THE IRISH PENNY JOURNAL.
| Number 25. | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1840. | Volume I. |
THE MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF DR DOYLE, BY HOGAN.
In presenting our readers with a drawing, made expresslyfor the purpose, of the Monumental Sculpture intended tomemorise the mortal form of an illustrious Irishman, whowas beloved and honoured by the great mass of his countrymen,and respected for his talents by all, we have done thatwhich we trust will give as much pleasure to most of ourreaders, as it has afforded gratification to ourselves.
This monument is indeed a truly interesting one, whetherconsidered in reference to its subject—the character of thedistinguished individual whose memory it is designed to honour—thecircumstances which have given it existence—or,lastly, as a work of high art, the production of an Irishmanwhose talents reflect lustre on his country. It is, however, inthis last point of view only, that, consistently with the planoriginally laid down for the conduct of our little periodical,we can venture to treat of it; and considered in this way, wecannot conceive a subject more worthy of attracting publicattention or more legitimately within the scope of one of theprimary objects our Journal was designed to effect—namely, tomake our country, and its people, without reference to sect orparty, more intimately known than they had been previously,not only to strangers, but even to Irishmen themselves.
In our present object, therefore, of lending our influence,such as it is, to make the merits of a great Irish artist morethoroughly known and justly appreciated, by our countrymenin particular, than they have hitherto been, we are only discharginga duty necessarily imposed upon us; and the pleasurewhich we feel in doing so would be great indeed, if itwere not diminished by the saddening reflection that it shouldbe so necessary in the case of an artist of his eminence. But,alas! the scriptural adage, that no man is a prophet in hisown country, is unfortunately nowhere so strikingly illustrated[Pg 194]as in Ireland, and of this fact Mr Hogan is a remarkable example.Holding, as he unquestionably does, a high placeamong the most eminent sculptors of Europe, he is as yet unpatronizedby the aristocracy of his native country—is indeedperhaps scarcely known to them.
Mr Hogan is not, as generally supposed, a native of Cork:he was born at Tallow, in the county of Waterford, in 1800,where his father carried on the business of a builder. He isof good family, both by the paternal and maternal sides; hisfather being of the old Dalcassian tribe of the O’Hogans, thechiefs of whom were located in the seventeenth century at Ardcrony,in the county of Tipperary, four miles and a half tothe north of Nenagh, where the remains of their castle andchurch are still to be seen. By the mother’s side he is descendedfrom the celebrated Sir Richard Cox, Lord ChiefJustice of Ireland in the reign of William and Mary, and LordChancellor in that of Queen Anne, his mother, Frances Cox,being the great-granddaughter of that eminent individual.
Having received the ordinary school education, he wasplaced by his father, in the year 1812, under an attorney inCork, named Michael Footte, with a view to his ultimatelyembracing the legal profession, and in this situation he remainedfor two years. This was the most unhappy periodof h