Author: Dunkin, William
Biography:
DUNKIN, William (1706/7-65: ODNB)
He was the son of Patrick Dunkin (d 1719; he may have been the curate of Dromiskin, Co. Louth). His mother’s name is not known. He was educated at St. Patrick’s Cathedral School—it was likely there that he first met Jonathan Swift, then Dean of St. Patrick’s—and at Trinity College Dublin (BA 1725, MA 1732, DD 1744). His aunt had left her Louth estate to Trinity on condition of his education; he subsequently received an annuity from the college which, on Swift’s urging, was increased from £70 to £100. While at Trinity he became known for his scholarship and his lively spirits and wit; one poem from this period, “The Art of Gate-passing: or, the Murphaeid,” is a mock-epic in Latin about the attempts of freshmen to pass unnoticed by the college porter after a night out in Dublin. Dunkin wrote fluently in Ancient Greek and Latin (he sometimes translated his own verse into Latin and then back into English) and Swift described him in 1737 as “the best English as well as the best Latin poet of this Kingdom” (DIB). His English translation of Swift’s “Carberiae Rupes” is printed in collections of Swift’s verse. Although the details are not known, he made an imprudent marriage which damaged his ecclesiastical career despite Swift’s attempts to have him appointed to the church in Coleraine. He taught at St. Michael Le Pole school in Ship [Sheep] Street, Dublin. Through Lord Chesterfield’s recommendation, he was made master of Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, in 1746 and he remained there until his death. During his lifetime much of his verse circulated in manuscript or was printed in periodicals, including the Gentleman’s Magazine. (DIB; ODNB 19 Feb. 2021) SR