Author: Downes, William Macnamara
Biography:
DOWNES, William Macnamara (d 1853: Freeman’s Journal)
O’Donoghue identifies him as probably from Kilrush, County Clare, but biographical information is scarce. He contributed verse to periodicals and in 1845 advertised a new literary periodical, “The Limerick Monthly Journal.” It is not known if the periodical was ever published, but he was editor of The Kilrush Magazine and Monthly Journal which began publication in 1847 (the inaugural number is in the BL). Other works include Poetical Sketches Rural, Pathetic, and Descriptive (1836), Poems, Epistles, &c. (1839), Temperance Melodies for the Teetotallers of Ireland (1843), and The Exile, a poem (1850). In 1853 he left Limerick for New York City but died on 15 Sept. immediately after his arrival. (O’Donoghue; Limerick Reporter 6 May 1845; Freeman’s Journal 14 Nov. 1853) SR