The Irish standard., 1888-07-14
IRISH GRAVES IN ENGLAND.
BY MICHAEL lIAcDONAGH.
JOHN FRANCIS O'DoSEE1L.

When John Francis O'Donnell died,
in 1874, the Nation, in a touching obit-
uary, said:
Swords fail us to express our grief at
the sad event which takes from us a
valued friend, constant contributor,
and from Ireland one Of the most loving
and gifted Of her sons
It then went on to express hope that
the Irish people, for whom O'Donnell
lived and labored, would not let his re-
mains mingle with the earth Of London,
but would give them place and nae
mortal in the land which the bard so de-
votedly loved It is now too late, per-
haps, to have the ashes Of O'Donneli
removed to ireland, but the Irish peo-
ple of to-day can at least see that fit
ting memorial is erected over the resting
place of the poet in the Catholic Gene
terry of st. Mary, Kensal-green, outside
london.
In 1887 I first visited the grave. A.
few OF the letters of the name John T.
C'Donnell," could then be read, but the
years in which he was born and died, his
age and the name Of German relative
OF his through marriage, who is also
buried in the same grave, were oblitera-
ted. The only part of the inscription
that aow remains is ''Ptay for the soul, y
beneath which there is a representation
of a CROSS.
Johu Francis O'Donnell was LINER
lick man. He was born in that city IN
1887. Nicholas street in the old town,
and Upper William street in the new are
each credited with being the scene OF
his birth. The Latter has the stronger
claim to the distinction. One of his
poems, published in the Shamrock about
twenty gears ago, is called t'High Street,
limerick, and III it he gives descsip~
zion Of the quaint old thoroughfare that
runs off William street, and speaks Of
his boybood being spent there. In
snany Of his poems there are flial refer
ences to limerick, and bits of scenic de-
scriptions, for the accuracy of which
chose who know the old city can voueh.
He SAYS iii his stGreen Gift''--a bunch
Of shamrock received by GIL exile across
the Atlantic -..-.
II kissed it twenty-hfty times,
The delicate and howerless spray;
And Limerick and its csstled skies
Rose up distinct before my eyes.
finder the heaven of Canada.
aa.s the Shannon westward run,
THE hills Of Glare fade off in blue,
rl'he glamour of thu autumn sun
Across the woodlands OF Te1voa,''
One OF his finest poems is ''On the
isamp art~-Lirnerick. 1t was written
while O'Donnell YVES in London.
When he was fourteen years Of age
D'Donnell began to contribute verses
ana prose sketches to The Kilkenny
Journal. His literary tastes asserted
themselves very early, and, following
the bent OF these tastes, he adopted jour
aaalisn, as profession. For year Or
two he was reporter on the Munster
News "a Limerick organ that has been q
training school for many an able jour-
nalist-and then we find him in the SUBJ
editorial chair of the Tipperary Exam
.iner. In 1860 he was attracted to Lon
.do,i--to London, with it's great possibil-
tiles Of glorious success, or-abject fail
.ure; to London, with its streets paved
with gold, or formed Of thorns and
b1iars, OF Goals Of fires, OF trials and diff
fculties; to London, where many an
Irish Journalist before him reached the
highest heights of fame, and roeny
others--too many, a1as!--were plunged
into the deepest depths Of failure and
poverty. 1t was bold venture for q
young man to whom the ways OF great
cities were strange and repellant.
&)'Donnell's SUCCESS in London was but
meagre. He had plenty Of ability, and
5alent of varied order. and astonish-
ing quickness and readiness Of co,npo-
sltion, but he was lacking in some Of the
other qualities OF successful journalist
he wanted stability, fxity Of purpose,
application, grit, and Willingness to
drudge. Poor O'Donnell seems to have
had many Of the parts Of Goldsmith,
He could .'write like an angel" and he
knew not what it was to put money in
his purse.
, On his arrival in London O'Donnell
was appointed editor Of the Universal
News-an Irish Catholic organ, then in
It's infancy. It never even reached
childhood died in a year or two, and
Its editor returned to Dublin to fill va
cancy on the staff Of the The Nation
under A. M. Sullivan. The next year
he was back in London again; ard he
seems to have swung like pendulum
between the two metropolises for the
ensuing ten years. He never cared to
& i.,con,,u anv noaitior 10np Tn To,,dnn