Maud Gonne (1866 - 1953)
Photo: Maud Gonne
The Irish nationalist, Maud Gonne MacBride, was born at Tongham Manor, near Farnham, Surrey. Maud Gonne MacBride was a lady of the ascendancy and an activist from her teens to her old age.
Maud had a lifetime of political activism which involved speeches, journalism, pamphleteering and protests. Maud made a big contribution to the Rising by encouraging the political awareness of women and by establishing Inghinidhe na hÉireann, (some members of which were to participate in the Rising). She became one of the most prominent and colourful activists in various nationalist, socialist and feminist causes. She conducted lecture tours of Europe and the USA, promoting the message of Irish independence. Maud Gonne’s most notable contribution was the establishment in April 1900 of Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland). The organisation was solely for women and it's agenda was political, social and feminist.
In 1901 Maud Gonne embarked on a lecture tour of the United States with Major John MacBride, who had organised the Irish Brigade which fought on the side of the Boers in South Africa. They married in 1903. MacBride was a Roman Catholic and Maud converted to his faith before the marriage. The following year their son, Seán MacBride, was born. Shortly afterwards Gonne and her husband agreed to end their marriage. She demanded sole custody of their son; MacBride refused, and a divorce case began in Paris on 28th of February 1905. After the failure of the marriage she settled in Paris where she continued to contribute to Bean na hÉireann and edited the news-sheet L’Irlande Libre, in both of which she advocated the use of physical force as a means of achieving national independence.
When on a trip to Ireland around 1912, Maud Gonne went to St. Stephen’s Green with her son to feed the ducks. While there some children snatched the bag of food intended for the birds but Gonne realised the children were actually starving. She got some buns for the children and fed them. Inghinidhe na hÉireann battled malnutrition among Dublin’s poorest children by setting up a school dinner committee with the aim of ensuring that poor children got a plate of hot stew every day. They sent a delegation to Dublin Corporation to organise this but were told that unless the School Meals for Necessitous Children’s Act were extended to Ireland they could not legally oblige. Immediately Maud Gonne went to England and met Stephen Gwynn, a member of parliament in the House of Commons originally from Dublin, who got the necessary legislation through the House of Commons. Gonne organised several Inghinidhe na hÉireann women to help and a paid cook was employed. Donkeys and carts were hired to bring hot Irish stew to the various schools and the Penny Dinners helped with advice on where to get food at reasonable prices.
In 1913 Gonne returned to France when her son Seán became ill and was unable to return to Ireland when war broke out. She and her daughter Iseult nursed the wounded that arrived at the village where they were living. They were each given the rank of Lieutenant and asked to help nurse at hospitals near the Front. Maud Gonne took no direct part in the 1916 Rising. She stayed in Paris when MacBride was in Dublin, and when he visited Paris she stayed in Dublin. MacBride was executed in May 1916 along with James Connolly and other leaders of the Easter Rising. In 1916 she learned of her husband’s death after reading in the French newspapers about “Rioting in Dublin” and “Rioters Executed”. She saw her husband’s name among those listed as executed.
Maud did not settle in Ireland again until 1917. When she returned to Ireland she initially stayed with Countess Markievicz before buying her own house at 73, St. Stephen’s Green. She was arrested and brought to Arbour Hill military prison where she was questioned in connection with the “German Plot”. In 1918 she was interred in Holloway Jail together with Countess Markievicz and Kathleen Clarke. Kathleen Clarke had been arrested from her sick bed and was very ill. During her internment Maud Gonne used self hypnosis (which she had previously studied), pretended she had T.B. to the guards and she managed to lose a total of 3 stone in 3 months. The women were kept in the syphilis wing of the prison. Following a protest she was sent to a nursing home and with the assistance of her son Seán, she managed to escape and returned to Ireland. She worked as a nursing volunteer during the Irish Civil War. She died on the 27th of April 1953, aged 87, and is buried in the republican plot in Glasnevin.
During the 1901 Census Maud Gonne was on a lecture tour in America with her husband Major John MacBride. During the Census 1911 Maud Gonne McBride was living in Paris.
Source:
Witness Statement: Maud Gonne McBride http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0317.pdf
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