Maud Gonne

Maud Gonne is often seen as a beautiful adjunct to famous men: as the muse and unrequited love of W.B. Yeats, the estranged wife of nationalist hero John MacBride and the mother of human rights activist Sean MacBride. However, she was an important revolutionary figure in her own right. This collection of the political writings of Maud Gonne sets out to broaden our understanding of female activism during the foundation of the Irish state and to appreciate the intellectual work of someone whose political engagement has been neglected. It examines the major campaigns of Gonne's political career: amnesty, children and the poor, the cause of Ireland, transnational solidarity, the literary revival, and the failures of the Free State. This is a passionate account of Irish wrongs and a fitting testament to a life dedicated to political freedom and social justice. -- Publisher description

Maud Gonne is part of Irish history: her founding of the Daughters of Ireland, in 1900, was the key that effectively opened the door of twentieth-century politics to Irish women. Still remembered in Ireland for the inspiring public speeches she made on behalf of the suffering -- those evicted from their homes in western Ireland, the Treason-Felony prisoners on the Isle of Wright, indeed all those whom she saw as victims of imperialism -- she is known, too, within and outside Ireland as the woman W. B. Yeats loved and celebrated in his poems. This book is her story. -- Publishers description

This collection of letters between Maud Gonne (Irish activist, actress, and long-time love of W. B. Yeats) and John Quinn (Irish-American lawyer, art collector, and patron) deals with art, literature, Irish politics, and the horrific conflicts of the early twentieth century. Their letters are filled with details about the Irish fight for freedom, and how it affected Yeats, Pound, Joyce, and other friends; about Gonne's never-ending battle to establish a school feeding program for the starving children of Ireland; and about the alarming changes in the political and social world of their time.