Denis Aloysius McCarthy was in born in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland on July 25, 1871. He attended the Christian Brothers School before he emigrated to the United States at fifteen. He originally settled in Boston, Massachusetts and then moved to Omaha, Nebraska when he was nineteen. While in Omaha he wrong his first poem "When Mother Sleeps," which was published under an assumed name in the Omaha World-Herald.

Upon returning to Boston he published other poems in the Boston Globe's "Under the Rose" column. He became the editor of the Sacred Heart Review, a Catholic periodical with wide distribution in New England. He also lectured frequently, often on educational topics, and received an honorary doctorate of laws from Boston College in 1922. During World War I he was participated in the Knights of Columbus Committee on War Activities in Washington.

In 1901 he married Ruphine Antonia Morris of Charlestown, Massachusetts and they had a daughter, Rufina. One of his most famous poems was "This is the Land Where Hate Should Die" which emphasized his strong feelings of American patriotism. Some of his other poetic works include "America First," "A Song for the Flag," "Daddies and Laddies," and "A Round of Rimes."

He died in Arlington, Massachusetts on August 18, 1931.

Sources:

Boston Globe. "Denis A. McCarthy, Poet, Lecturer, Dead." August 19, 1931.

McCarthy, Denis Aloysius, 1871-1931. Dictionary of North American Authors, 1951.