Irish dramatist, poet, and author, Padraic Colum was born in 1881 in Longford, Ireland. He attended the Glasthule National School in Sandycove and University College, Dublin. Colum clerked at the Irish Railway Clearing House (1898-1904) before focusing exclusively on writing. He published poetry, but was best known as a dramatist. Colum was a member of the Irish National Theatre Society and an original Abbey Theater charter signer, writing three of the Abbey Theatre's first plays. He and his wife migrated to the United States in 1914, where he became known for children's literature. Colum's poetry described a rural Ireland forgotten by the modern audience; both of his novels were set in rural Ireland as well. Colum died in 1972.