W. J. M. Starkie facts for kids

William Joseph Myles Starkie (born December 10, 1860, died July 21, 1920) was an important expert in Greek language and culture. He was also famous for translating plays by the ancient Greek writer Aristophanes. Starkie served as the President of Queen's College, Galway from 1897 to 1899. He was also the last Resident Commissioner of National Education for Ireland in the United Kingdom, holding that role from 1899 to 1920.

Starkie's Early Life and Education

William Starkie was born in Rosses Point, Sligo, Ireland. His father was a resident magistrate, which is like a local judge. William was the fifth son of William Robert Starkie and Francis Powers Starkie. He spent his early years at Creggane Manor in Rosscarbery near Cork with his four older brothers and younger sister, Edyth Starkie. Edyth later became a painter and married the famous illustrator Arthur Rackham.

William first attended Clongowes Wood College for a short time. In 1877, he went to Shrewsbury School in Shropshire, England. He was the only Roman Catholic student there. He was a strong rower and became Head of School before going to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1880.

Three years later, he earned top honors in his Classical Tripos exams, which focused on ancient Greek and Latin studies. Instead of becoming a Fellow (a senior academic) at Cambridge, he decided to travel in Italy and Greece.

Returning to Ireland

When he came back to Ireland, Starkie chose to continue his studies. He started again as a freshman at Trinity College, Dublin. There, he won the first classical scholarship and the Berkeley gold medal for Greek. He later received the Madden Prize, which allowed him to travel to Palestine and Persia.

In 1890, he achieved the highest marks ever recorded in classics at Trinity College, Dublin. This led him to become a Fellow and a Tutor (teacher) at the college. In 1897, he published his translation of The Wasps of Aristophanes. This book helped him become known as an expert in the works of Aristophanes.

That same year, he left his position at Trinity College to become President of Queen's College in Galway. He received special honorary degrees from Trinity College in 1898 and the Royal University of Ireland in 1909. In 1914, he became a member of the Privy Council of Ireland, a group of advisors to the monarch.

Family Life

On July 25, 1893, William Starkie married May Walsh. May was the daughter of a Dublin lawyer and had been one of his students at Alexandra College in Dublin, where he taught Classics.

William and May had several children. Their two eldest children, Enid and Walter, later wrote about their interesting family in their autobiographies. Enid's book was called A Lady's Child, and Walter's was Scholars and Gypsies. Their other children were Muriel, Ida (known as Chou-Chou), and Nancy. They also had a son, Humphrey Robert, who sadly died as a baby in 1916.

Resident Commissioner of Education

In February 1899, William Starkie was appointed Resident Commissioner of National Education for Ireland. In this role, he was in charge of the public school system. He was known for being very energetic and for not always following old traditions, which was unusual for someone in such an official position.

Starkie wanted to make big changes to the education system. One of his first reforms was to get rid of the 'Results' system. Before, a teacher's pay depended on how well their students did in yearly oral exams. This often meant teachers focused only on getting students to pass tests, even if the students didn't truly understand what they were learning. For example, a child might pass a reading test without understanding any of the words. By paying teachers a regular salary instead, the quality of teaching improved.

In 1904, he tried to combine smaller schools into larger ones. However, this plan faced strong opposition from the Catholic Bishops and clergy. Catholic Canon law stated that the local priest was responsible for the moral guidance of each child. Also, some religious leaders believed that combining boys' and girls' schools was morally risky. In the end, the Catholic authorities stopped this plan.

Changes to the Curriculum

Starkie was responsible for making the works of Shakespeare a common part of the curriculum for boys and girls in National schools across Ireland. He also introduced Irish History into the primary school curriculum. Before this, the authorities had forbidden lessons in Irish History or even Geography. They did this to prevent any ideas of Irish independence from growing in the classroom.

When he approved the use of an Irish history textbook by Patrick Weston Joyce, Starkie said that the education board had been too narrow-minded. He believed they had ignored the important cultural and emotional background of Irish students.

However, after the Easter Rising of 1916, a rebellion against British rule, Starkie changed his mind. He removed Joyce's history textbook from classrooms. He declared that teaching Irish history was too dangerous a subject for the National schools at that time. Some people even claimed that children were spreading nationalist ideas to their parents by bringing these newly approved textbooks home.

William Starkie died on July 21, 1920, in Cushendun, from diabetes. This was one year before insulin was discovered, which now helps manage diabetes. He is buried with his wife, May Caroline, at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.

His son, Walter Starkie, became a well-known scholar famous for his books about traveling with the Gypsies and for translating Spanish works. His eldest daughter, Enid Starkie, was known for writing biographies of French poets.

Works Translated

• The Wasps of Aristophanes (1897)
• Acharnians of Aristophanes (1909)
• The Clouds (1911)

Other Writings

• Recent editions of Catullus, (1890?)
• Recent Reforms in Irish Education, (1902)
• Dr. Starkie and the Catholic Clerical National School Managers of Ireland, (1903, with John Curry)
• A History of Irish Primary and Secondary Education during the last decade, (1911)
• Early Attic comedy and its bearings upon political and social life at Athens, (1911)
• Continuation Schools, (1912)
• Gospel According to St. Matthew XXVI.45, and XXVIII.2, (1920)
• An Aristotelian analysis of "the comic", illustrated from Aristophanes, Rabelais, Shakespeare and Molière, (1920)