Alexander Irvine (original) (raw)
Writer 1863 to 1941
Irvine was born, the ninth of twelve children, in Pogue’s Entry in the town of Antrim – the street he was later to make famous. As a young man he worked as a newsboy, a miner and a soldier before emigrating to the United States, where he acquired an education. He graduated from Yale University as a minister of religion and preached for some years in the Church of the Ascension, Fifth Avenue, New York. During the First World War he served as a morale officer on the western front, reputedly at the request of Lloyd George himself.
Irvine’s publications include The Souls Of Poor Folk and The Man From World’s End, as well as the celebrated My Lady Of The Chimney Corner, a tribute to his mother, Anna Irvine nee Gilmour. He is buried in Antrim Church of Ireland graveyard.
Location of plaque: In Antrim town, at the entrance to Pogue’s Entry. In the Entry itself the family home still stands.