Maginn, William, LL.D.—One of the greatest scholars and humorists Cork has produced. He was born in that city on July 10th, 1793, and graduated LL.D. at Dublin University in 1819. He was, from its commencement, the most brilliant contributor to Blackwood’s Magazine, and also edited Fraser on its appearance in 1830. His fatal propensity to liquor prevented his doing himself justice, though he wrote many inimitable pieces, which have mostly been collected. He was one of the most lovable of men. He died on August 21st, 1842.
Maher, William.—A Waterford clothier, who is considered the most likely author of “The Night before Larry was Stretched.” One thing is certain, Dean Burrowes of Cork did not write it, as has often been claimed. Walsh’s Ireland Sixty Years Ago (1847) gives it to Maher, who flourished about 1780.
Mahony, Rev. Francis Sylvester.—Better remembered as “Father Prout,” the name he took as his pseudonym in writing. He was of Kerry family, but was born in Cork in 1804—not 1805, as is frequently said. He was educated for the priesthood at Amiens and Paris, and joined the Jesuit order. After some years, however, he practically gave up his functions, and led a Bohemian life. He was one of the most admired contributors to Fraser, where his “Reliques” appeared. In later life he acted as Paris correspondent of The Globe (which he partly owned) and as Roman correspondent of The Daily News. Before his death, which occurred in Paris on May 18th, 1866, he repented of his disregard for his sacred calling. He was buried in his native city. It is extremely difficult to make extracts from his prose, on account of the superabundant classical allusions and references which it contains. He was not a very agreeable man, personally.
Mangan, James Clarence.—One of the first of Irish poets, and held to be the greatest of them by many of his countrymen. He was born in Dublin on May 1st, 1803, and was the son of a grocer. He wrote innumerable poems to the Irish periodicals of his time, notably The Nation and Dublin University Magazine. He knew various languages, but his pretended translations from Turkish, Coptic, Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian are so many elaborate jokes. He was most unfortunate in life, mainly through his addiction to drink. His was a wonderful personality, which has attracted many writers, and his great poetical gifts are gradually becoming evident to English critics. He was greatly encouraged by his admirers, but to little purpose. His poems have been collected into several small volumes, but there is no complete edition, though it is badly wanted. He died in a Dublin hospital on June 20th, 1849. See John McCall’s Life of J. C. Mangan for further particulars of his interesting career.
Mathew, Frank.—Is a solicitor and a nephew of the eminent English judge, Sir James Mathew. Was born in 1865, and his first literary work was his biography of his illustrious relative, Father Mathew, “The Apostle of Temperance.” His admirable Irish stories, which appeared in The Idler, have been collected in a volume called At the Rising of the Moon. They are very graphically told.
McCall, Patrick Joseph.—A genuinely Irish poet, whose original poems and translations from the Irish are very characteristic. He is the son of a Dublin grocer (the author of a memoir of Mangan), and was born in Dublin on March 6th, 1861. Was educated at the Catholic University School in his native city, and for some years has been a frequent and welcome contributor to the Dublin Nationalist press. A good selection of his poems has just been published under the title of Irish Noinins. His stories have mostly appeared in The Shamrock of Dublin.
McKowen, James.—Born at Lambeg, near Lisburn, co. Antrim, on February 11th, 1814. He received only an elementary education, and was first employed at a thread manufactory, afterwards working as a linen-bleacher for many years. He wrote principally for North of Ireland papers, and was exceedingly popular with Ulster people, but one or two of his songs have found a much wider audience. He died on April 22nd, 1889.
Moore, Thomas.—Son of a Dublin grocer, and born in that city on May 28th, 1779. He graduated at Dublin University, and studied law in London. He began to woo the muse, as the saying goes, at a very early age, but his first great success was occasioned by his Irish Melodies, which began to appear in parts in 1806. He died on February 26th, 1852.
O’Conor, Charles Patrick.—Born in co. Cork in or about 1837, and came to England in his youth. He has written some good verse, and was granted a Civil List pension of £50 a year. To Irish papers he contributed very largely, and published several small collections of verse. His complete works were published by himself, and are to be obtained from him at Hither Green, Lewisham.
O’Donnell, John Francis.—An Irish writer who is best known to his countrymen as a poet. He was born in Limerick in 1837, and began to write for the press at the age of fourteen. In 1861 he came to London, and wrote largely for various journals, including those of Charles Dickens. He died on May 7th, 1874. A selection from his poems was published in 1891, through the exertions of the Southwark Irish Literary Club.