George A Birmingham

The Island Mystery George A Birmingham

In 1914 there were not twenty men in England who had ever heard of the island of Salissa. Even now-I am writing in the spring of 1917-the public is very badly informed about the events which gave the island a certain importance in the history of the war. George A. Birmingham was the pen name of James Owen Hannay (16 July 1865 - 2 February 1950), Irish clergyman and prolific novelist. He was born in Belfast, ordained in 1889, as a Church of Ireland (Anglican) minister and served as rector of Holy Trinity Church, Westport in County Mayo. His early writings raised the ire of nationalist Catholics, and he withdrew from the Gaelic League in the wake of ongoing protests about the tour of his successful play General John Regan. He became rector of Kildare Parish from 1918 to 1920, and after serving as chaplain to Viceroy, he joined the British ambassadorial team in Budapest in 1922. He returned to officiate at Mells, Somerset from 1924 to 1934, after which he was appointed vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Kensington near London. He served there from 1934 to his death in 1950.