Eyles Irwin

Eyles Irwin (1751–1817) was an Irish poet and writer. He rose in the East India Company's service from a civil servant to superintendent of the company's affairs in China, but failed to gain a place on the board of directors.^[1][2]

He is notable for publishing several volumes of poems, primarily on historical subjects; elegies, odes, and epistles; and miscellaneous writings. Although not born in Ireland, he became a member of the Royal Irish Academy due to his Irish parents' roots.^[2][3]

Biography

He was born at Calcutta (presently Kolkata) to Irish parents in 1751. His father was a native of Ireland who died in the service of East India Company. Irwin was educated at a private academy at Chiswick in England, and joined the East India Company in a civil capacity, serving at Madras (presently Chennai) in 1767. Due to his association with George Pigot, who was imprisoned and suspended, he too was suspended in 1775; consequently, he went back to England to lay his case before the board. His application was successful.^[3][4][5]

In 1778, he married Miss Brooke, who was related to Henry Brooke, the renowned Irish novelist and dramatist. In 1780, he was restored to his previous job and position by the Company at Madras.^[3][4] He returned to England in 1785 from Calcutta. In 1792, he was appointed, in conjunction with others, as superintendent of the Company's affairs in China, in which post he served for the next two years. In 1795, he made one or two attempts to gain a place on the board of directors, but failed. Until he died on 14 October 1817, he busied himself with social and literary pursuits.^[3][4][5]

His works

Poetry

• St. Thomas's Mount, in 1771.
• Bedukah, an Indian pastoral, in 1776.
• Eastern Eclogues, in 1780

Elegies

• Nilyus, an Elegy on the victory of Admiral Nelson, in 1798.
• The Fail of Saragossa, in 1808.

Odes

• Ode on the death of Ayder Ally, in 1784.
• Triumph of innocence, an Ode on the deliverance of Maria Theresa Charlotte, in 1796.
• Ode to Iberia, in 1808.
• Ode to Robert Brooke, in 1784.
• Ode on the acquittal of Hastings.^[6]

Epistles

• Occasional epistles, in 1783.
• Epistle to Hayley.

Miscellaneous

• A voyage up the Red Sea, in 1780.
• Inquiry into the feasibility of the supposed Expedition of Napoleon Bonaparte to the East, in 1796.
• Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt in 1798.
• The failure of the French Crusade; or the advantages to be derived from the restoration of Egypt to the Turks, in 1799.
• The Bedouins, or, Arabs of the desert: a comic opera, in 1802.
• Napoleon; or the Vanity of Human Wishes, in 1814.

^[3][4][5][7]

References

1. "Eyles Irwin". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
2. Baldwin, Charles N.; Henry, Howland Crapo (1825). A universal biographical dictionary. books.google. p. 255. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
3. Watkins, John; Frederic Shoberl; William Upcott (1816). A biographical dictionary of the living authors of Great Britain and Ireland. H. Colburn,. p. 174. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
4. The Georgian Era: Voyagers and travellers. Philosophers and men of science. Vizetelly, Branston and co. 1834. pp. 465–466. Retrieved 11 February 2012. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
5. Gorton, John (1838). A general biographical dictionary. Whittaker and co. p. 1748. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
6. Crabb, George (1833). Universal historical dictionary. Baldwin and Cradock. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
7. "Eyles Irwin". spenserians.cath.vt.edu. Retrieved 11 February 2012.

External links

• The Annual biography and obituary, Volume 2 – Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1818
• The Poetical register, and repository of fugitive poetry for ..., Volume 8 – F. and C. Rivington, 1814