Ethna Carbery
Encyclopedia
Ethna Carbery was an Irish
journalist, writer and poet. She is best-known for the ballad Roddy McCorley
and the Song of Ciabhán; the latter was set to music by Ivor Gurney
. Along with Alice Milligan
she published two Irish nationalist magazines.
, County Antrim
. Her father was Robert Johnston, a timber merchant and prominent Fenian
organizer. Her mother came from County Donegal
.
From the age of fifteen, when she had her first piece published, she contributed poems and short stories to a number of Irish periodicals, including United Ireland, Young Ireland, the Nation and the Catholic Fireside.
She participated in the nationalist commemorations of the 1798 Rising and with Alice Milligan, Maud Gonne
and others toured the country delivering lectures on the United Irishmen. In 1900 she was a founder-member of Inghinidhe na hÉireann
, the revolutionary women's organisation led by Maud Gonne
. She was elected a vice-president of the association, along with Jenny Wyse Power, Annie Egan and Alice Furlong
. She and Milligan wrote and produced plays as part of its cultural activities.
She and Alice Milligan
published two nationalist publications, The Northern Patriot and (later) The Shan Van Vocht, which was published from 1896 monthly until 1899. Its contributors included Katherine Tynan, Nora Hopper, Seumas MacManus
and Alice Furlong
, and it contained some early writings of James Connolly
.
In 1901 she married poet and folklorist Séamus MacManus (1869–1960) and moved with him to Revlin House in County Donegal. It was then that she began writing under the pen name of Ethna Carbery because once she took the last name of MacManus she didnt want to be confused with her husband(also a writer). She died in the Revlin House of gastritis the following year, aged 35. Her husband, who was three years her junior, outlived her by 58 years. Although MacManus and Johnston were only married for one year her impact on his life ran deep. Seamus MacManus never remarried in his 58 years after Anna and even wrote a memoir dedicated to her.
Her poetry was published by her husband after her death in the The Four Winds of Erin, which was phenomenally successful over the next few years. Some further volumes followed.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
journalist, writer and poet. She is best-known for the ballad Roddy McCorley
Roddy McCorley
Roddy McCorley was a United Irishman and a participant in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.-Life:...
and the Song of Ciabhán; the latter was set to music by Ivor Gurney
Ivor Gurney
Ivor Bertie Gurney was an English composer and poet.-Life:Born at 3 Queen Street, Gloucester in 1890, the second of four children of David Gurney, a tailor, and his wife Florence, a seamstress, Gurney showed musical ability early...
. Along with Alice Milligan
Alice Milligan
Alice Milligan was an Irish nationalist poet and writer, active in the Gaelic League.-Life:She was born and raised a Protestant in Gortmore, near Omagh, County Tyrone. Milligan's father was the writer Seaton Milligan, antiquary and member of the RIA...
she published two Irish nationalist magazines.
Life
Anna Johnston was born in BallymenaBallymena
Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census....
, County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
. Her father was Robert Johnston, a timber merchant and prominent Fenian
Fenian
The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...
organizer. Her mother came from County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
From the age of fifteen, when she had her first piece published, she contributed poems and short stories to a number of Irish periodicals, including United Ireland, Young Ireland, the Nation and the Catholic Fireside.
She participated in the nationalist commemorations of the 1798 Rising and with Alice Milligan, Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride was an English-born Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress, best remembered for her turbulent relationship with William Butler Yeats. Of Anglo-Irish stock and birth, she was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of evicted people in the Land Wars...
and others toured the country delivering lectures on the United Irishmen. In 1900 she was a founder-member of Inghinidhe na hÉireann
Inghinidhe na hÉireann
Inghinidhe na hÉireann , abbreviated InaÉ, was a revolutionary women’s society founded by Maud Gonne on Easter Sunday 1900.Gonne was elected President of the association; Vice-Presidents were Alice Furlong, Jenny Wyse Power, Annie Egan and Anna Johnston...
, the revolutionary women's organisation led by Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride was an English-born Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress, best remembered for her turbulent relationship with William Butler Yeats. Of Anglo-Irish stock and birth, she was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of evicted people in the Land Wars...
. She was elected a vice-president of the association, along with Jenny Wyse Power, Annie Egan and Alice Furlong
Alice Furlong
Alice Furlong was an Irish writer, poet and political activist who also worked on Irish publications with Douglas Hyde .-Life:...
. She and Milligan wrote and produced plays as part of its cultural activities.
She and Alice Milligan
Alice Milligan
Alice Milligan was an Irish nationalist poet and writer, active in the Gaelic League.-Life:She was born and raised a Protestant in Gortmore, near Omagh, County Tyrone. Milligan's father was the writer Seaton Milligan, antiquary and member of the RIA...
published two nationalist publications, The Northern Patriot and (later) The Shan Van Vocht, which was published from 1896 monthly until 1899. Its contributors included Katherine Tynan, Nora Hopper, Seumas MacManus
Seumas MacManus
Seumas MacManus was an Irish author, dramatist, and poet known for his ability to reinterpret Irish folktales for modern audiences. Born into a poor farming family in County Donegal he at first became a schoolteacher. He got started as a writer in the 1890s when he began contributing articles and...
and Alice Furlong
Alice Furlong
Alice Furlong was an Irish writer, poet and political activist who also worked on Irish publications with Douglas Hyde .-Life:...
, and it contained some early writings of James Connolly
James Connolly
James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...
.
In 1901 she married poet and folklorist Séamus MacManus (1869–1960) and moved with him to Revlin House in County Donegal. It was then that she began writing under the pen name of Ethna Carbery because once she took the last name of MacManus she didnt want to be confused with her husband(also a writer). She died in the Revlin House of gastritis the following year, aged 35. Her husband, who was three years her junior, outlived her by 58 years. Although MacManus and Johnston were only married for one year her impact on his life ran deep. Seamus MacManus never remarried in his 58 years after Anna and even wrote a memoir dedicated to her.
Her poetry was published by her husband after her death in the The Four Winds of Erin, which was phenomenally successful over the next few years. Some further volumes followed.
Works
- The Four Winds of Eirinn (1902) - poems
- The Passionate Hearts (1903) - poems
- In the Celtic Past (1904) - stories
- We Sang for Ireland: Poems of Ethna Carbery, Séamus MacManus, Alice Milligan (1950) - poetry
External links
- Carbery's bio and picture
- The Story of Seamus MacManus - Emerald Reflections - June 2008