Thomas William Hazen Rolleston (1857 – 1920) was an Irish writer, literary figure and translator, known as a poet but publishing over a wide range of literary and political topics. He lived at various times in Dublin, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, London and County Wicklow

County Wicklow

County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...

; settling finally in 1908 in Hampstead

Hampstead

Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...

, London, where he died.

He was born in Glasshouse

Glasshouse

Glasshouse or Glasshouses may refer to:*Greenhouse, a building where plants are cultivated*Glasshouse , a 2006 novel by Charles Stross*Glasshouse , term for a military prison in the British Army...

, Shinrone

Shinrone

Shinrone is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It lies at the junction of the R491 regional road between Cloughjordan and Roscrea where it is joined by the R492...

, County Offaly

County Offaly

County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...

, the son of a judge. He was educated at St Columba's College

St. Columba's College, Dublin

St Columba's College is a co-educational boarding school founded in 1843 located in Whitechurch, Dublin, Ireland. Among the founders of the college are Edwin Richard W. W. Quin, Lord Adare , the Right Hon. William Monsell , Dr...

, Rathfarnham

Rathfarnham

Rathfarnham or Rathfarnam is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin County Councils.The area of Rathfarnham...

 and Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

. After a time in Germany he founded the Dublin University Review in 1885; he published Poems and Ballads of Young Ireland (1888), and a Life of Lessing (1889). In London in the 1890s he was one of the Rhymer's Club; he was to cross paths several times, and sometimes to clash, with W. B. Yeats. He was also involved in Douglas Hyde

Douglas Hyde

Douglas Hyde , known as An Craoibhín Aoibhinn , was an Irish scholar of the Irish language who served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945...

's Gaelic League.

He also spent time as a journalist, and as a civil servant involved with agriculture. He had eight children, from two marriages.

Works

His seminal works "Celtic Myths and Legends" and "The High Deeds of Finn Mac Cumhail" are widely hailed as the best representation and description of all the legends, myths and spiritual history of all Celtic peoples of Ireland, Britain, and Wales.

Approximately 168 books are associated with Rolleston, some as writer or editor. These are the more prominent works; publication dates listed if known.

• The Teaching of Epictetus (1888)
• Life of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1889)
• Tannhauser: a dramatic poem by Richard Wagner; translated by T. W. Rolleston; illustrated by Willy Pogany. (1900)
• A Treasury of Irish Poetry in the English Tongue by Stopford A. Brooke & T. W. Rolleston (1900)
• Parallel Paths: a study in biology, ethics, and art (1908)
• The High Deeds of Finn Mac Cumhail (1910)
• Celtic Myths and Legends also entitled Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race (1911), Reprints (1917, 1990)
  • The Illustrated Guide to Celtic Mythology. London: Studio Editions, (1993) (Based on: Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race)
• Parsifal or, The Legend of the Holy Grail, retold from ancient sources with acknowledgement to the "Parsifal" of Richard Wagner (1912)
• The tale of Lohengrin, knight of the swan by Richard Wagner and T. W. Rolleston; illustrated by Willy Pogany (1913)

External links

(Rolleston, T. W., Commentator; Davis, Thomas, Creator)

• Biography: T. W. Rolleston (MacMahon, Noel) Offalyhistory.com.
• Author: T. W. Rolleston; librarything.com.
• 849: the Dead at Clonmacnois, from the Irish of Angus O'Gillan; The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900., Bartleby.com
• Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race; Book 5. ardue.org.uk/library/book5.html
• The Tale of Lohengrin, Knight of the Swan {107 Illustrations} at Fairyworx