William Elliott Hudson

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William Elliott Hudson, the second son of Edward Hudson, a celebrated dentist of Dublin, was born at his father's country residence, Fields of Odin (later Hermitage), near Rathfarnham, in the county of Dublin on the 18th of August, 1796. With his superior talents and natural thirst for knowledge, William distinguished himself during his school and college courses. After he was called to the bar in 1818, he went on the Munster Circuit, and his abilities soon attracted attention, and brought him in brief after brief, for as long as he continued to practice as a circuit barrister.  In 1836, he was appointed Assistant Barrister for the county of Carlow, a post he did not long continue to fill, having been promoted to the role of taxing-officer in the common law courts. He continued in this office until shortly before his death, when declining health obliged him to retire on a pension, to which he was entitled for his services.

Musical talents

Amongst his other accomplishments, William Elliott Hudson, similar to his brother Henry Philerin Hudson, displayed a taste for music and a musical talent of the highest order. He was the composer of a Te Deum, and several chants, none of which were ever published. He likewise composed a variety of songs, some of which he sent to the press, but his naturally modest and retiring habits prevented him putting himself forward, and thereby caused his fame, either as a literary character or as a musical composer, to have a much more limited circulation than would be expected in the case of a person so highly gifted. When the well-known periodical, Tlie Citizen, was tottering to its fall, its publishers made a desperate effort to restore its vitality, by bringing it out, in a new form and under a new name, as the Dublin Monthly Magazine. In this struggle Mr. Hudson lent the assistance of his purse and talents and, chiefly owing to his exertions, it revived for a while. Besides contributing to it in a literary way, he brought out in it a collection of Irish airs.

Passion for Irish Literature and Antiquities

Mr. Hudson was a member of the principal literary and scientific societies of Dublin in his day, and a constant attendant at their council meetings. His enthusiastic love for his country led him to be ever forward on these occasions, aiding in whatever could throw light on the history and antiquities of Ireland or promoting Irish literature. He was one of the original members of the Irish Archaeological Society, founded in 1840, in whose publications and proceedings he took a deep interest. In 1845, its editor founded the Celtic Society under the auspices of Mr. Hudson, who took a most active part in its organisation and sustainment. Mr. Hudson was not himself the editor of any of their books, but the onus of much of the work rested on him, whose judgment and intellect, well stored with historic learning, were ever ready to guide and assist. He revised all their books in their passage through the press, and to him were they indebted for much of the valuable information which the volumes of the Celtic Society contain. His purse was ever open to promote the usefulness of the institution and, on one occasion, a short time before its amalgamation with the Irish Archaeological Society, he discharged a debt incurred by the council to the amount of over three hundred pounds! In 1853, Mr. John O'Daly conceived the idea of forming an association for the preservation and publication of manuscripts in the Irish language, illustrative of the Fenian period of Irish History. Having consulted Mr. Hudson, then as ever foremost to promote every endeavour to preserve from oblivion, those documents in which our ancestors recorded "all important events connected with their father-land," he received his warmest encouragement and support. A meeting was called on St. Patrick's day, 1853, at which was formed the Ossianic Society, not as a rival but as an auxiliary to other similar institutions. Mr. Hudson took an active and lively interest in fostering it to maturity, and a prominent part in its proceedings during the short period of its existence previous to his death. His health, however, broken down by frequent paralytic attacks, rendered him incapable of affording the association that help which the Celtic Society had derived from his extensive knowledge and exertions. His death, which occurred on the 23rd of June, 1853, was regarded as a heavy blow and irreparable loss to the best interests of the Society. His name gave it character, and the interest which he manifested in the undertaking assisted in bringing it into notice.

William Elliot Hudson is buried in Doonpeter Graveyard, an ancient burial ground near Glenville in County Cork. A bust of him by Christopher Moore, in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy, was photographed and used in the frontispiece of the Transactions of the Ossianic Society, for the year 1856. Vol IV.

Gravestone of William Elliott Hudson (1796-1853)

William Elliottt Hudson

References

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