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52-587: The members first met in John O’Leary's rooms on Mountjoy Square , and later formally at the Rotunda. Its first president was Douglas Hyde . On 25 November 1892 Hyde delivered a lecture to the society on The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland , a precursor to the founding of the Gaelic League . A Book of Irish Verse , designed to publicise the new societies, was published in 1895, edited by Yeats and dedicated "To

104-547: A boon for his poetry and that the world should thank her for never having accepted his proposals. When Yeats told her he was not happy without her, she replied, Oh yes, you are, because you make beautiful poetry out of what you call your unhappiness and are happy in that. Marriage would be such a dull affair. Poets should never marry. The world should thank me for not marrying you. In Paris in 1903, after having turned down at least four marriage proposals from Yeats between 1891 and 1901, Maud married Major John MacBride , who had led

156-756: A leading role in Yeats's play Cathleen Ní Houlihan . She portrayed Cathleen, the "old woman of Ireland", who mourns for her four provinces which had been "lost" to the British. She was already spending much of her time in Paris. In the same year, she joined the Roman Catholic Church . She refused many marriage proposals from Yeats, not only because he was unwilling to convert to Catholicism and because she viewed him as insufficiently radical in his nationalism , but also because she believed his unrequited love for her had been

208-765: A tour of County Cork, seat of the most fervent revolutionary activity. Cork was under a Martial Law Area (MLA) prohibited to Irishmen and women outside the zone but the Viceroy's sister had a pass. In 1921, she opposed the Treaty and advocated the Republican side. The committee that set up White Cross in Ireland asked Gonne to join in January 1921 to distribute funds to victims administered by Cumann na mBan . She settled in Dublin in 1922. During

260-778: A year later from heart disease. Gonne's son, Seán MacBride (1904–1988) was active in the IRA and in Irish republican politics. As Irish Foreign Minister (1948–1951) he was active the United Nations and helped secure ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights . He was later a founding member of Amnesty International and its Chairman, and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974. Gonne died in Clonskeagh , aged 86, and

312-549: Is incontrovertible, and is apparent to all in the desperate scramble for markets, the restriction of output and destruction in almost every country of consumable goods, while millions of people who need these goods are allowed to starve." In the 1930s, she was involved in the Friends of Soviet Russia organisation. She met and was photographed with the Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose when he visited Ireland in 1936. Gonne

364-624: Is known for having had anti-Semitic views. Historian D. G. Boyce described her as "noisily anti-Semitic." The Dictionary of Irish Biography states that she believed in anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic theories. During the 1890s, Gonne travelled extensively throughout England, Wales, Scotland and the United States campaigning for the nationalist cause, forming an organisation called the "Irish League" ( L'association irlandaise ) in 1896. In 1900, Gonne helped found Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland). Twenty-nine women attended

416-433: Is thought to have later entered a convent. He acted as best man for James Stephens , in 1864. He was brought up Catholic, but abandoned the religion for all of his life, until close to his death, when he was reconciled to the church, around Christmas 1906. He inherited property from his family in the town of Tipperary. For most of his life, this provided a reasonably comfortable income, so that he did not have to earn money and

468-556: The United Irishman newspaper on the occasion of a planned visit by Queen Victoria to Ireland. The newspaper was suppressed by the RIC but the article was republished in American newspapers. Gonne remained very active in Paris. In 1913, she established L'Irlande libre , a French newspaper. She wanted Cumann na mBan to be considered seriously: her idea was to get affiliation with

520-529: The Dublin University Review in 1886, he showed some awareness that Protestants would require guarantees of their liberties within an independent Ireland. Like most intellectuals of his generation, he was not interested in the Irish language, although sympathetic to organisations of the Gaelic revival of the 1880s onwards. O'Leary never married, although he had an early love affair with a young woman, who

572-580: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , an occultist organisation with which Yeats had involved himself. In 1890, in France she again met Millevoye. They had a son, Georges, but the child died within the year, possibly of meningitis . Gonne was distraught, and buried him in a large memorial chapel. (Her distress remained with her; in her will she asked for Georges's baby shoes to be interred with her). After

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624-541: The Irish Transvaal Brigade against the British in the Second Boer War . The following year their son Seán MacBride was born. Afterwards Gonne and her husband agreed to end their marriage. She demanded sole custody of their son, but MacBride refused, and a divorce case began in Paris on 28 February 1905. The only charge against MacBride substantiated in court was that he had been drunk on one occasion during

676-525: The Ledaean Body ("Leda and the Swan" and "Among School Children"), Cathleen Ní Houlihan , Pallas Athene and Deirdre . Why should I blame her that she filled my days With misery, or that she would of late Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways Or hurled the little streets upon the great. (from 'No second Troy', 1916) Yeats's 1893 poem "On a Child's Death" is thought to have been inspired by

728-606: The tuberculosis that stayed with her throughout her life; in the summer of 1887 she went to the French spa town of Royat in the Auvergne to recover. In France, Gonne met Lucien Millevoye (1850–1918), a married journalist with fervid right-wing politics, a supporter of the revanchist General Boulanger . Her relationship with Millevoye, who was sixteen years her senior, was both sexually and politically driven. With Boulanger he would redeem France by regaining Alsace-Lorraine . Her mission

780-609: The "Irish Joan of Arc ", Gonne became known for her Irish republican views on a variety of contemporary social issues in Ireland. During the fin de siècle era, she supported Irish Catholic tenant farmers in their struggles against the Protestant Ascendancy and the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) during the Land War . Gonne chaired several meetings of international groups to build sympathy for her causes among

832-535: The 22-year-old Iseult who refused his advances. Many Dubliners had suspected that Yeats was her father. In 1920, she eloped to London with 17-year-old Irish-Australian Francis Stuart , who became a writer, and the couple later married. Iseult was not acknowledged as her mother's daughter in Maud Gonne's will when Gonne died in 1953, possibly due to pressure from her half-brother Seán MacBride who did not want to reveal Maud's relation to Millevoye. Iseult died less than

884-399: The 23-year-old Iseult, who did not accept either. He had known her since she was four, and often referred to her as his darling child and took a paternal interest in her writings (many Dubliners wrongly suspected that Yeats was her father). Iseult considered the proposal, but finally turned him down, because he was not really in love with her and it would upset her mother too much. Known as

936-647: The American painter, James Abbott McNeill Whistler . O'Leary subsequently became financial manager of the newly formed Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), and was joint editor of the IRB paper The Irish People . On 16 September 1865, O'Leary was arrested, and later tried on charges of high treason , reduced to 'treason felony'. He was sentenced to twenty years' penal servitude , of which five years were spent in English prisons, prior to his release and exile in January 1871. During his exile, he lived mainly in Paris, also visiting

988-523: The American, British and French publics. During the Second Boer War , Gonne, along with a small group of republicans, supported the Boer republics by giving speeches and publishing newspaper articles advocating against Irish involvement in the war. Gonne became known for her eloquence in her political speeches and they were credited for animating the founding of new Irish nationalist organisations. In April 1900, Gonne wrote an article titled "The Famine Queen" for

1040-532: The Balkans and Russia, and he was as much at home in Paris as in Dublin." In 1882, her father, an army officer, was posted to Dublin . She accompanied him and remained with him until his death in 1886. With her sister Kathleen, Gonne spent an unhappy time in London under the guardianship of their uncle William Gonne. Unaware that she would inherit a fortune on her majority, she tried to become an actress, but became ill with

1092-446: The British monarchy. Iseult Gonne (1894–1954), her daughter with Millevoye , was educated at a Carmelite convent in Laval , France. When she returned to Ireland she was referred to as Maud's niece or cousin rather than daughter. She was to attract the admiration of literary figures including Ezra Pound , Lennox Robinson and Liam O'Flaherty . In 1916, in his fifties, Yeats proposed to

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1144-651: The English Red Cross, and wrote to Geneva to gain an international profile for the new nationalist organisation. In 1918, she was arrested in Dublin and imprisoned in England for six months. She worked with the Irish White Cross for the relief of victims of violence. Gonne moved in upper-class circles. Lord French's sister, Mrs Charlotte Despard was a famous suffragist, who was already a Sinn Feiner when she arrived in Dublin in 1920. She naturally accompanied Gonne on

1196-616: The Members of the National Literary Society of Dublin and the Irish Literary Society of London." It featured poetry by T. W. Rolleston , Hyde, Katharine Tynan , Lionel Johnson , AE and several others, with notes and an introduction by himself. This Irish history article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . John O%27Leary (Fenian) John O'Leary (23 July 1830 – 16 March 1907 )

1248-673: The National Council on 28 November 1905 was notable for two things: the decision, by a majority vote (with Griffith dissenting), to open branches and organise on a national basis; and the presentation by Griffith of his 'Hungarian' policy, which was now called the Sinn Féin policy. This meeting is usually taken as the date of the foundation of the Sinn Féin party. In 1897, along with Yeats and Griffith, she organised protests against Queen Victoria 's Diamond Jubilee . In April 1902, she took

1300-605: The United States, remained active in the IRB and its associated organisations, and wrote many letters to newspapers and journals. On the expiry of his 20-year prison term and therefore of the conditions associated with his release in 1885, he returned to Ireland. He and his sister, the poet Ellen O'Leary , both became important figures within Dublin cultural and nationalist circles, which included W. B. Yeats , Maud Gonne , Rose Kavanagh, Rosa Mulholland , George Sigerson , and Katharine Tynan . He also functioned as an elder statesman of

1352-418: The affairs of Ireland is not based on the failure of men to do so properly, but is the inherent right of women as loyal citizens and intelligent human souls." In her autobiography she wrote, "I have always hated war and am by nature and philosophy a pacifist , but it is the English who are forcing war on us, and the first principle of war is to kill the enemy." A second organisation, the National Council,

1404-429: The arrival of new prisoners... we pestered the wardress and she told us there were four – Maud Gonne MacBride, her daughter Mrs Iseult Stuart and two lesser lights... Early this morning... we could see Maud walking majestically past our cell door leading on a leash a funny little lap dog which answered to the name that sounded like Wuzzo – Wuzzo. She was released on 28 April, after twenty days in custody. Months later

1456-518: The child's death, she separated from Millevoye, but in late 1893 arranged to meet him at the mausoleum in Samois-sur-Seine and, next to their child's sarcophagus, they had sexual intercourse. Her purpose was to conceive a baby with the same father, to whom the soul of Georges would transmigrate in metempsychosis . Gonne's daughter by Millevoye, Iseult Gonne , was born in August 1894. Gonne MacBride

1508-515: The death of Gonne's son Georges, whom Yeats thought Gonne had adopted . The poem was not published in Yeats's lifetime; scholars say he did not want the poem to be part of his canon, as it is of uneven quality. Maud Gonne MacBride published her autobiography in 1938, titled A Servant of the Queen , a reference to both a vision she had of the Irish queen of old, Kathleen Ni Houlihan and an ironic title considering Gonne's Irish Nationalism and rejection of

1560-617: The divorce papers submitted by Gonne nor Iseult's own writings mention any such incident, which is unsurprising, given the reticence of the times around such matters, but Francis Stuart, Iseult's later husband, attests to Iseult telling him about it. The allegation concerning Iseult was made by Maud to Anthony MacBride, John's brother. Though Maud omitted it from court proceedings, the MacBride side raised it in court to have John's name cleared. As Maud wrote to Yeats, MacBride succeeded in this. Yeats and some of his biographers have maintained that Iseult

1612-675: The extent of the damage done to her home at 75 St Stephen's Green, when soldiers from the National Army ransacked the place. Gonne was arrested and taken to Mountjoy Jail. On 9 November 1922, the Sinn Féin Office was raided in Suffolk street; the Free State had swept the capital, rounding up opposition committing them to prison for internment. The evidence comes from Margaret Buckley , who as Secretary of Sinn Féin acted as legal representative for

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1664-403: The first meeting. They decided to "combat in every way English influence doing so much injury to the artistic taste and refinement of the Irish people." At the same time, she conceived Inghinidhe na hÉireann as a distinct voice for women in Irish affairs. In an early issue of Bean na hÉireann , the organisation's journal, the editorial proclaimed, "Our desire to have a voice in directing

1716-460: The marriage. A divorce was not granted, and MacBride was given the right to visit his son twice weekly. After the marriage ended, Gonne made allegations of domestic violence and, according to W. B. Yeats, of sexual molestation of Iseult, her daughter from a previous relationship, then aged 11. Critics have suggested that Yeats may have fabricated his allegations due to his hatred of MacBride over Maud's rejection of him in favour of MacBride. Neither

1768-408: The most beautiful women of the world" ( Review of Reviews , 7 June 1892). She returned to Ireland and worked for the release of Irish political prisoners from jail. In 1889, she first met W. B. Yeats , who fell in love with her. Gonne was attracted to the occultist and spiritualist worlds deeply important to Yeats, asking his friends about the reality of reincarnation . In 1891 she briefly joined

1820-498: The originator of social credit economics , Major C.H. Douglas . In the Irish Independent in 1936, Gonne criticised Ernest Blythe's denunciation of social credit economics. Opening, she wrote; "I read with amazement the report of Mr. Blythe's broadcast attack on Social Credit. Major Douglas's contention that production has outstripped distribution with disastrous results of unemployment and starvation, tending to war and anarchy

1872-772: The separatist movement, being active in the Young Ireland Society, and acted as president of the Irish Transvaal Committee, which supported the Boer side in the Boer War . O'Leary was a separatist, believing in complete Irish independence from Britain. However, he was not a republican but a constitutional monarchist. He believed in physical force, but was opposed to individual acts of violence such as those promoted by O'Donovan Rossa with his Skirmishing Fund, believing that revolutionary action should be thoroughly prepared. He

1924-799: The street battles she headed a delegation called The Women's Peace Committee which approached the Dáil leadership, and her old friend Arthur Griffith . But they were unable to stop the indiscriminate shooting of civilians, being more interested in law and order. In August she set up a similar organisation, the Women's Prisoner's Defence League. The prisons were brutal and many women were locked up in men's prisons. The League supported families wanting news of inmates. They worked for prisoners rights, began vigils, and published stories of tragic deaths. Through her friendship with Despard and opposition to government they were labeled "Mad and Madame Desperate". Historians have related

1976-511: The views advocated by Thomas Davis and met James Stephens in 1846. He began his studies in law at Trinity College , Dublin, in 1847, where, through the Grattan Club , he associated with Charles Gavan Duffy , James Fintan Lalor and Thomas Francis Meagher . After the failure of the 1848 Tipperary Revolt , O'Leary attempted to rescue the Young Ireland leaders from Clonmel Gaol, and

2028-402: The women but there was nothing prudish about their concerted opposition to civil rights abuses. On 10 April 1923, Gonne was arrested. The charges were: 1) painting banners for seditious demonstrations, and 2) preparing anti-government literature. According to the diary account of her colleague Hannah Moynihan : Last night [10th April] at 11pm, we heard the commotion which usually accompanies

2080-412: The women spread a rumour that Nell Ryan had died in custody in order to gain a propaganda victory. Women continued to be arrested. On 1 June Gonne was standing in protest outside Kilmainham Jail with Dorothy Macardle , the writer and activist, and Iseult Stuart. They were supporting hunger striker Máire Comerford . Again the source for this story seems to be fellow ex-prisoner Hannah Moynihan. Gonne

2132-579: Was Ireland, and together they would constitute an alliance against the British Empire . In December 1887 Maud Gonne inherited trust funds in excess of £13,000 and an unentailed sum from her mother's estate. She was a very wealthy woman and was free to live as she pleased. She travelled early in 1888 on a clandestine Boulangist mission to Russia, where she met the notable Pall Mall Gazette editor W. T. Stead , who wrote of meeting in St Petersburg "one of

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2184-496: Was a muse for Yeats. Many of Yeats's poems are inspired by her, or mention her, such as "This, This Rude Knocking." He wrote the plays The Countess Cathleen and Cathleen ni Houlihan for her. Few poets have celebrated a woman's beauty to the extent Yeats did in his lyric verse about Gonne. From his second book to Last Poems , she became the Rose , Helen of Troy (in No second Troy ),

2236-601: Was a leading figure in the Catholic monetary reform movement in Ireland in the 1930s. Formed in 1932 as the Financial Freedom Federation, they became the Irish Social Credit Party in late 1935 and Gonne MacBride was a prominent member of the group throughout the 1930s. They were committed to reforming Ireland's financial and economic systems by way of instituting reforms laid out in the inter-war period by

2288-585: Was a victim, and have omitted the court incident. MacBride visited his son as allowed for a short time, but returned to Ireland and never saw him again. Gonne raised the boy in Paris. MacBride was executed in May 1916 along with James Connolly and other leaders of the Easter Rising . After MacBride's death Gonne felt that she could safely return to live permanently in Ireland. In 1917, Yeats, in his fifties, proposed first to Maud Gonne, who turned him down, and then to

2340-606: Was able to assist fellow separatists financially. However, he did become a victim of agitation during the Plan of Campaign in 1889–91, when rental payments to him largely ceased. He was remembered in the town of Tipperary as a 'hard landlord'. In his poem, " September 1913 ", the poet W.B.Yeats laments the death of O'Leary with the repeated lines: He also mentions O'Leary in his poem "Beautiful Lofty Things": Maud Gonne Maud Gonne MacBride ( Irish : Maud Nic Ghoinn Bean Mhic Giolla Bhríghde ; 21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953)

2392-523: Was an Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette and actress. She was of Anglo-Irish descent and was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of people evicted in the Land Wars . She actively agitated for home rule and then for the republic declared in 1916 . During the 1930s, as a founding member of the Social Credit Party , she promoted the distributive programme of C. H. Douglas . Gonne

2444-576: Was an Irish separatist and a leading Fenian . He studied both law and medicine but did not take a degree and for his involvement in the Irish Republican Brotherhood , he was imprisoned in England during the nineteenth century. Born in the town of Tipperary , County Tipperary , the Catholic O'Leary was educated at the local Protestant Grammar School , The Abbey School , and later the Catholic Carlow College . He identified with

2496-532: Was disinherited and sought fortune abroad trading in Spanish wine," she wrote. "My grandfather was head of a prosperous firm with houses in London and Oporto – he destined my father to take charge of the foreign business and had him educated abroad. My father spoke 6 languages but had little taste for business, so he got a commission in the English army; his gift for languages secured for him diplomatic appointments in Austria,

2548-506: Was formed in 1903 by Gonne and others, including Arthur Griffith , on the occasion of the visit of King Edward VII to Dublin. Its purpose was to lobby Dublin Corporation to refrain from presenting an address to the king. The motion to present an address was duly defeated, but the National Council remained in existence as a pressure group with the aim of increasing nationalist representation on local councils. The first annual convention of

2600-682: Was himself imprisoned for a week from 8 September 1849. He took part in a further attempted uprising in Cashel on 16 September 1849, but this proved abortive. O'Leary abandoned his study of law at Trinity College because he was unwilling to take the oath of allegiance required of a barrister. He enrolled at Queen's College, Cork in 1850, to study medicine, later moved to Queen's College, Galway , then on to further studies at Meath Hospital, Dublin, in Paris and in London. In 1855, he visited Paris, where he became acquainted with Kevin Izod O'Doherty , John Martin and

2652-514: Was strongly opposed to the land agitation promoted by Michael Davitt and Parnell . For most of his life, he was opposed to any form of parliamentary action, being particularly hostile to the former Fenian M.P. John O'Connor Power . However, he supported Parnell during the early days of the Split of 1890–91. He was a secularist, believing that the Church should stay out of politics. In an article published in

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2704-560: Was well known for being the muse and long-time love interest of Irish poet W. B. Yeats . She was born in England at Tongham near Aldershot , Hampshire, as Edith Maud Gonne , the eldest daughter of Captain Thomas Gonne (1835–1886) of the 17th Lancers , and his wife, Edith Frith Gonne, born Cook (1844–1871). After her mother died while Maud was still a child, her father sent her to a boarding school in France to be educated. "The Gonnes came from County Mayo , but my great-great grandfather

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