John Duncan Craig (23 September 1830 – 10 October 1909) was an Irish poet, writer and

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

clergyman who was also an authority on the

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

. He was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, son of John Craig of Dulsholm, Scotland, and Horsehead, County Cork, and Agnes Maria Taylor, of Edendale, County Dublin. He spent part of his youth in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

and

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, where his father worked as a bank manager.Dónal Ó Luanaigh, Dublin Historical Record, Vol. 50 No. 1. 1997 He was educated 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 Unive ...

where he graduated B.A. in 1851, M.A in 1857 and B.D. and D.D. in 1869. He was ordained

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in Dublin in 1853 and became a chaplain in the Irish prison system. As

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Temple Breda, County Cork, he was chaplain to the garrison of Camden, and held also an appointment as chaplain to the Church of Ireland convicts stationed there. In the 1850s and 1860s he held a number of posts as curate in St. John's,

Carrigaline Carrigaline (; ) is a town and civil parish in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, situated on the River Owenabue. Located about south of Cork (city), Cork city, and with a population of 18,239 people, it is one of the largest commuter ...

, Killanully,

Passage West Passage West (locally known as "Passage"; ) is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour, some 10 km south-east of Cork (city), Cork city. Passage West was designated a conservation area in the 2003 Co ...

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long ...

and afterwards became the last Vicar of

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork (city), Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a populatio ...

(1865–1872).Stephen Brown (ed) Ireland in Fiction. Maunsel, Dublin, 1919. p. 71 While still young he had to travel to the south of France for health reasons and while there became well acquainted with the language and literature of the region. He enlisted as a chaplain in the Prussian army during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

where he was shot and seriously wounded; he later wrote of his experiences. From 1873 to 1884 he was chaplain to the

Molyneux Asylum The Molyneux Asylum for Blind Females was opened June 1, 1815 in Peter Street, Dublin, in what was formerly the residence of Thomas Molyneux (1641-1733), whose sister-in-law, Lucy Domville, had been blind. The building had been sold to Philip ...

, and from then until his retirement in 1901 he was incumbent of Holy Trinity Church, Lower Gardiner Street in Dublin. He had to return to the south for the good of his health and died at the Villa Miramare, in San Remo, Italy, on 10 October 1909. He married, on 19 April 1860, Dorothea Bird of Kinsale, and had a son and a daughter. He later married Adelaide Allen, to whom he dedicated his 1877 book, ''Miejour''.John Harding Cole: Cole's Church and Parish Records at http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie

Select works

* ''Real Pictures of Clerical Life in Ireland'' * ''Reminiscences'' * ''Ballads of the Irish Reign of Terror'' (1880) * ''John Maverell, A Tale of the Riviera'' (1898) * ''Bruce Reynell, or The Oxford Man in Ireland'' (1898) * ''La Debanado: Scenes, Incidents and Sketches in France and Germany During the War'' (1871) * ''Scriptural Coincidences; or, Traits of Truth'' * ''Kinsale Tracts'' (1874) * ''Lady Wilmerding of Maison Rouge'' * ''The Handbook of the Modern Provençal Language'' * ''Miejour; or, Provençal Legend, Life, Language, and Literature in the Land of the Felibre'' (1877) * ''The Cross in Sardinia''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, John Duncan 1831 births 1909 deaths Irish male poets Writers from Dublin (city) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish people of Scottish descent Franco-Prussian War chaplains 19th-century Irish poets 19th-century Irish male writers 19th-century Irish Anglican priests Christian clergy from Dublin (city)