William Rooney

As a boy he was a member of The Irish Fireside Club, a literary discussion group, where he became acquainted with Arthur Griffith around 1888.

[1] His writings and articles appeared in United Ireland, The Shamrock, Weekly Freeman, The Evening Herald, Shan Van Vocht and Northern Patriot in Belfast.

This was an umbrella organisation to co-ordinate the activities of a number of nationalist groups, with John O'Leary as president; it was merged in 1907 to form Sinn Féin.

[1] He died suddenly of tuberculosis at the age of 27, shortly before he was due to be married to Máire Ní Cillín,[4] in May 1901.

Griffith responded by publishing Joyce's review in the United Irishman as an advertisement for Rooney's book of poems.