I was the youngest of fourteen children — seven sons and seven daughters — and I was born no less than five years after my next eldest brother, John. Six of my brothers and sisters had died before I ever saw the light. The fact of such an unusual period of time having elapsed between my birth and that of my brother John, gave rise to many odd conjectures. Some said it was a proof that I was destined for something great and extraordinary. Others, on the contrary, shook their heads, and expressed a fear that it might be the other way.

(Carleton: The Autobiography)

Carleton in a sense united his country: the list of eminent persons to petition the Government to grant him a pension in 1847 represents all the different ways of being Irish. Nothing else could have brought together the President of the Catholic College at Maynooth and Colonel Blacker, the Orange leader, in the presence of Maria Edgeworth, Dan O'Connell's son, Oscar Wilde's father and the Rev.Dr. Henry Cooke, from Belfast.

The William Carleton Summer School has been held in the Clogher Valley each August since 1992. It aims to further the already awakened interest in the life, times and writings of William Carleton; present Carleton as a writer of international significance; foster critical examination of Carleton's work; and present the best of today's writing by Irish writers. Amongst the School's fringe events each year are drama productions, art and crafts exhibitions, musical events and storytelling. Particularly popular are tours of the Carleton country led by Clogher historian Jack Johnston.