Removed from a garret in Bride Street, in a helpless condition, James Clarence Mangan, one of Ireland's most notable poets, died a pauper in the Meath Hospital, Dublin, on the 20th June, 1849.
Mangan's father was a recklessly improvident man, and at the age of 11 years the poet was helping to replenish the family exchequer by working as a scrivener at 6 York Street.
After about 16 years of drudgery some of his poems attracted the attention of two gentlemen, who procured for him a position in Trinity College Library. By this time, however, Mangan was suffering the pangs of unrequited love, having been encouraged in his attentions by the mysterious "Frances", only to be dismissed. Add to this a family that sponged on him relentlessly, and, perhaps, one will sympathise with the unfortunate genius, who became a confirmed drug-taker.
The whole sad story of his life remains for everyone who reads in "The Nameless One".
The Irish Times, June 20th, 1931