Name William Byrne | Role Poet | |
William A. Byrne (William Dara) 1872–1933 was an Irish poet and educator from Rathangan, Co. Kildare. He often wrote under the pen name William Dara.
He was educated at Carlow College as a lay student from 1885 to 1889, and went to Maynooth College to Study for the priesthood, where he was invited to write an ode on the college's centenary; however, he left priestly formation due to ill health. After Maynooth he became a teacher in St. Mary's Knockbeg College, Carlow, where he was Professor of English.
In 1916 became assistant professor of English at University College Dublin succeeding the executed Irish patriot Thomas McDonagh and went on to be professor of English Literature at University College Galway. He died in Galway, on the 13th of May, 1933, aged 59.