Mary Ellen Quinlan; known as Ella O'Neill (August 13, 1857 – February 28, 1922) was the mother of playwright

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

and wife of actor James O'Neill. She was the inspiration for many of Eugene O'Neill's stories.

Life

She was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, the daughter of Bridget (née Lundigan) and Thomas Quinlan, both Irish immigrants from

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

. Mary Ellen grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Mary Ellen attended the Ursuline Academy on Euclid Avenue.Shaughnessy, Edward L., "Ella O'Neill and the Imprint of Faith", ''The Eugene O’Neill Review'', Suffolk University, 1992
/ref> At 15, she attended St. Mary's Academy and graduated with honors in music, playing Chopin's ''Polonaise for piano,'' op. 22, at the commencement.Shaughnessy, Edward L., "Ella, James, and Jamie O'Neill: 'My Name Is Might-Have-Been'", ''The Eugene O’Neill Review'', Suffolk University, 1991
/ref> Ella met James O'Neill at her father's house, and later married him on June 14, 1877 in Manhattan."Eugene O'Neill", ''American Experience'', PBS
/ref> Ella was on tour with James in San Francisco when in September 1878, her first son, James, Jr., was born in the house of one of the actor's friends. A second son, Edmund Burke O'Neill was born in 1883 in St. Louis. In late winter 1885, Ella left her sons with her mother in New York to be with James O'Neill while he was traveling in Denver. While she was away, both of her children contacted

Measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

and Edmund died in 1886. Ella blamed herself and James, Jr., who she believed gave Edmund the virus. Another son,

, was born in October 1888. Ella was administered

Morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

while giving birth and became addicted to it, which she was cured of in 1914.Black, Stephen A., "Mrs. O'Neill's Illness", New York Theater wire
/ref> Her husband died in August 1920, and she died of a brain tumor on February 28, 1922.

In popular culture

Ella O'Neill later became the model for Mary Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's final work '' Long Day's Journey Into Night'', which tells the story of the Tyrone family, who closely resemble the members of Eugene's family. This character says the famous line "Something I need terribly. I remember when I had it I was never lonely nor afraid. I can't have lost it forever, I would die if I thought that. Because then there would be no hope."

References

External links

Ella O'Neill and the Imprint of Faith
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Ella 1857 births 1922 deaths American women writers Writers from New Haven, Connecticut Saint Mary's College (Indiana) alumni