Page:A Compendium of Irish Biography.djvu/145

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judge, in which office he was much esteemed on account of the respect he paid to the customs and traditions of his countrymen. Yet later on, in 1541, we find him knighted for his efforts to enforce the English law instead of the Brehon code. At the dissolution of the monasteries he was enriched by a grant of the abbey of Lismullin, in recognition of his "honest service donne to his Majestie, both in this parliament and otherwise." Upon the promotion of Sir John Alan to the post of Chancellor, Cusack was made Master of the Rolls. On 5th August 1551 Edward VI., "having been well informed of the wisdom, learning, good experience, and grave behaviour of Sir Thomas Cusack, appointed him Lord-Chancellor," and the sum of £100 a year was added to his stipend. Under Queen Mary he was Lord-Justice, and was appointed to "review and restore the cathedral church and chapter of St. Patrick to its pristine state;" while under Queen Elizabeth he interceded for the restoration of Shane O'Neill to favour. He died at his country seat in Meath, in 1571, and was buried at Trevet, near Dunshaughlin. He was twice married, having been divorced from his first wife.

Dallan Forgaill, an Irish poet and writer who distinguished himself at the meeting of bards and others at Dromketh in 574. His compositions are continually referred to by O'Curry; the best known is his elegy on the death of St. Columcille. He died about 600, and was succeeded as chief poet of Ireland by the young poet Seanchan.

D'Alton, John, genealogist and antiquarian, was born at Bessville, Westmeath, in 1792. He was educated at Trinity College, called to the Bar in 1813, and appointed Commissioner of the Loan Fund Board, Dublin, in 1835. He devoted himself to the study of Irish antiquities, and published Annals of Boyle, Lives of the Archbishops of Dublin, History of the County of Dublin, King James's Irish Army List, and other standard works — valuable contributions to the study of Irish history and archaeology. He was for many years a contributor to the Gentleman's Magazine. Most of his life was passed in Dublin. He died 20th January 1867, aged about 75.

Daly, Denis, a member of the Irish Parliament, the intimate friend of Henry Grattan. He represented the town of Galway in 1767, and sat for the county from 1768 until his death. He was hospitable and of an amiable disposition, but his character was weakened by pride and indolence. By some he was considered superior to Flood in natural ability, though without his brilliant oratorical powers. Daly once humourously declared that the Volunteers were "ready to determine any question in the whole circle of the sciences which shall be proposed to them, and to burn any unfortunate person that doubts their infallibility." A friend to Catholic rights, he opposed general parliamentary reform. Grattan considered his death (in the autumn of 1791) an irretrievable loss to Ireland. He was a Privy-Councillor, and for some time Muster-Master General.

Daly, Richard, theatrical manager, was born in the County of Galway, in the middle of the 18th century, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He became a noted duellist, for a time averaging eight contests annually. He was of a handsome and engaging person. In 1781 he opened Smock-alley Theatre in Dublin (upon the spot where the church of SS. Michael and John now stands), and there Kemble, Mrs. Siddons, and other eminent actors appeared under his management. In 1786 he was appointed Master of the Revels. In partnership with Higgins, the "Sham Squire," he spent a large sum in rebuilding and decorating Crow-street Theatre. He eventually disposed of his theatrical patent rights for an annuity of £1,332. Mr. Daly died in 1813.

Danby, Francis, A.R.A., was born near Wexford in 1793, and received his early artistic education at the school of the Royal Dublin Society. In 1812 he earned enough to pay his way to London with a friend, O'Connor. He struggled with difficulties for some years, and would have been glad to return to Ireland if he had had means; but at length sprang into fame by his "Sunset at Sea after a Storm," exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1824. Two years afterwards he was elected an Associate, beyond which grade he never advanced. For fifteen years he resided principally on the Continent, painting and drawing on commission. "In 1841", says the Annual Register, "he returned and resumed his place in public favour, by exhibiting year after year a series of pictures, the power, poetry, and romance of which should long ago have won their painter a chair among the forty, were the battle always to the strong in art. But a private reason was alleged for this artistic wrong, and the latter years of the artist's life were embittered by the sense of injury and the disappointment of hope deferred. Danby's style was so peculiarly his own that none once acquainted with it could enter the rooms of the Royal Academy without in-

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