Francis Davis, son of a soldier and born at Ballincollig, County Cork, was a muslin weaver and later an assistant librarian at Queen's College, Belfast.His father was absent most ot of Francis' childhood during the Napoleonic wars and his mother died young. For a time he worked for his uncle at the loom; this seems to have been an unpleasant experience. when he was able to leave he travelled widely in mainland earning his living as a kind of itinerant weaver. A keen linguist, he was also editor of the Belfastman's Journal and contributed poetry to several newspapers, including The Nation. His collected poems were published in 1878 and he was known as "The Belfastman". He was buried in Milltown Cemetery in that city.

Born:	7 March 1810
Died:	7 October 1885