Painful childhood didn’t dim the twinkle in John Montague's eyes

Adrian Frazier pays tribute to the late poet John Montague, who passed away at the weekend

John Montague came from a family that, though Catholic in sectarian Tyrone, was very distinguished in the 19th century — a justice of the peace, a bishop — but his father and uncle had to go on the run after the Civil War.

So he was born in 1929 to a barman in Brooklyn, and then aged four was sent home to be raised by maiden aunts on the old family farm in Garvaghey.