Munster in 30 Artworks, No 21: Charles Kickham monument, Tipperary Town

The bronze statue of the poet, journalist and author originally had a quill in its hand but that seems to have been taken by someone

The statue of Charles J Kickham in Tipperary Town. Picture: Dan Linehan

Charles Joseph Kickham accomplished much before his passing, aged 54, in 1882. A poet, journalist and author, he is celebrated for his great novel of peasant life, Knocknagow, and for sentimental ballads such as 'Slievenamon'. He was also a founding member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and a sometime convict. His achievements were all the more remarkable when one considers that he was left mostly deaf, and with limited eyesight, after a flask of gunpowder exploded in his face in a hunting accident when he was 13.

Kickham is commemorated with a bronze statue in Tipperary town which depicts him seated, as if writing at a desk.