Skip to main content

Author: Young, Robert

Biography:

YOUNG, Robert (c. 1800-67: DIB)

He was born in Fintona, County Tyrone, but the names of his parents are not known. He had very little education, a fact he resented for the rest of his life. He was encouraged by Thomas Cowan of Fintona who introduced him to John Graham (q.v.). He worked as a nailer in Newtown Limavady but, despite Graham’s recommendation that he focus on making a living, he was angered into writing verse by the Catholic Association. His 1832 book has an impressive list of subscribers, is dedicated to “the Orange and Conservative Societies of Ireland,” and directs the songs to be sung at Orange lodges throughout the country. Although the verse hardly rises above doggerel, it was popular with its intended audience. In 1866 he petitioned for a government pension (probably from the Royal Bounty Fund not the Royal Literary Fund as stated in the DIB) and was granted one through the intercession of the Marquis of Dufferin. In Mar. 1867 the issue was raised in the House of Commons and extracts from the verse were read out; although Young seems to have kept the pension, newspaper accounts of the fracas point to not only the poor quality of the verse but also its bloodthirsty nature. It is not known where or when he died. (DIB 28 Dec. 2021; Public Opinion 11 [1867] 339-40; Dublin Evening Post 30 Mar. 1867)

 

Books written (1):

Londonderry: printed for the author at the "Sentinel" office, 1832