Herminie Templeton Kavanagh (1861 – 30 October 1933) was an Irish writer, most known for her short stories. She was born Herminie McGibney, the daughter of Major George McGibney, of Longford, Ireland. She became Herminie Templeton after her marriage to John Templeton, and Herminie Templeton Kavanagh after her second marriage, to Marcus Kavanagh (1859–1937), who served as a

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

judge in Chicago from 1898 to 1935. Accounts differ on how she and Judge Kavanagh met, and where and when they married. In July 1908, the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' announced that they would be married at his parents' church in Des Moines, Iowa, but that the judge was "reticent as to the details." Another article in the ''Tribune'', several weeks later, said that Mrs. Templeton had been abandoned by her first husband in Chicago circa 1893. In the course of the clerical work in the city recorder's office by which she supported herself, she met Kavanagh, and they were to be married at the church in County Waterford, Ireland where his parents had been married. "It is said there has been a silent understanding and a wait of over ten years" until news of Templeton's death in 1907, the article explained. But the following day, the ''Tribune'' reported that they were married in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland on 19 August 1908, by a

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

from Des Moines, Iowa. But according to her 1933 obituary in the same newspaper, they met in Ireland in 1907 while the judge was touring Europe and she was gathering material for a book, and they married on 19 August 1908, at his parents' church in Des Moines. Judge Kavanagh's listing in ''Who Was Who in America'' (1943) said that they were married on 19 August 1905.''Who Was Who in America'', Volume I. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1943. Marcus Kavanagh

Her best known work, ''Darby O'Gill and the Good People'' (), was first published as a series of stories under the name Herminie Templeton in ''

McClure's ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism ( investigative, wa ...

'' magazine in 1901–1902, before being published as a book in the United States in 1903. A second edition, published a year before her death, was under the name Herminie T. Kavanagh. The ''Good People'' in the title refers to the fairies in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...

. The English translation of ''daoine maithe'' is ''good people''. Her second published book, ''Ashes of Old Wishes and Other Darby O'Gill Tales'' (), was published in 1926. In 1959,

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released a film based on these two books, called ''

Darby O'Gill and the Little People ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' is a 1959 American fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, adapted from the ''Darby O'Gill'' stories of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Lawrence ...

''. She also wrote two plays, ''The Color Sergeant'' (1903), and ''Swift-Wing of the Cherokee'' (1903). Judge and Mrs. Kavanagh lived in Chicago and Ocean Grove, New Jersey. She died of a heart ailment, and was buried in New York, her former home.

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External links

* *
An article about Mrs. Kavanagh's books, with some biographical information
broken link * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Herminie Templeton 1861 births 1933 deaths English expatriates in the United States English people of Irish descent English short story writers Writers from Aldershot

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