John Kells Ingram (1823-1907) was a mathematician, economist and poet. Born into an Ulster Protestant family in County Donegal, Ingram was not a nationalist, at most advocating for a kind of Home Rule akin to modern-day devolution. However, he is most famously known as the author of the ballad ‘The Memory of the Dead’, or ‘Who Fears To Speak of ’98’, as it is more well-known, which was published in The Nation in April 1843. It was Ingram’s only contribution to The Nation yet it is one of the most famous Irish republican ballads, often sung at commemorations and funerals.
Writings
The Memory of the Dead (1843)