Helen Laird (1874–1957), was an Irish actress also known as ‘Honor Lavelle’, a costumier, teacher, and feminist.
Life and acting
Laird was born on 12 April 1874 in Limerick to John Laird and Marion Seymour. Her father was a protestant pharmacist. When she was about 24 she joined both 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 ...
and
Inghinidhe na hÉireann
Inghinidhe na hÉireann (; "Daughters of Ireland") was a radical Irish nationalist women's organisation led and founded by Maud Gonne from 1900 to 1914, when it merged with the new Cumann na mBan.
Patriotic Children's Treat
The Inghinidhe origi ...
. Laird met other Irish actors and dramatists including
Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh
Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh (8 May 1883 – 1958) was an Irish actress and republican activist. She started acting in her teens and appeared in the first Irish-language play performed in Ireland. She was a founder-member of the Abbey Theatre and ...
, Máire Quinn, and
Padraic Colum
Padraic Colum (8 December 1881 – 11 January 1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival.
Early life
Col ...
as well as taking drama classes there. There
Willie
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
and
Frank Fay founded
W. G. Fay's Irish National Dramatic Company with a production ‘Deirdre’ by
AE and ‘Cathleen ni Houlihan’ by
W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
and
Lady Gregory
Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...
starring
Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride ( ga, Maud Nic Ghoinn Bean Mhic Giolla Bhríghde; 21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953) was an English-born Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette and actress. Of Anglo-Irish descent, she was won over to Irish nationalism ...
. Laird was the costumier and set painter. The group then formed the
Irish National Theatre Society
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...
and together they became the foundation of the
Abbey company. In 1902 Laird appeared in ‘Laying the foundations’, by
Fred Ryan
Frederick Joseph Ryan Jr. (born April 12, 1955) is an American media proprietor, political adviser, and lawyer who serves as the publisher and chief executive officer of ''The Washington Post''. He was the president and chief operating officer o ...
using the stage name, ‘Honor Lavelle’. She appeared in most of the following productions including what was her most important role as Maurya in the first production of ‘
Riders to the sea
''Riders to the Sea'' is a play written by Irish Literary Renaissance playwright John Millington Synge. It was first performed on 25 February 1904 at the Molesworth Hall, Dublin, by the Irish National Theater Society with Helen Laird playing Ma ...
’ by
J. M. Synge
Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...
in 1903. While she was not normally critically received as an excellent actor she gained praise for her performances in this role. Yeats initially praised her performance in ‘Cathleen ni Houlihan’ but later changed his mind about her acting skills.
In 1906 she sided against Yeats in the discussion about the Abbey being a commercial organisation. She sided with
Edward Martyn
Edward Martyn (30 January 1859 – 5 December 1923) was an Irish playwright and early republican political and cultural activist, as the first president of Sinn Féin from 1905–08.
Early life
Martyn was the elder son of John Martyn of Tullira ...
. They went on to form the alternative Theatre of Ireland with Nic Shiubhlaigh,
Seumas O'Sullivan
Seumas or Seamus O'Sullivan (born James Sullivan Starkey; 17 July 1879 – 24 March 1958) was an Irish poet and editor of ''The Dublin Magazine''. His father, William Starkey (1836-1918), a physician, was also a poet and a friend of George Sigerson ...
and others. The first production included ‘The racing lug’ by
James Cousins
James Henry Cousins (22 July 1873 – 20 February 1956) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, actor, critic, editor, teacher and poet. He used several pseudonyms, including Mac Oisín and the Hindu name Jayaram.
Life
Cousins was born at 18, Ke ...
and ‘Casadh-an-tsúgán’ by
Douglas Hyde
Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...
. Laird had roles in these. During most of this time she lived in
Fairview, Dublin
Fairview () is an inner coastal suburb of Dublin in Ireland, in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council and in the city's D03 postal district. Part of the area forms Fairview Park, a recreational amenity laid-out on land reclaimed from the sea. ...
.
Other activism
During the time that Laird was as an actress she was also a science teacher in the girls' school, Alexandra College
Alexandra College ( ir, Coláiste Alexandra) is a fee-charging boarding and day school for girls located in Milltown, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under a Church of Ireland ethos.
History
The school was founded in 1866 and takes its ...
, Dublin. She wrote articles on botany for various publications. Laird was friends with Robert Lloyd Praeger
Robert Lloyd Praeger (25 August 1865 – 5 May 1953) was an Irish naturalist, writer and librarian.
Biography
From a Unitarian background, he was born and raised in Holywood, County Down. He attended the school of the Reverend McAlister and t ...
Augustine Henry
Augustine Henry (2 July 1857 – 23 March 1930) was a British-born Irish plantsman and sinologist. He is best known for sending over 15,000 dry specimens and seeds and 500 plant samples to Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom. By 1930, he was a rec ...
, and Grenville Cole
Grenville Arthur James Cole FRS, FGS, MRIA (21 October 1859 – 20 April 1924) was an English geologist. He was from 1890 the Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in the Royal College of Science for Ireland, and from 1905 he became the fifth Dir ...
. As a member of both the Gaelic League and Inginidhe na hÉireann, and friends with Maud Gonne and Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, Laird was active in politics and was a member of the Irish Women's Franchise League
The Irish Women's Franchise League was an organisation for women's suffrage which was set up in Dublin in November 1908. Its founder members included Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, Margaret Cousins, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington and James H. Cousins. Tho ...
. She and Gonne formed the Ladies’ School Dinners Committee, which ensured 450 children from Dublin's poorest schools were fed in 1911. In 1912 Laird was sent to London by the IWFL to enfranchise 100,000 women through Philip Snowden
Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, PC (; 18 July 1864 – 15 May 1937) was a British politician. A strong speaker, he became popular in trade union circles for his denunciation of capitalism as unethical and his promise of a socialist utop ...
's clause in the home rule bill.
Personal life
Laird married lawyer and critic Con Curran on 17 December 1913. She continued costuming, for ‘Uncle Vanya’ and acting in Pádraic Ó Conaire
Pádraic Ó Conaire (28 February 1882 – 6 October 1928) was an Irish writer and journalist whose production was primarily in the Irish language. In his lifetime he wrote 26 books, 473 stories, 237 essays and 6 plays. His acclaimed novel '' ...
's ‘Bairbre Ruadh’ using the Irish version of her name, ‘Eibhlis nic a Bhaird’. She worked with the Save the Children Fund for thirty years. Laird lived in Rathgar
Rathgar (), is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It was originally a village which from 1862 was part of the township of Rathmines and Rathgar; it was absorbed by the growing city and became a suburb in 1930. It lies about three kilometres south of ...
, Dublin and had a daughter, the art critic Elizabeth Curran. Laird died on 5 October 1957 in Dublin and was buried in Deansgrange cemetery. Her funeral was a large affair attended by the Irish President Seán T. O'Kelly
Seán Thomas O'Kelly ( ga, Seán Tomás Ó Ceallaigh; 25 August 1882 – 23 November 1966), originally John T. O'Kelly, was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the second president of Ireland from June 1945 to June 1959. He also serve ...
.[
]
References and sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laird, Helen
1874 births
1957 deaths
20th-century Irish actresses
Irish suffragists
Irish women's rights activists
Actors from County Limerick