claim had that claim allowed.
Generally speaking, I did not press into service those who were only partly or remotely of Irish blood, though Mrs. Hemans, Edgar Allan Poe, the Brontes, and many others, had strong claims. At the same time, English writers who made their homes in Ireland and identi- fied themselves with it have been considered admissible.
It only remains for me to thank the many friends who very kindly helped me with information within their special reach. To the late Joseph Glynn, of the Downs, Mullingar; the late John McCall, of Dublin; the late John Tarpey Kelly, the late Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, snd the late John O’Leary, I am deeply indebted for much of the matter [iv] contained in the earlier work, Dr. John S. Crone, editor of the invaluable Irish Book-Lover, Francis J. Bigger, editor of The Ulster Journal of Archaeology; and the Eev. M. P. Hickey, P. J. MeCall, W. J. Lawrence, Eev. Matthew Eussell, S.J. (from the rich stores of whose Irish Monthly I have drawn very largely); B. E. McC. Dix, J. De L. Smyth (all of Dublin); Daniel Crilly, F. A. Fahy, and Frank McDonagh, of London; A. A. Campbell, J. J. Marshall, David Ken- nedy, and the Rev. W. T. Latimer, of the Northern, and James Cole- man and the late C. G. Doran, of the Southern Province. Mr. Francis Nugent, of Pebody, Mass., U.S.A., deserves special thanks for his invaluable help in tracing the Irish-American poets. To all these, and to the many poets, living and dead, who kindly gave me particulars about their own work, I have privately expressed my acknowledgments.
D. J. O’DONOGHUE. |