Cesca Chenevix Trench (3 February 1891 – 30 October 1918) was a British-born
Irish nationalist
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...
and illustrator. She took the Irish name Sadhbh Trinseach.
Biography
Francesca Georgina Chenevix Trench was born in the vicarage of St John the Baptist Church, Tuebrook,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. She was the granddaughter of
Richard Chenevix Trench
Richard Chenevix Trench (Richard Trench until 1873; 9 September 1807 – 28 March 1886) was an Anglican archbishop and poet.
Life
He was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Richard Trench (1774–1860), barrister-at-law, and the Dublin wri ...
, the Archbishop of Dublin. She grew up in a vicarage in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. Her mother was a
Unionist. Cesca became an Irish nationalist. Her uncle, classicist
Henry Butcher, was a Unionist MP for Cambridge; they drew apart after 1910 when he did not support the move to make
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 ...
compulsory in the new National University.
Trench studied at a boarding school in
Malvern from 1906 to 1908, where she began to support
Irish Home Rule
The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...
in public. In 1908–1913 she lived in
Folkestone but spent each summer in Ireland and attended summer school in 1909–1913, notably the influential Scoil Acla on
Achill Island
Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Br ...
. There she met Diarmid Coffey, her future husband, as well as others influential in Conradh na Gaeilge, Claud Chavasse,
Ella Young
Ella Young (26 December 1867 – 23 July 1956) was an Irish poet and Celtic mythologist active in the Gaelic and Celtic Revival literary movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Born in Ireland, Young was an author of poetry and c ...
,
Lily Williams
Lily Williams ARHA (20 October 1874 – 16 January 1940) was an Irish portrait painter. Aside from her portraiture, she is known for her Irish stamp designs.
Life
Lily Williams was born Elizabeth Josephine Williams in Rathmines, Dublin o ...
, and
Agnes O'Farrelly
Agnes O'Farrelly (born Agnes Winifred Farrelly; 24 June 1874 – 5 November 1951) ( ga, Úna Nà Fhaircheallaigh; nom-de-plume 'Uan Uladh'), was an academic and Professor of Irish at University College Dublin (UCD).RÃona Nic Congáil, ''Úna Nà ...
.
Trench's older cousin, Dermot Chenevix Trench, the model for "Haines" in
''Ulysses'' and her sister, Margot, were also Irish nationalists. Dermot first taught her to speak Irish, and influenced her entry into the Irish-Ireland movement, whose members bought Irish-made goods for preference, and fostered Irish literature, art and culture. Cesca opened an account at Gleason's, a shop in Dublin that sold only Irish products, and swore off drink and tobacco unless they were produced in Ireland. When a new campaign for
Home Rule
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...
begun in 1912, Cesca and Margot collected signatures for a petition that all Irish taxes should be lodged in an Irish treasury. They collected Irish folklore, customs and traditions. Dermot committed suicide in 1909. "He might have done so much with such ability", she wrote to her brother Herbert after Dermot shot himself.
In October 1913, Trench moved to Paris to study art. There she began to draw political cartoons in support of Irish Home Rule. She also made an Irish 'national dress' costume, and poster designs for the
Gaelic League
(; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...
paper ''
An Claidheamh Soluis
''An Claidheamh Soluis'' () was an Irish nationalist newspaper published in the early 20th century by ''Conradh na Gaeilge'' (the Gaelic League). It was named for the " Sword of Light" (in modern spelling ''ClaÃomh Solais'') of Gaelic myth.
...
'', edited by
Patrick Pearse
Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraà Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...
, and painted Irish scenes. She returned to Dublin in June 1914.
Trench supported the
Irish Literary Revival
The Irish Literary Revival (also called the Irish Literary Renaissance, nicknamed the Celtic Twilight) was a flowering of Irish literary talent in the late 19th and early 20th century. It includes works of poetry, music, art, and literature.
O ...
, was involved in the import of guns for the
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...
and joined their women's auxiliary branch ''
Cumann na mBan
Cumann na mBan (; literally "The Women's Council" but calling themselves The Irishwomen's Council in English), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and d ...
'', where she learned first aid. In July 1914, she witnessed the
Bachelor's Walk massacre
The Bachelor's Walk massacre occurred in Dublin, on 26 July 1914, when a column of troops of the King's Own Scottish Borderers were accosted by a crowd on Bachelor's Walk following the Howth gun-running operation. After some verbal baiting,Connol ...
, when soldiers of the
King's Own Scottish Borderers
The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...
fired on civilians, killing three and wounding 32 after the
Howth gun-running
The Howth gun-running ( ) involved the delivery of 1,500 Mauser rifles to the Irish Volunteers at Howth harbour in Ireland on 26 July 1914. The unloading of guns from a private yacht during daylight hours attracted a crowd, and the authorities or ...
. In
Lusk, Dublin, she founded a new branch of Cumann na mBan. In July 1914 she took up work at the
Dublin Metropolitan School of Art
The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of th ...
, where she worked until April 1916.
Her three brothers, Arthur, Charles Reginald (Reggie) and Herbert Chenevix Trench, joined the British Army in 1914 on the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Reginald (Reggie), to whom she was particularly close, as an officer in the
Sherwood Foresters
The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...
. When the
Easter Rising began on 24 April 1916, she left home to join the other auxiliaries in
St Stephen's Green
St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...
. She delivered first aid supplies to the headquarters garrison at the
GPO, then withdrew to
Killiney Hill
Killiney Hill ( ga, Cnoc Chill InÃon LéinÃn) is the southernmost of the two hills which form the southern boundary of Dublin Bay, the other being Dalkey Hill. These two hills form part of Killiney Hill Park.
Crowned by a monument, Killiney Hi ...
and later returned home. In her diary, which was written in Irish, with parts later published in translation by Hilary Pyle as ''Cesca's Diary'', she wrote of the
Easter Rising as a tragic mistake. British soldiers who were shipped into Ireland to combat the Rising and who formed the firing squads that executed the leaders, were from the 2/5th and 2/6th battalion of her brother's regiment, the Sherwood Foresters.
She and her mother feared that she would be arrested for her involvement with the movement, but nothing happened, despite thousands of nationalist men and women being arrested and deported to English and Welsh jails. Cesca's brother, Reggie, had arrived in Dublin around 3 May, the day of the executions of the first three leaders Pearse,
Thomas MacDonagh
Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh ( ga, Tomás Anéislis Mac Donnchadha; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising ...
and
Thomas Clarke after the Rising; he was an officer in the 2/5th battalion.
After the Rising, Trench continued to attend Cumann na mBan meetings, and to study Irish art in the
National Museum. She organised a play about
Brian Boru
Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uà Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domination of Ireland. Br ...
and painted murals at
Carrigaholt Irish College. She made sketches of
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
and Gaelic League meetings and created Christmas cards. She befriended
Lily Yeats
Susan Mary Yeats (; 25 August 1866 – 5 January 1949), known as Lily Yeats, was an embroiderer associated with the Celtic Revival. In 1908 she founded the embroidery department of Cuala Industries, with which she was involved until its dissolut ...
of
Dun Emer Press.
On
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
1917, 17 March, Trench agreed to marry Diarmid Coffey — despite earlier writing that, torn between Coffey and the glamorous Claud Chavasse, her love for Claud was "the real thing". Her brother Reggie, Acting Major with the 2/5th 59th, was killed on the
Western Front three days after Coffey's proposal, in a German offensive that all but wiped out his regiment, the 59th, known as the Sherwood Foresters or Notts and Derby.
He left a wife, Clare, and a baby daughter.
The couple decided – as many did in wartime – not to postpone their wedding despite her brother's death.
Lily Yeats
Susan Mary Yeats (; 25 August 1866 – 5 January 1949), known as Lily Yeats, was an embroiderer associated with the Celtic Revival. In 1908 she founded the embroidery department of Cuala Industries, with which she was involved until its dissolut ...
helped Cesca with her wedding gown. Cesca and Diarmid married on 17 April 1918, and had their honeymoon in the Kerry
Gaeltacht
( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home.
The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...
.
That October, Cesca caught the virulent
Spanish flu
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...
. She died on 30 October 1918, a major loss to Irish art. She was mourned as Sadhbh Trinseach by the Gaelic League.
References
Further reading
* Anthony Fletcher – ''Cesca: A Young Nationalist in the Easter Rising'' (''History Today'' April 2006)
* Hilary Pyle – ''Cesca's Diary 1913–1916: Where art and Nationalism Meet'' (The Woodfield Press 2005)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trench, Cesca Chenevix
1891 births
1918 deaths
20th-century Irish painters
20th-century Irish women artists
Irish editorial cartoonists
Irish women cartoonists
Irish caricaturists
Women caricaturists
Irish people of French descent
Cesca
Irish women painters
People from Tuebrook
Artists from Liverpool
Artists from Kent
Deaths from Spanish flu