John Martley

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John Martley (1844–1882) was an Irish poet who wrote for Dublin magazines. After his death, his work was collected as Fragments in Prose and Verse (1883). He was the third son of Henry Martley, a Q.C. who later became a judge in the Landed Estates Court. He was born in Dublin on 15 May 1844 and studied at Cheltenham College, St Columba's College in Rathfarnham, and Trinity College Dublin, where he earned a BA in 1866. In 1875 he was called to the Irish Bar but did not practice, taking a job in the Landed Estates Court instead. He contributed to the magazines Kottabos and Frothy in 1879. He married Frances Howorth, sister of H. Howorth, M.P., and died of consumption on 25 August 1882. His posthumous collection appeared in 1883. Critics noted his skill as a parodist and his refined taste, with serious poems that show culture and tenderness, though some pieces lose force as they progress.