Irish history has been marked by the passage of strong women who have left their mark on the collective consciousness. Maud Gonne (1866 – 1953) is a vibrant example! This actress and nationalist activist is particularly famous for her fight for Irish independence, the promotion of Gaelic culture and the feminist movement. An Irish woman still celebrated all over Ireland!
Maud Gonne was born in England on December 21, 1866. At the age of 6, she lost her mother prematurely, and was sent to Paris to attend a boarding school for young girls.
Maud Gonne spent her childhood in Paris until 1882, when she returned to Dublin to live with her father. It wasn’t until she was 20 that she decided to return to France, and met Lucien Millevoye, a French journalist with radical political views.
This meeting is decisive for her: Maud falls in love, and discovers politics. She began to surround herself with artists, including the poet William Butler Yeats, who fell in love with her.
Meanwhile, Maud Gonne’s father died of typhoid fever, leaving her over £20,000. She decided to use part of the money to move to Ireland, in County Donegal, in 1890. Outraged by the policy of evicting Irish families in difficulty, Gonne took up the fight for the underprivileged classes. She tried to raise public awareness by writing articles in the press, and worked hard to raise funds for the construction of shelters.
In 1890, Maud Gonne moved to County Donegal in Ireland. Highly politicized, she immediately got involved and campaigned against the eviction of poor Irish families. To this end, she organizes fund-raising events, builds shelters for the homeless, and writes numerous awareness-raising articles for the press.
An action that strongly displeases his detractors. Threatened with arrest, she fled France and gave birth to her son Georges, the fruit of her relationship with Lucien Millevoye.
In Paris, she lost none of her enthusiasm and launched a monthly newspaper called “L’Irlande libre”. The newspaper was intended to report back to France on the political situation in Ireland, with its social injustices, the constant power struggle with the British…etc. She soon attracted French sympathizers to the Irish cause, and also financed a book of poems by Ellen O’Leary.
In the meantime, she broke with Millevoye and returned to Ireland with her son Georges.
William Butler Yeats – Public domain
In 1891, Gonne’s son died of meningitis. Deeply saddened, she found solace in William Butler Yeats, who was still in love with her and tried to make her forget this tragic loss. To comfort herself, Gonne uses chloroform, while Yeats introduces her to the occult. The two become a couple, giving birth to a daughter named Isolde. The couple spend their time between Ireland and Paris, where they engage in a wide range of activities to raise awareness of the Irish cause.
This association has several objectives: it campaigns in favor of women, the poor and the nationalist cause. A few months later, together with Yeats and Laddy Gregory, she founded theAbbey Theatre, dedicated to the Irish Literary Revival movement.
Gonne also performed several plays written by Yeats.
James Connolly – Public domain
For Maud, the time has come to get more involved in the Irish fights. In 1897, together with Yeats, she helped found the Paris branch of Young Ireland. She converted to Catholicism, made many political speeches and tried to raise funds in the United States.
She also met James Connolly, with whom she wrote an analysis of poverty, famine and property rights. The same year, she also founded a feminist group: the “Inghinidhe na hÉireann” (Women of Erin).
She then founded a militant group: the Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Women of Erin). The group publishes a monthly newspaper advocating Irish independence and feminist values.
The band is also involved in the “Gaelic Revival”, a movement to protect Irish Gaelic culture at all costs, with its age-old language, sports and traditions. To this end, Inghinidhe na hÉireann offers educational courses for women, organizes Gaelic lessons, promotes Irish music, dance and song… and distributes free meals to poor children.
But Maud Gonne doesn’t stop there. With William Butler Yeats and Lady Gregory, she founded the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.
She still has a turbulent relationship with Yeats. The poet, very much in love, wrote many poems, as well as a play in tribute to his partner.
Against all expectations, it was in 1903 that Gonne broke with Yeats to marry John McBride, an Irish Brigade soldier. Although their marriage soon ended in divorce, Gonne gave birth to Seán McBride, who went on to co-found Amnesty International as an adult. Faced with this failure, Gonne returned to Ireland, and continued her fight with James Connolly and Countess Constance Markievicz.
The First World War broke out, and Gonne campaigned against the conscription of the Irish into the British army. On May 5, 1916, she learned of the execution of her ex-husband, John McBride, following his participation in the Easter Rising. Her fight against the constituency led to her arrest: Gonne was imprisoned for 6 months in a London jail. As soon as she was released, she and Charlotte Despard set up an association to defend the rights of Republican prisoners.
In 1938, she wrote her memoirs, known as “A Servant of the Queen”, and died many years later, on April 27, 1953. She is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.
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