Worthies of Ireland In a journal entry from early 1819 (pictured above) Ryan writes: Three pages of the journal were saved by his family along with many newspaper clippings of his poems that were kept by him at the time, several of which were submitted (or published) anonymously, or under the initials R.R., but subsequently signed. Also in the journal he describes people who he was contacting to write the
Worthies of Ireland. In the next entry in the journal, written presumably in 1821 but undated, he writes: "I now for the first time in my life began to think that I shant not clear a fortune by my first literary undertaking." He describes how the first volume was printed "with a fine portrait of
John Philpot Curran..." Regarding the sale of the first volume of
Worthies of Ireland he writes: "I sent a quantity of copies to Ireland where I expected it would have the greatest sale – but there it met with little or none. In this country it sold much better – but the sale in both countries was such as to make me determined never to complete the work. This determination however I was induced to change two years approximately afterwards by my printer consenting to take the expenses on himself provided I would finish the work in one more volume. This I agreed to do...". Five editions of both volumes were published in 1821 and 1822 and are held by 37 libraries worldwide.
Camden Town After closing down the Oxford Street bookshop, Richard Ryan moved to 2 Upper Park Street,
Camden Town (renamed and numbered 50 Park Street in around 1823 and now 28
Parkway), at the end of 1818 with his mother and two other family members, John and Mary Ryan. He married Amelia Cecilia Didier (1803–74) at
St Marylebone Parish Church, Westminster in May 1822. They were living in Cork when their first child Richard Jr was born in early 1823. On return to London in mid 1823 they lived in Park Street Camden Town with his mother and other family members until January 1825, before moving to their own house at 6 Adams Terrace (now 277 Camden High Street). Of the three addresses in Camden Town that Ryan lived in, 277 Camden High Street is the only original building still standing. His second and third sons, Edmund and Alfred, were born there in 1825 and 1827. Richard Ryan and his family returned to live in 50 Park Street after the death of his mother in February 1830. His first daughter Elizabeth Bridget died in 1833 at the age of two and his son Alfred died of Smallpox in 1838. His final child was Jane (1834–1915) who later married to become Jane Armitt and later Jane May.
Debt In March 1835 he was jailed in
King's Bench Prison, Southwark, for debt and his family's situation was described in letters to the
Literary Fund by Ryan's referees as 'critical' as they had lost everything, including their furniture, with neighbours lending them beds. The Literary Fund paid the debt, releasing him from prison. Despite some success as an editor, playwright and writer between 1835 and his death in 1849 the Fund helped him again in the 1840s. The applications to the Fund, held in the British Library, have revealed several previously uncredited works by Ryan. In around 1844 he sold the family home and moved into rented accommodation at 5 Pratt Street, Camden Town (now number 9). His eldest son Richard Jr had a "paralysis-type disability", possibly autism, living at home unable to work until around 1846, or in accommodation nearby, until 1849. Richard Jr married Maria Hall in May 1846 and produced Richard Ryan's first grandchild, Elizabeth, in 1847.
Thomas Crofton Croker One of his friends was the Irish writer
Thomas Crofton Croker (1798–1854) who moved to London from Ireland in 1818. Croker, who was almost the same age at Ryan, is known for his extensive research into ancient Irish folklore. Croker helped Ryan with contacts and accommodation when Ryan lived in Croker's hometown of
Cork in 1822 and 1823. Ryan maintained a friendship with him for more than 30 years. Ten letters from Richard Ryan and one from Elizabeth Ryan to Croker written between 1822 and 1845 are in Cork Library Archives. They show a personal connection with Croker's family in Cork and also of Croker with Ryan's family in Camden Town. The first letters from Richard, posted from Cork to London, written in June 1822 – March 1823, referred to the recent wedding in London in May 1822. In 1827 Elizabeth, Richard's mother, sold her late husband's extensive collection of books about Ireland to Croker for £50, and wrote to him following the sale. When Ryan was jailed in 1835 for debt he continued to write poetry and prose for publication from the prison, sending articles to Croker and asking him to forward them to
Fraser's Magazine. He also asked for advice about applying to the Literary Fund as Croker was a member of the Fund's board.
Death Ryan had a heart attack in early September 1849 and died seven weeks later on 20 October. He was buried in the 19th century cemetery for
St James's Church, Piccadilly, on 25 October 1849. The cemetery became St James's Gardens, Camden, in 1878 with only a few gravestones lining the edges of the gardens. His remains may have been moved when part of the gardens, which are located between Hampstead Road and Euston Station, were built over when Euston Station was expanded. St James's Gardens were closed in August 2017 in preparation for the expansion of Euston Station. His obituary in
The Gentleman's Magazine in January 1850 gave an account of his literary successes, saying he had "devoted himself to literature from his early years, elevated it with success in several of its departments for nearly thirty years" but ended with a description of his final years: "We believe he was himself a bookseller at one period; but for many years past he was entirely dependent on his literary exertions, and finally sunk under the pressure of pecuniary distress and a broken constitution, leaving a widow in great distress." The words in the newspaper were almost identical to those giving approval for the last payment made by the Literary Fund to his widow after his death. ==Posthumous success==