Patrick MacGill (24 December 1889 – 22 November 1963) was an Irish journalist, poet and novelist, known as "The Navvy Poet" because he had worked as a navvy before he began writing.
MacGill was born in Glenties, County Donegal. A statue in his honour is on the bridge where the main street crosses the river in Glenties. He had three children, Christine, Patricia and Sheila MacGill. He died in Florida aged 73 and was buried in Fall River, Massachusetts.[1]
During the First World War, MacGill served with the London Irish Rifles (1/18th Battalion, The London Regiment) and was wounded at the Battle of Loos on 28 October 1915.[2] He was recruited into military intelligence, and wrote for MI 7b between 1916 and the Armistice in 1918.[3]
MacGill wrote a memoir-type novel called Children of the Dead End.[4]
In early 2008, a docu-drama starring Stephen Rea was made about the life of Patrick MacGill, which was released in Ireland in 2009 as Child of the Dead End. One of the film's locations was the boathouse of Edinburgh Canal Society at Edinburgh on the Union Canal, and one of its rowing boats.
An annual literary event, the Patrick MacGill Festival, is held in Glenties in his honour.[5]
