“Reynolds, George Nugent (c.1767–1802), poet, wit, and head of the Reynolds family of Loughscur, was born at Letterfine, Co. Leitrim, son of George Reynolds (d. 1786), also called George Nugent Reynolds or ‘Squire’ Reynolds, and Jane Reynolds (née Connell) from Cranary, Co. Longford. He lived most of his life at Letterfine House, and it was while staying at this house that Turlough Carolan, the harper, had composed ‘Sheebeg Sheemore’ shortly after he began his wanderings in 1691. George Nugent Reynolds was the last male heir of the Reynolds or MacRannall family, the chief family of Muintir Eolais, an area roughly equivalent to modern-day south Leitrim.”
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“He was an asthmatic from an early age but was intelligent, quick-witted, and had a great facility with words. Because of his asthmatic condition he was often unable to sleep at night and would spend the night composing poetry and songs. From 1790 onwards his work began to appear in such newspapers and magazines as the Evening Star, Paddy’s Resource, the Irish Magazine, and the Sentimental and Masonic Magazine. His epic poem ‘The Panthead’ was published in 1791. The musical piece ‘Bantry Bay’, published in 1797, was based on the failed attempt by the French to land in Ireland the previous year. His best known poems and songs are ‘Green were the fields’, ‘The emigrant’, ‘Eileen O’More’, ‘Kathleen O’More’, and ‘The exile of Erin’, though this last piece was claimed by the Scottish poet Thomas Campbell. His best poems were written with great skill and with deep feeling, though some of his shorter pieces have little literary merit and were merely meant to poke fun at some of his neighbours or to entertain some guests at his home.”
from Liam Kelly – the Dictionary of Irish Biography
Murder & Mystery
From the murder of George N Reynold’s father to the controversy surrounding the authorship of the ballad “The Exile of Erin”, Reynolds was an interesting character.
George N Reynolds and Francis mcgann Irish Press 1931-1995 26-04-1940 (1)
