Jeremiah Joseph Callanan, or James Joseph Callanan (1795–1829), Irish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, was born in Ballinhassig County Cork in 1795 to a medical family, died 19 September 1829 at the Hospital of São José,

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Life

Callanan studied for Catholic priesthood at

Maynooth College St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland. The college and national seminary on its grounds are often referred to as Maynooth College. The college was of ...

, and afterwards law at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, where he won two prizes for his poems. He left in 1816 after determining he had no

vocation A vocation () is an Work (human activity), occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity. ...

. He returned to Cork to become a

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

, though he subsequently entered

, on an aborted idea of legal studies. With his financial resources exhausted, he enlisted in the 18th Royal Irish but was bought out by some friends. In 1823 he was for a few months an assistant as the school of a Doctor Maginn in the city. Maginn introduced him to

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by publisher William Blackwood and originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'', but quickly relaunched as ''Blackwood's Edinb ...

to which Callanan became a contributor, as well as to other magazines. According to the 1878 ''Compendium of Irish Biography''. No trace of his grave in Lisbon now remains. Callanan also contributed translations of Irish verse to ''

'' before traveling to

to work as a tutor in 1827. Jeremiah Callanan died in Lisbon in 1829, as he was preparing to return to Ireland. His great-niece is

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated actress

Pauline Collins Pauline Collins (born 3 September 1940) is a British actress who first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971–1973) and its spin-off '' Thomas & Sarah'' (1979). In 1992, she published her autobiography ' ...

.Pauline Collins biography
accessed 7-21-2015

Well-known poems

"The Outlaw of Loch Lene," Callanan's most well-known poem, begins with the line, "O many a day have I made good ale in the glen". It is one of the two Callanan poems included in Brendan Kennelly's ''The Penguin Book of Irish Verse'' (1970) the other one being "The Convict of Clonmel". Both are translations from the Irish.

Books of poetry

*''Recluse of Inchidony, and other Poems.'' 1830. *''Poems'' (ed. M.F. McCarthy). 1847.
The Poems of J. J. Callanan. A New Edition, with Biographical Introduction and Notes
(c) 1992 Chadwyck-Healey

References

External links

* http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/JamesJosephCallanan.php * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Callanan, Jeremiah Joseph 1795 births 1829 deaths Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Christian clergy from Cork (city) 19th-century Irish poets Irish expatriates in Portugal