Author: Meek, Matthew
Biography:
MEEK, Matthew (fl 1811-39)
O’Donoghue (1912) identified Matthew Meek as the pseudonym of Richard Ramsey (Ramsay) of Letterkenny, County Donegal. This is an error. Probably Matthew Meek was the real name of the lay Covenanter who wrote Tale of the Butter-horn in opposition to the “Regium Donum” or king’s grant given to Irish Presbyterian ministers. No public or newspaper records have been located, but Meek likely lived in Belfast. The Tale of the Butter-horn, his one work in verse, is written in Ullans or Ulster Scots. His other works include A Letter Addressed to the Reverend H. Henry of Connor Ocassioned [sic] by his Remarks on the Butter-horn (1812), Three Letters to the Rev. H. Henry (1830), Civil and Religious Liberty Consistent with the True Spirit of Gospel Covenanting (1839). Title pages identify him as “an illiterate and very humble tradesman” or “a reformed Presbyterian.” His works are listed in the Linen Hall library, Belfast, under Matthew Meek; the NLI holds several of his prose works but follows O’Donoghue in identifying the author as Richard Ramsey. (WorldCat; O’Donoghue) SR