David Herbison (14 October 1800 – 26 May 1880) was an Irish poet, known as "the Bard of Dunclug". Some of his poems are in the

Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect (whose proponents assert is a dialect of Scots language, Scots) spoken in parts of Ulster, being almost exclusively spoken in parts of Northern Ireland a ...

, and he was one of the group of poets known as the Rhyming Weavers.

Life

Herbison was born on 14 October 1800 in

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, the fourth child of William Herbison, an innkeeper, and his wife Elizabeth. At three years of age he lost his sight through an attack of smallpox, and for four years was totally blind. Through medical treatment he regained the use of one eye, but his health continued to be delicate, and because of this he received little formal education. At fourteen he began to learn linen-weaving on a hand loom. His father died in 1825, and on 5 April 1827 he and an elder brother sailed from Belfast for Canada. Their vessel was wrecked in the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

, and twenty-four of the passengers drowned, including his brother's wife and her child. The two brothers escaped with difficulty, losing their belongings, and made their way to

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. Because of the shock of this experience, and the unfamiliar climate, he returned a few weeks later to Ireland, and settled down again beside Ballymena, resuming his old occupation of weaving. He married in 1830 Margaret Archbold, the daughter of a neighbouring farmer, and they lived in a cottage in Dunclug, near Ballymena."Herbison, David"
''

Dictionary of Irish Biography The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a biographical dictionary of notable Irish people and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. History The ...

'', October 2009. Before emigrating he had begun to write poetry. With his first wages he had bought a copy of the works of the Scottish poet Allan Ramsay, walking to Belfast to obtain it; a year later, he made the same the journey to buy the works of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

. Shortly after his return from Canada he began to send contributions to local newspapers and periodicals, and to the ''

Dublin Penny Journal The ''Dublin Penny Journal'' was a weekly newspaper, and later series of published volumes, originating from Dublin, Ireland, between 1832 and 1836. Published each Saturday, by J. S. Folds, George Petrie (artist), George Petrie, and Caesar Otway, ...

'', his first published poem appearing in the ''

Northern Whig The ''Northern Whig'' (from 1919 the ''Northern Whig and Belfast Post'') was a daily regional newspaper in Ireland which was first published in 1824 in Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ir ...

'' in 1830. Encouraged by the success of these ventures, he published in 1841 ''The Fate of McQuillan and O'Neill's Daughter, a Legend of Dunluce, with other Poems'', which was well received. In 1848 he collected a number of other writings into ''Midnight Musings''. His later publications were ''Woodland Wanderings'' (1858), ''The Snow-Wreath'' (1869), and ''The Children of the Year'' (1876). He continued to publish pieces in newspapers of Belfast and elsewhere. Herbison wrote in standard English, and in the

, which he used less in his later works, since the dialect became less popular and he wished to write for a wider readership. He was one of the group of poets known as the Rhyming Weavers, and was known by fellow poets as the Bard of Dunclug. He became reasonably prosperous from his literary success, and in later years he became an agent for a Belfast linen firm. He retained a radical outlook, supporting the Tenant Right League. He and his wife had four sons and a daughter, of whom only a son remained in Ireland, the others emigrating. Several of Herbison's poems deal with the subject of emigration from Ireland. On 26 May 1880 he died in his cottage in Dunclug, and was buried in the New Cemetery in Ballymena, where in 1882 a monument to his memory was erected by public subscription. A posthumous collection of his five books of verse was published in 1883.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbison, David 1800 births 1880 deaths People from Ballymena 19th-century Irish poets Ulster Weaver Poets