Oliver St. John Gogarty
Oliver St. John Gogarty (1878-1957) was an Irish physician, politician, and poet known for his contributions to literature and his vibrant social life. Born in Dublin, he was educated at various Jesuit schools before finding his passion at Clongowes Wood College and Trinity College, where he completed his medical studies in 1907. Gogarty's literary journey began in earnest during his time at Oxford, but it was his connections with notable figures like William Butler Yeats and James Joyce that helped shape his reputation as a writer.
In addition to his successful medical practice, specializing in nose and throat surgery, Gogarty became the first Senator of the Irish Free State in 1922. His life was marked by both professional achievements and personal trials, including an infamous incident in which he escaped kidnapping by Republican extremists. Despite his early literary aspirations, Gogarty did not publish extensively until later in life, with his first collection, "An Offering of Swans," appearing in 1923, thanks to Yeats's encouragement.
Gogarty's writing encompassed poetry, plays, and essays, although he published infrequently after moving to the United States in 1939, where he spent his later years. His legacy is defined not only by his medical career and political engagement but also by the vibrant wit and literary talent that endeared him to many in Ireland's cultural circles.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Oliver St. John Gogarty
Writer
- Born: August 17, 1878
- Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
- Died: September 22, 1957
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Oliver St. John Gogarty was born on August 17, 1878, in Dublin, Ireland, to Henry and mother Margaret Oliver Gogarty. A descendant of three generations of doctors and Ireland’s “Catholic majority,” Gogarty was sent to Jesuit schools—first to Mungret, near Limerick, then to Stonyhurst in England. While he was miserable at both of these schools, he cheered up while attending Clongowes Wood College, University College in Dublin, and medical school at Trinity College. He completed his medical studies at Trinity in 1907, and while he was there he was influenced to write verse; he met and socialized with or worked under such notables as H. S. Macran (Gogarty’s tutor), J. P. Mahaffy, and R. Y. Tyrrell. His mentors offered him exposure to literature, to thought (Macran was a known Hegelian), and to the histories of Greece and Rome. The scholars and artists also encouraged his writing and influenced his appreciation for the fine art of conversation.
In 1904, Gogarty’s connections with Macran helped him decide to go to Oxford University’s Worcester College, where he studied for two terms in hopes of submitting a poem for the Newdigate Prize. He failed to earn the coveted prize, but he did develop further associations that helped him enter into literary society. After marrying Martha Duane in 1906 (with whom he would have three children) and becoming a fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons in 1908, Gogarty began his practice as both a nose and throat specialist and a surgeon. Gogarty was quite successful in his practice, and by this time he had developed a gift for making witty and sparkling conversation. He also had a refined literary sensibility.
His social circles were reputedly prestigious; he interacted or was friends with such well known scholars as George W. Russell, Michael Collins, William Cosgrave, Arthur Griffith, William Butler Yeats, and other members of the art and high-society circles. His social skills took him to the front door of politics, and in 1922 he became the first Irish Free State Senator. He remained in that position until it was abolished in 1936.
At the same time, Gogarty’s writer reputation was growing in indirect and unusual ways. He was portrayed as Buck Mulligan, in James Joyce’s Ulysses, and later, on January 20, 1923, he was kidnapped by Republican extremists who terrorized senators that opposed them with death threats. Gogarty escaped by diving into the Liffey. His adventures continued: He ceremoniously presenting swans to that same river (poet William Butler Yeats and W. T. Cosgrave were present at the ceremony); had his prestigious West Ireland home burned by the IRA in February of 1923; lost financial status in the 1930’s; had his practice threatened because of his political involvements; lost political status when De Valera abolished the Senate in 1936; had a judgment of libel made against him for his 1937 As I Was Going Down Sackville Street; and was separated from his family (and country) in the United States sometime after 1939.
Also surprising and unusual (according to friends and intimates) was his skill with plays, novels, his memoirs, essays, and, especially, poetic verse. While some had described Gogarty as witty, keen in conversation, and engaging, others had known him as “the wildest wit in Ireland, from which nothing in heaven or earth was immune.” So it was almost shocking to find that the brilliant physician and savvy politician was such a remarkable poet. Though Gogarty worked on his writings and his prose became very precise and polished, he would not formally publish until he was forty-five years of age. Thanks to the supportive attention of William Butler Yeats, An Offering of Swans was published in 1923 at Yeats’s Cuala Press. Gogarty would continue to write during these years, but from 1939, when he had moved to New York City, and September 22, 1957, when he died, he would publish only twelve works of prose and numerous journalistic pieces. He wrote very little and published even less poetry.