Plunkett of Dunsany

Perhaps the most famous of all the Plunkett Barons of Dunsany was Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, the 18th Baron, 1878–1957,  a most prolific and talented author.

He was reputed to have said of Yeats that he was ‘a rebel, a mystic and an ass but really a genius in a queer way’.[1]He befriended and encouraged the poet Francis Ledwidge, a labourer, tragically killed in World War I, whose poetry has proved to be enduring. [2]

Often dealing with the fantastic and the supernatural, Dunsany’s works are frequently set in wholly imaginary worlds and involve myths and legends of his own making.

[1] Biography of Lord Dunsany by Mark Amory

[2] Edward, the present Lord Dunsany is adamant that his grandfather was totally opposed to Ledwidge joining the Army. He stated publicly at the time that ‘a law should be passed prohibiting poets from joining armies.’

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