ELMES, Revd John. The Last of the O’Mahonys, and other Historical Tales of the English Settlers in Munster. Three volumes in one.

London: Bentley, 1844. Foolscap octavo. First edition. pp. (1) iv, 294 (2) 290 [4], 328. Modern half calf on marbled boards. Titlepage of volume one in facsimile. Extremely rare.

COPAC locates the University of Manchester copy only. Loeber E115. Author identified in the BLC. Revd John Elmes, fl. 1842. Cleric and short story writer was a resident in the province of Munster. According to Loeber “Perhaps he can be identified with the John Elmes (b. Cork c.1804), son of Thomas Elmes, who was admitted to TCD in 1824, and obtained his BA in 1830.” John Elmes was the author of ‘Quakerism Exposed’ (Limerick, 1842), and ‘Irish National Education: The church and the Bible’ (London, 1853). He dedicated this work to the Earl of Shannon. Historical fiction consisting of stories set in County Cork, chiefly around Bandon; all deal with the troubled times of the seventeenth century from the settlers’ point of view. The Irish are described in negative terms. Contents: The last of the O’Mahoneys; The Physician’s Daughter; The Apprentice; Emma Cavendish; The Puritan; Black Monday Insurrection.

[L4 9C]