Aubrey De Vere (1814-1902)

Irish poet, born in Co. Limerick, January 1814, as the son of Sir Aubrey de Vere (1788-46), himself a poet. He started his literary life as a devotee of Wordsworth and Coleridge, and built friendships with such literary celebrities as Tennyson, Browning, Carlyle, and Sir Henry Taylor. Following the death of his father and the devastating Irish famine, he started to deepen his religious sentiment, which led him to convert to Roman Catholicism. His hymn “A May Carol” is said to be composed at Pope Pius IX’s suggestion. He also showed great sympathy to Celtic legend and literature, and provided a pathway to the Celtic Revival in the later nineteenth century. His main publications are: The Sisters (1816), Irish Odes(1869), Legends of St Patrick (1872), St Peters Chains (1888), etc. (Y. Y.)