Maud Gonne, Eavan Boland, and Mother Ireland
Finding out that Maud Gonne and Eavan Boland share a death anniversary got me thinking about the way each of these two great Irishwomen engaged with the concept of “Mother Ireland”.
Maud Gonne
WB Yeats Poems Inspired By Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne was a formidable activist and generous philanthropist, whose feminism and nationalism altered the course of Irish history, but she is still best known as the muse of the first Irish nobel laureate for literature, the great poet WB Yeats. This post is about some of the poems she inspired.
Does Maud Gonne deserve a statue in Dublin? Of Course She Does
Does Maud Gonne deserve a statue in Dublin? Of course she does and a group of writers and readers, artists … Read more
New Fiction for Patrons: Maud Gonne’s Father’s Secret
Enjoy 'Maud Gonne's Father's Secret", an extract from my next novel, A Life Before, publishing July 2024, in which our heroine takes a late night stroll and makes a startling discovery.
Illustration by JB Yeats “The Stolen Child”
In researching the prologue to my Yeats-Gonne series, which is told from the point of view of the fathers of … Read more
Friday Fiction: Yeats-Gonne Series: An Unequal Marriage
Each Friday, I publish an extract from my work in progress, currently Dancing in the Wind (Book 4 of the … Read more
Dancing in the Wind Snippet: MAUD IS STUNG
The story opens in 1916. The world is at war, Irish freedom fighters have just staged an armed rebellion in … Read more
Dancing in the Wind Snippet: Stuff and Nonsense
The story opens in 1916. The world is at war, Irish freedom fighters have just staged an armed rebellion in … Read more
DANCING IN THE WIND NOTEBOOK DAY 39: Maud Gonne’s Links with Free India Activists
Maud Gonne’s father, Tommy, was a Cavalry Major, which was how the English born Maud ended up living in Ireland, … Read more
DANCING IN THE WIND NOTEBOOK DAY 37: Maud Gonne Biography for Children
There is a new online biography of Maud Gonne for children, created by Sophie Harkin for Lottie.com. Unfortunately, a few … Read more
Dancing in the Wind: Extract 7: How Like Your Mother You Become
To receive exclusive extracts from this story and give feedback on where it should go next, join my reader … Read more
Dancing in the Wind: Extract 6: Just Get Him Here
To receive exclusive extracts from this story and give feedback on where it should go next, join my reader … Read more
Maud Gonne hears of John MacBride’s Execution
The story has shifted to 1916. Maud and Iseult are living in Normandy, as the first world war wages and in Dublin, Irish freedom fighters have organized a botched insurrection. Many of their Irish friends and acquaintances were involved. This extract describes what happens when Maud Gonne hears of John MacBride’s Execution for his part.
If you read this speech at the start of a novel, would you read on?
It’s Friday Fiction here on the blog, so I’ll be blogging Dancing in the Wind, Book Two in the Yeats-Gonne Trilogy here with weekly extracts in the Friday Fiction slot.
I’m thinking of opening Dancing With The Wind with one of Maud Gonne’s fiery political speeches.
Question: Would you read on if this was what you found in the first pages of a book?