MEYLER, Walter Thomas. Saint Catherine’s Bells: An autobiography.

Two volumes. London: Simpkin, Marshall. Dublin: Cowan and Thomson, 1868/70. First edition. Crown octavo. pp. (1) vii, 287, (2) viii, 208. Publisher’s blind-stamped green cloth, titled in gilt. Printed on front pastedown is an advertisement for Galwey & Co. Bookbinders, Eustace Street. A fine set. Very scarce.
JISC locates 2 copies only, BL & Manchester University Library. WorldCat 2.
A remarkably scarce nineteenth-century Irish autobiography, providing a vivid and often highly personal account of life in Dublin and Ireland during a period of profound social, political, and religious change. Walter Thomas Meyler drew upon his own experiences to produce a work that combines memoir, observation, and social commentary, preserving a wealth of detail concerning everyday life that is seldom recorded in more formal historical narratives. The title derives from Saint Catherine’s Church in Dublin, whose bells formed part of the soundscape of the Liberties and adjoining districts. Through recollections extending across several decades, Meyler offers insights into the customs, institutions, personalities, and urban life of nineteenth-century Dublin, recording aspects of the city that were already disappearing by the time of publication.
Meyler is listed in D.J. O’Donoghue’s The Poets of Ireland, with no biographical information.

[CAT 164]