Barbara Fitzgerald (16 December 1911 – 21 May 1982) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

Life

Barbara Fitzgerald was born Barbara Gregg in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

on 16 December 1911. Her parents were

John Allen Fitzgerald Gregg John Allen Fitzgerald Gregg CH (1873–1961) was a Church of Ireland clergyman, from 1915 Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin, in 1920 translated to become Archbishop of Dublin, and finally from 1939 until 1959 Archbishop of Armagh. He was al ...

and Anna Gregg (née Jennings). Fitzgerald spent her youth in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, attending school in England. She entered

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

as a foundation scholar in 1931. In 1933 she graduated with honours in Italian and French. She married Michael Fitzgerald Somerville on 21 August 1935 at

St Bartholomew's Church, Dublin , imagesize = , landscape = , caption = , location = Clyde Road,Ballsbridge,Dublin , country = Ireland , coordinates = , denomination = Anglican , churchmanship = Anglo-Catholic , membership = , attendance = , website stbartholo ...

. As a society wedding, people lined the streets of

Ballsbridge Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the city. Th ...

to watch the wedding party pass. Fitzgerald's father performed the wedding ceremony, with the couple then honeymooning in Scotland. Her husband was an oil executive, and the couple lived in west Africa until the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when they returned to England. Her father-in-law was

Henry Boyle Townshend Somerville Vice-Admiral Henry Boyle Townshend Somerville (7 September 1863 – 24 March 1936) was an Irish naval officer and author who served in the Royal Navy. He was also an author author who wrote on maritime topics as well as ethnography and archaeol ...

, who was murdered on 14 March 1936 by the IRA. Her first novel, ''We are besieged'', was published in 1946 and describes the destruction of an Irish big house in 1920, Butler's Hill. Some of the scenes and settings are similar to those used by

Elizabeth Bowen Elizabeth Bowen CBE (; 7 June 1899 – 22 February 1973) was an Irish-British novelist and short story writer notable for her books about the "big house" of Irish landed Protestants as well her fiction about life in wartime London. Life E ...

. Her second novel, ''Footprints upon water'', was first published in 1955 and was reissued after her death in 1983. ''We are besieged'' was republished again in 2011, and ''Footprints upon water'' in 2012 leading to a rediscovery of her work. Fitzgerald retired to Ireland in 1968 with her husband. She suffered with ill health for a number of years, succumbing to early dementia. She died in Dublin on 21 May 1982. She had a son, Julian and a daughter, Christina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Barbara 1911 births 1982 deaths Writers from Cork (city) 20th-century Anglo-Irish people 20th-century British women writers Irish women novelists 20th-century Irish novelists