George Croly

George Croly (born Aug. 17, 1780, Dublin, Ire.—died Nov. 24, 1860, Holborn, London, Eng.) was an Irish writer and Anglican clergyman, perhaps best known as the author of several hymn lyrics, notably “Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart.”

After graduating from Trinity College, the University of Dublin (M.A., 1804; LL.D., 1831), Croly took holy orders and became a curate in the north of Ireland. About 1810 he went to London, where he wrote for a number of literary journals, including Blackwood’s Magazine and the Literary Gazette. Among his chief writings, little known in the 21st century, were Salathiel: A Story of the Past, the Present, and the Future (1828), a romance, and the much reprinted The Life and Times of the Late Majesty George the Fourth (1830). Croly also wrote on a number of religious topics in such works as Scenes from Scripture, with Other Poems (1851), and Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship (1854). Both his poetry and his prose are vigorous and eloquent. He was unable until 1835 to secure a religious living because, according to an article in Gentleman’s Magazine, he was mistaken for another George Croly who was Roman Catholic.