gloomy power of Godwin; while in knowledge of Irish character, habits, customs, and feeling, he was superior even to Miss Edgeworth or Lady Morgan. Had Banim possessed the hearty humour of a Lover or a Lever, he would have been saved from many of his literary excesses. As a delineator of life in the higher ranks of society, Banim conspicuously failed; his strength lay in his vigorous and characteristic sketches of the Irish peasantry, and these in their light and shade have something of the breadth and the strong effects of Rembrandt.
A selection from Banim's contributions to periodical literature (together with some sketches by his brother) appeared in 1838 under the title of ‘The Bit o' Writin', and other Tales.’ His other works are:
- ‘The Celt's Paradise.’
- ‘Turgesius.’
- ‘Damon and Pythias.’
- ‘Sylla.’
- ‘The Prodigal.’
- ‘The Moorish Wife.’
- ‘Revelations of the Dead-Alive.’
- ‘John Doe.’
- ‘The Fetches.’
- ‘The Boyne Water.’
- ‘The Disowned.’
- ‘The Smuggler.’
- ‘Peter of the Castle.’
- ‘The Nowlans.’
- ‘The Anglo-Irish.’
- ‘The Denounced,’ a work which included two tales, ‘The Last Baron of Crana,’ and ‘The Conformists.’
He also collaborated, as we have seen, with his brother in several of the O'Hara tales, furnished sketches as a basis for others, and wrote besides many essays, sketches, and stories of a slighter character.
[Murray's Life of John Banim, 1857; The O'Hara Tales, new edition, 1865; Read's Cabinet of Irish Literature; and the various works of Banim.]
BANIM, MICHAEL (1796–1874), brother of John Banim [q. v.], and co-worker with him in the series of novels called the ‘O'Hara Tales,’ was born at Kilkenny, 5 Aug. 1796. He was educated first in Kilkenny and afterwards at a well-known catholic school conducted by Dr. Magrath. At the age of sixteen he was offered the choice of a profession, and chose that of the bar. He studied assiduously for some time, and looked forward hopefully to his future. But his prospects were overcast by a serious reverse of fortune which befell his father. ‘With a self-sacrifice for which his whole life was remarkable, Michael Banim gave up his cherished design, and quietly stepped back into what he considered the path of duty. He took up the tangled threads of business, applied his whole energy and perseverance to the task, and at length had the satisfaction of unravelling the complication, and replacing his parents in comfort, both material and mental’ (Read). For himself he found happiness in studying the lives of those around him, and in the enjoyment of the beautiful scenery of Kilkenny. It was in 1822 that John Banim broached to Michael his scheme for a series of national tales. The elder brother at once fell in with the idea, and related certain circumstances which were well adapted to serve as the foundation of one of these novels. Urged by his brother to write the story himself, Michael consented to do so in such hours as he could snatch from business, and the result was the novel entitled ‘Crohoore of the Billhook,’ which proved one of the most popular in the first series of the ‘O'Hara Tales.’ Many years later, in explaining the reasons why these tales were undertaken, and in also defending their bias, Michael Banim wrote: ‘When Irish character was dealt with only to be food for risibility in consequence of its peculiar divergence from established rules of judgment, the wish of the authors of the “O'Hara Tales” was to retain its peculiarity of humour, even in adversity, while accounting for its darker phase of retaliation for insult and injury. It was the object of the authors, while admitting certain and continued lawlessness, to show that causes existed, consequently creating the lawlessness. Through the medium of fiction this purpose was constantly kept in view.’
Michael Banim travelled through the south of Ireland for the purpose of supplying the historical and geographical details for his brother's novel, the ‘Boyne Water;’ and in 1826 he visited John in London, making the acquaintance of many distinguished men of letters. When the struggle for catholic emancipation was at its height, Michael worked energetically for the cause. In 1828 he published the ‘Croppy,’ and the same year, after his return to Kilkenny, he had the honour of a visit from the Comte de Montalembert, who was then on a tour through Ireland. The comte told Banim that he had first read the ‘O'Hara Tales’ in Stockholm, and that he could not leave Ireland without journeying from Cork to Kilkenny, specially to thank the writers of those tales. A prolonged illness interfered with Banim's literary exertions; and it was not until five years after the publication of the ‘Croppy’ that his next venture, the ‘Ghost Hunter and his Family,’ appeared. But from 1834 onward, for a number of years, stories appeared in rapid succession from his pen. When John Banim was struck down by illness, his brother wrote and earnestly besought him to return to Kilkenny and share his home. ‘You speak a great deal too much,’ he observed in one letter, ‘about what you think you owe me. As you are my brother, never allude to
