Thank you again to everyone who contributed to the Kickstarter Campaign to see a street statue of Gonne in Dublin, and form a society to oversee this campaign (and hopefully many more).
This is your latest update, with information about Kickstarter late pledges, a new “stretch reward” book, and formation of the Maud Gonne Society as a company limited by guarantee, seeking charity status.
Maud Gonne Statue Campaign: Kickstarter Rewards
Payments have now been successfully processed by Kickstarter.
If you signed up for a reward, in October 2024 you’ll receive what Kickstarter calls “a survey” . This collects details we need (such as mailing addresses, preferences, etc.) to fulfil your rewards.
Please keep an eye out for this survey, as we can’t get your rewards to you without your assistance.
Meantime, if you missed out on supporting the campaign, late pledges for some of the rewards are still possible here
Books Are In Progress
A Life Before will soon be ready for the editor and during the Kickstarter, we introduced a stretch goal bonus reward — an ebook of Yeats love poetry about Gonne, together with commentary by her.
It’s called A Crowd of Stars. We have a cover, as you can see, and the poetry has been compiled.
I think I’ve now found everything I could lay my hands on that Gonne ever said about WB’s poetry, to him or to others. Time to type them up!
Aside from those rewards which will be distributed as or at events, all rewards (digital and physical), will be dispatched in November 2024.
Maud Gonne Society Launch: Save the Date
I’m delighted to let you know that we have secured our preferred venue for the launch of the Maud Gonne Society: The United Arts Club in Fitzwilliam Square Dublin.
Please save the date: Friday 6th December.
There’s an interesting Maud Gonne story to tell about the setting up of this Club which was founded by Yeats, George “AE” Russell, Gregory, the Markieviczs and others, which we’ll tell on the night.
We’re now also working on the line-up for the night, and hope you can join us, live or online, to celebrate this important milestone.
Creative Retreat Confirmed
Weekend retreat dates are confirmed Friday 11th – Sunday 13th April 2025 at Rosnaree House. We will send full details and schedule for the weekend closer to the time. Please note, as the pledges have now been processed, we cannot offer refunds or accept returns. All contributions are final (except of course in situations where your statutory rights apply). You can read the entire cancellation and refund policy here.
Late Pledges
If you haven't already, or if you know someone who wanted to contribute to our fundraiser, but missed the initial deadline, there's still time to join our supporters
Kickstarter recently introduced late pledges. Go here.
Please feel free to spread the word to anyone who may be interested in joining our community of supporters.
The Statue
And what about the statue, you ask?
We are now working with Maria at Walsh-Gibbons Accountancy and Business Advisory to help us set up the Maud Gonne Society entity as a non-profit.
We have decided to form a non-profit company limited by guarantee (there are pros and cons to each) and are now at work on the society documentation, memoranda, and articles of association.
Once we’ve got through the legal decision-making and paperwork, we can set up a bank account, seek funding, and begin the statue application process.
We hope to be putting in our application early in 2025 (by which time the dust should have settled from the general election, due by all accounts this autumn).
Current Priorities
Regarding the statue, we have three priorities at the moment
- To appoint volunteer directors, trustees, and committee to help establish the Maud Gonne Society as a Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG)
- To put together a constitution consisting of a memorandum of association (outlining the company’s objectives and members' guarantees) and an articles of association (governing internal management)
- To reach out to experienced parties who have set up statues in Dublin to ensure we understand the application process, ensure we iron out any solvable problems before we apply.
Thank you
Once again, thank you for being an essential part of this project. We are proud to have your support as we work to bring it to life.
If you have any questions, just hit reply.