The following essay discusses John Banim and his brother, Michael Banim.

In July 1835, at age thirty-seven, John Banim had been paralyzed for nearly twenty years by a spinal disease; he was devastated by the death of his four-year-old son; and he was impoverished. Yet when he returned to Ireland after seven years in London and six years in France, he found himself a celebrated author whose writings were beloved by many. Arriving with his wife and daughter in Dublin on their way to Kilkenny, his hometown, he was met by his older brother, Michael, and they all enjoyed a benefit performance of dramatizations of two of John's stories. When they reached Kilkenny in September, the Banims again heard friends and neighbors praising John as they welcomed him home. Thanking them he explained that his stories had been "inspired simply by a devoted love of our country" and that...