J. Fitzgerald (Joseph Fitzgerald) Molloy

Born in New Ross, County Wexford, on March 19, 1858, Joseph Fitzgerald Molloy was educated at St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny, and was at first intended for the Catholic clergy. Instead, he moved toward literature and music, serving for a time as organist at the Augustinian friary church in New Ross before leaving for London around 1878 to pursue a writing career.

In London he found early support from S. C. Hall and worked on the Art Journal, later also serving as private secretary to Sir Charles Gavan Duffy and holding a clerkship in the London office of the New Zealand agent-general. He published poetry under the pseudonym "Ernest Wilding," wrote novels, and became especially well known for popular historical and biographical works such as Court Life Below Stairs, Royalty Restored, and The Romance of the Irish Stage.

Molloy was a prolific late-Victorian man of letters whose books often focused on actors, royal courts, and the social life behind famous public figures. He died in London on March 19, 1908. No suitable confirmed portrait image was found from the sources checked during this search.