Life
1796-1874; b. 5 Aug., Kilkenny; br. of John Banim; ed. ‘English Academy’
of Dr Magrath, Kilkenny; trained in law from 16 but abandoned that course
to rescue his father’s business instead; agreed with John to collaborate
on series of national tales on John’s return from London during 1822;
sent Crohoore of the Bill Hook to John in London, 1823, being published
with John’s John Doe and The Fetches as Tales by
the O’Hara Family [1st ser.] (1825); actively supported O’Connell,
1827-28; forwarded his novels to John, in London, later appearing as Tales
by the O’Haras [1st ser.] (1825); visited John in London, 1826;
contributed The Croppy, published uniquely in Tales by the O’Haras
[3rd ser.] (1827); m. Catherine O’Dwyer, c.1840, and fell into
grave commercial difficulties within a year, poor health following; appt.
postmaster of Kilkenny, c.1852-73; retired to Booterstown, Co. Dublin;
edited the Duffy reissue of his stories, with introduction and notes (1865);
widow received a civil list pension through the offices of R. R. Madden
and Thomas Burke, Under-Secretary for Ireland; d. Booterstown, 30 Aug.;
survived by dgs. Mathilde and Mary Banim; W. B. Yeats praised "The
Stolen Sheep" for the ‘nobility’ of its peasant characters
and expressed admiration of The Mayor of Windgap for the sense
of pagan mystery evoked by the author’s treatment of traditional
and folkloric elements. DNB JMC DIW DIB MKA FDA OCIL DIL
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Works
Crohoore of the Bill-Hook, Vol. 1 and Pt. of Vol. 2 of Tales,
&c. [Ser. I] (London: Simpkin & Marshall 1825); [with John
Banim] Vol. 3 of Tales by the O'Hara Family: Peter of the Castle
(London: Colburn 1826);[with John Banim] Vol. 3 of Tales by the O'Hara
Family [2nd ser.];[with John Banim] John Doe (London: Saunders
& Otley 1835);The Croppy, A Tale of the Irish Rebellion of 1798,
[sole work] in Tales by the O’Hara Family [Ser. III] (London:
Colburn 1827; Dublin: James Duffy 1865), also printed as Croppies Lie
Down, A Tale of Ireland in ’98 (London: Duckworth 1903); The
Ghost Hunter and His Family [The Library of Romance, ed. Leitch Ritchie,
Vol. I] (London: Smith Elder & Co. 1833); [with John Banim] The
Bit o’ Writin’ and Other Tales by the O’Hara Family 3 vols.
(London: Saunders & Otley 1838) [infra];The
Mayor of Wind-Gap, 3 vols. (London: Saunders & Otley 1838)
[with Canvassing, by Harriet Martin]; [with John Banim] Father
Connell, by the O’Hara Family, 3 vols. (London: Newby
and Boone 1842); ‘Clough Fion, or the Stone of Destiny,’
in Dublin University Magazine (Aug.-Dec. 1852); The Town of
the Cascade, 2 vols. (London: Chapman & Hall 1864); The Works
of the O’Hara Family, collected in 10 vols. with foreword and
notes by Michael Banim (Dublin: Duffy & Co. 1865; NY: D & J Sadleir
1869); also Bernard Escarbelt, ed., The Hell Fire Club [fragment
of a novel], in Études Irelandaises, n.s. 1 (1976), pp.
51-61.
The Bit o’ Writin’ and Other Tales by the O’Hara Family, 3 vols. (London: Saunders & Otley 1838); comprising Vol. 1: "The Bit o’ Writin"; "The Irish Lord Lieutenant and his Double", and "The Family of the Cold Feet"; Vol 2: "The Hare and the Witch"; "The Soldier"s Billet"; "The Hall and the Castle"; "The Half-brothers"; "Twice Lost but Saved"; "The Faithful Servant"; "The Roman Merchant" [orig. pub. in Dublin Penny Journal, I, 8, 18 Aug 1832, pp.61-63]; "Ill Got, Ill Gone". Vol 3: "The Last of the Storm"; "The Rival Dreamers"; "The Substitute"; "The White Bristol"; "The Stolen Sheep"; "The Publican’s Dream"; "The Ace of Clubs". Do, (1865 edn.), with foreword by Michael Banim, also containing "A Peasant Girl"s Love" "A Peasant Girl"s Love" [prev.in Dublin Penny Journal, 25 Aug 1832, pp.66-67]. See further under John Banim, supra.
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- Mark Hawthorne, John and Michael Banim, The ‘O’Hara Brothers’: A Study in the Development of the Anglo-Irish Novel (Salzburg, Austria, Institut fur Englische Sprache und Lit., 1975);
- Barry Sloan, ‘The Banims’ Historical Novels (1825-1830)’, in The Pioneers of Anglo-Irish Fiction, 1800-1850 [Irish Literary Studies 21] (Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe; NJ: Barnes & Noble 1986), p.74-108 [infra];
- Justin McCarthy, ed., Irish Literature (Washington: CUA 1904), Sean O’Faolain, The Irish: A Character Study (Middlesex: Penguin 1947), p.113 [infra];
- James Cahalan, Great Hatred, Little Room: The Irish Historical Novel (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan 1988).
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Notes
Justin McCarthy, ed., Irish Literature (Washington
1904), selects ‘The English Academy’ from Father Connell, a Tale
[60-75]; ‘Lynch Law on Vinegar Hill’ from The Croppy [showing agrarian
lawlessness and bigotry in the United Irishmen, viz, "Murphy must
have a pike through Talbot. I had one through Whaley!" 76-85]; ‘The
Stolen Sheep, an Irish Sketch’ (from Bit o’ Writing) [‘the Irish
plague, called typhus fever, raged ... in almost every third cabin there
was a daily corpse’; ending with a judge’s address to the jury, ‘That
the prisoner at the bar stole the sheep ni question, there can be no shade
of moral doubt. But you have a very peculiar case to consider. A son steals
a sheep that his own famishing father and his own famishing son may have
food. His aging parent is compelled to give evidence against him here
for the act. The old man virtuously tells the truth, and the whole truth,
before you and me. He sacrifices his natural feelings-and we have seen
that they are lively-to his honesty, and to his religious sense of the
sacred obligations of an oath. Gentlemen, I will pause to observe that
the old man’s conduct is strikingly exemplary, even noble. &c’. The
owner of the sheep, Evans, then bursts into court and undertakes to keep
the accused in honest employment. 85-97].
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Stephen Brown, Ireland in Fiction (Dublin: Maunsel 1919), lists Crohoore of the Billhook (Duffy [1865 &c.; 1st ed. 1825]) [oppressed peasantry retort with savage outrages and secret societies, esp. Whiteboys; set in Kilkenny]; The Croppy (Duffy [1865 &c.; 1st ed. 1828]) [samples of outrages by which the people driven to revolt; liberal and mild nationalist (acc. Brown); rebellion in vulgarest and least romantic aspect; Sir Thomas Hartley the sole noble char., others chiefly unattractive]; The Mayor of Windgap (Duffy [1865 &c.; 1st ed. 1834]) [murders, abductions; Kilkenny 1779]; The Bit o’ Writing [sic] (London 1838), called here a volume of stories, and rep. with another story, ‘The Ace of Clubs’ [O’Connell Press Ser.] (Dub: Gill 1886), 144pp.; notes also Paris ed. (1835); Father Connell ([1840; recte 1842]) [‘ideal Irish priest, almost childlike in simplicity ... but terrible when roused’; life-story of Neddy Fennell, orphan protégé; saves Fennell from judicial sentence through appeal to Viceroy, dying at his feet; Mrs Molloy, the priest’s housekeeper; Costigan, the murderer-robber; Mary Cooney, poor outcast, and her mother the potato-beggar, et al.]; The Ghost-Hunter and His Family ([1833] Simms & M’Intyre 1852)]; The Town of the Cascades, 2 vols. (Chapman & Hall 1864), 283pp., 283pp. [set in Ennistymon, Co. Clare, concerning peasant chars. and alcohol induced tragedy]. Note, the dates in this bibliography in conjunction with the publisher cited are generally wrong. Brown remarks of Father Connell that title character is ‘strictly modelled’ (see Preface); further, ‘... the last scene where to save his protege from an unjust judicial sentence, Father Connell goes before the Viceroy and dies at his feet is a piece of exquisite pathos. ... The author faithfully reproduces the talk of the peasants, and enters into their point of view ... the most pleasing of the Banims’ novels.’ Of Ghost Hunter, ‘intricate plot [unspecified] ... though the author is on the side of morality, there is too much about abduction.’
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Brian Cleeve & Anne Brady, A Dictionary of Irish Writers [rev. edn.] (Dublin: Lilliput Press 1985), lists Crohoore of the Billhook (Duffy [1865 &c.; 1st ed. 1825]) [oppressed peasantry retort with savage outrages and secret societies, esp. Whiteboys; set in Kilkenny]; The Croppy (Duffy [1865 &c.; 1st ed. 1828]) [samples of outrages by which the people driven to revolt; liberal and mild nationalist (acc. Brown); rebellion in vulgarest and least romantic aspect; Sir Thomas Hartley the sole noble char., others chiefly unattractive]; The Mayor of Windgap (Duffy [1865 &c.; 1st ed. 1834]) [murders, abductions; Kilkenny 1779]; The Bit o’ Writing [sic] (London 1838), called here a volume of stories, and rep. with another story, ‘The Ace of Clubs’ [O’Connell Press Ser.] (Dub: Gill 1886), 144pp.; notes also Paris ed. (1835); Father Connell ([1840; recte 1842]) [‘ideal Irish priest, almost childlike in simplicity ... but terrible when roused’; life-story of Neddy Fennell, orphan protégé; saves Fennell from judicial sentence through appeal to Viceroy, dying at his feet; Mrs Molloy, the priest’s housekeeper; Costigan, the murderer-robber; Mary Cooney, poor outcast, and her mother the potato-beggar, et al.]; The Ghost-Hunter and His Family ([1833] Simms & M’Intyre 1852)]; The Town of the Cascades, 2 vols. (Chapman & Hall 1864), 283pp., 283pp. [set in Ennistymon, Co. Clare, concerning peasant chars. and alcohol induced tragedy]. [Note, the dates in this bibliography in conjunction with the publisher cited are generally wrong.]
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Seamus Deane, gen. ed., Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing (Derry: Field Day 1991), Vol. 1, does not select anything from Michael Banim, but notes him at [682, 687, by name only], 1081, [1139, John assisted by Michael publ. Tales of [recte by] the O’Hara Family [sers. 1 & 2 in 1825, 1826], [1171, biog. John Banim]. Do., Vol. 2; cites Michael Banim as co-author with John of Tales by the O’Hara Family, 2 series. (Simpkin and Marshall 1825; Colborn, 1826), and The Bit o’ Writing [sic] (Saunders and Otley, 1838).
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Belfast Public Library holds copies of Bit o’ Writin’ (1848); Crohoore the Billhook; The Croppy; The Ghost Hunter; Here and There through Ireland [recte, Mary Banim]; The Mayor of Wind-Gap; Peter of the Castle; Tales of the O’Hara Family, Pts. 1, 2 & 3.
British Library holds copies of [1] The Ghost-Hunter and his Family. By J. [or rather by Michael] Banim, author of "Tales by the O’Hara Family," etc. Title [Another edition.] Title [A reissue.] Joe Wilson’s Ghost, etc. Title [Another edition.] The Ghost Hunter and his Family. pp.284. Simms & M’Intyre: London 1852. 12o. pp.i. 246. G. Routledge & Co.: London 1863. 12o. G. Routledge & Sons: London, [1870.] 12o. pp.124. Aldine Publishing Co.: London, [1913.] 8o. [2] Crohoore na Bilhoge ou les White-Boys, roman historique irlandais ... Traduit de l’anglais par M. A. J. B. Defauconpret. 3 tom. Paris 1829. 12o. [3] Le Chasseur de spectres et sa famille ... Traduit de l’anglais par A. Pichard. 2 vol. Paris 1833. 8o. [4] Les Croppys, épisode de l’histoire de la rébellion d’Irlande en 1798. Roman ... traduit de l’anglais par M. A. J. B. Defauconpret. 4 tom. Paris 1833. 12o. [5] The Mayor of Wind-gap. Paris: Baudry’s European Library; sold by Amyot, etc. 1835. pp.285. 8o.... [6] The Town of the Cascades. 2 vol. Chapman & Hall: London 1864. 8o. [7] Chaunt of the Cholera. Songs for Ireland. By the authors of "The O’Hara Tales," "The Smuggler," &c. [i.e. John and Michael Banim.]. pp.iv. 92. J. Cochrane & Co.: London 1831. 8o. [8] The Croppy; a tale of 1798. By the authors of "The O’Hara Tales" [i.e. John and Michael Banim], etc. [or rather, by Michael Banim alone.]. 3 vol. Henry Colburn: London 1828. 12o. [9] Peter of the Castle [by J. and M. Banim]; and the Fetches [by J. Banim]. By the O’Hara Family. A new edition, with introduction and notes, by M. Banim, etc. Dublin, London 1866. 8o. [10] The Bit o’Writin’ and other tales, by the O’Hara Family. Title New edition, with introduction, and notes by M. Banim, etc. 3 vol. London 1838. 12o. Dublin, London 1865. 8o. [11] The Boyne Water. By the O’Hara Family [or rather, by John Banim only] ... A new edition, with introduction and notes by M. Banim, etc. Dublin, London 1865. 8o. [12] The Denounced; or, the Last Baron of Crana. By the O’Hara Family [or rather, by J. Banim] ... A new edition, with introduction and notes by M. Banim, etc. Dublin, London 1866. 8o. [13] The Mayor of Wind-Gap [by M. Banim] and Canvassing [by Miss Martin]. By the O’Hara Family. Title New edition, with introduction and notes by M. Banim, etc. 3 vol. London 1835. 12o. Dublin, London 1865. 8o. [14] The Peep O’Day; or, John Doe [by M. and J. Banim]. And Crohoore of the Billhook [by M. Banim] ... A new edition, with introduction and notes by M. Banim, etc. Dublin, London 1865. 8o. [15] Der Zwerg, ein irländisches Sittengemälde. Aus dem Englischen [of M. Banim, entitled: "Crohoore of the Billhook"] übersetzt von E. L. Domeier, geb. Gad. 2 Thle. Hamburg 1828. 8o.
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Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco)