author
William Allingham
1824–1889
An Irish poet, diarist, and editor best remembered for lyrical verse and the much-loved poem "The Faeries," he moved easily between literary circles and everyday working life. His writing has a gentle musical quality, while his diary preserves vivid glimpses of some of the best-known writers and artists of the Victorian age.
2 Audiobooks
Sixteen Poems
by William Allingham
Rhymes for the Young Folk
by William Allingham
About the author
Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, on March 19, 1824, William Allingham grew up in Ireland and later worked for many years in the customs service. Alongside that practical career, he steadily built a reputation as a poet, publishing volumes of verse known for their clarity, melody, and feeling for landscape and folklore.
He became part of a wide literary network that included major Victorian figures, and later worked in magazine publishing, serving as editor of Fraser's Magazine. Although his poem "The Faeries" remained one of his most widely remembered pieces, his poems as a whole show a quiet, thoughtful voice rather than grand display.
Allingham also left behind a diary that was published after his death and became important for its lively record of conversations and encounters with leading cultural figures of his time. He died on November 18, 1889, and is remembered today as a distinctive Irish literary voice of the nineteenth century.