A Co Fermanagh man who celebrated the speech and the history of the people of east Antrim and became renowned as the Bard of Kilwaughter is to be commemorated with an Ulster History Circle Blue Plaque at the Larne Museum and Arts Centre.
John Clifford wrote one of his best-known poems, ‘The Hirin’ Fair’, in wartime England and wrote numerous poems in Ulster-Scots about his adopted homeplace.
Born in Enniskillen in 1900, Clifford moved to east Antrim when he was eight and later worked on a number of farms in the area before going to London.
Initially he was invited to go by his friend Richard Hayward, who was also brought up in Larne, and went in search of acting work. Realising he needed more education, he went to evening classes for five years and joined the civil service.
While educating himself he worked for around 50 hours a week as a wireman in the London Telephone Exchange.
He joined the Unity Theatre and toured with it throughout the UK, presenting drama on social and political issues.
One of Clifford’s best-known works is The Hirin’ Fair, which he wrote on the south coast of England, sitting on Beachy Head in the 1940s when Nazi invasion seemed a real possibility.
At the start of the war he’d joined the Air Raid Precaution Service and was awarded a medal for his services.
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John Clifford
When Clifford came back to Larne 30 years later, he was one of the founders of the Larne and District Folklore Societ, which brought the tradition back to life, recreating the flavour of an old Hirin’ Fair with local musicians, people dressed in turn-of-the century costume, and a horse-trading re-enactment.
Clifford was in the midst of it all, sporting a stage moustache, putting his acting skills to good use and speaking in the local language he loved.
He also helped set up a museum in what became known as the Larne Historical Centre, of which he was the first curator. It’s now the Larne Museum and Arts Centre.
The John Clifford Gallery there is named in his honour, recognising how active he was in preserving artefacts that would otherwise have been lost.
He was one of the most prominent folklorists of his day in Larne and east Antrim. He played fiddle and accordion and he sang and wrote and performed in plays. He helped revive Mounthill Fair in Larne, one of the oldest horse fairs in Ireland.
Clifford died on October 8, 1983. In paying tribute, Sam Cross, co-founder of Larne and District Folklore Society, wrote: “Those of us who were privileged to know him were ever conscious that we were in the presence of a living legend.
“We never ceased to wonder at his boundless energy, his youthful enthusiasm, his marvellous poetic gift. John had a deep-rooted love of his native soil, its people and its language, which 30 years in London left undimmed.”
Lolly Spence organised a series of events at Larne Museum and Arts Centre last year for the 40th anniversary of Clifford’s death.
“John Clifford was exceptional, hard-working, talented, civic-minded, with a broad range of interests,” she said.
“He recognised that he was living through changing times, so he recorded folklore, language and history to leave us a valuable record. His legacy is of interest to scholars and local folk, to linguists and historians.”
The plaque will be unveiled on Friday at 10.30am at Larne Museum and Arts Centre.