Author: Clarke, John Bertridge
Biography:
CLARKE, John Bertridge (d 1825: New Times)
Reliable information is scarce, but he likely came from Roscommon. He was a brilliant student at Trinity College Dublin, becoming a sizar at the age of fourteen and a scholar in 1817. Accounts of his character suggest he was eccentric and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. While at Trinity, he contributed to the Dublin Magazine and acted at Dublin’s Crow Street theatre. In 1821 he was joint editor with W. H. Stack of a short-lived daily theatrical register, The Drama. In 1822 he subscribed to The Spirit of the Lakes by Catherine Luby (q.v.) and they may have been related. He spent time in London where his Ravenna was produced at Covent Garden in 1824. He died in lodgings at Russell Street, Covent Garden, London, on 22 May 1825; a newspaper notice describes him as having "high literary attainments." O’Donoghue says that he left some works in manuscript on his death. (O’Donoghue; Irish Monthly Magazine June 1832; Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail 20 Jan. 1866; New Times 23 May 1824) SR