Talk on John Francis Taylor by Des Gunning

John Francis Taylor, third son of John Taylor, from Clevery, Riverstown was born in 1853. He was a commercial clerk in his early life but abandoned commerce for journalism and the Irish Bar, to which he was called in 1882. J.F. graduated in Trinity College, and In 1893 he became Q.C.

J.F. joined the Contempory Club in Dublin along with William Butler and Jack Yeats, Douglas Hyde, John O'Leary and others. It was here he developed an mutual dislike of W.B. Yeats. J.F. is mentioned in at least twenty five books relating to W.B.

In 1896 he published an authoritative biography of the great Gaelic Irish commander Owen Roe Ó Neill. These books and portrait of J.F. by J.B. Yeats will be on display for the talk. Alice Stopord Green wrote that J.F. was gifted with a powerful and orignal intellect, a higly developed historical imagination and far reaching vision, a judgement fortified by wide knowledge of foreign history, the orator's genius and a style copious trenchant and finely used.

Our guest speaker on J.F. will be Des Gunning former curator of the James Joyce Centre, North Great George's Street , Dublin. He was co-organiser of Dublin's first " Bloomsday Festival" (now a global event) in every year since. A native of Clonmacnois in West Offaly, he has always felt a special affinty with J.F. the Sligo man who made an impactful vicarious appearance in James Joyce's "Ulysses".

Time permitting there will be a talk on families of Taunagh Parish who are not forgotten.
The descendents of these families are now around the world and are delighted to visit Riverstown and the Folk Park where many of their ancestors are on record there.
The recent publishment of the book "Taunagh Church, Riverstown. Families & Clergy" details 138 different families and the succession of Vicars/Clergy 1335-2002.