Lady Arabella Fitzmaurice Denny (1707–1792) was an Irish philanthropist, and founder of the

Magdalen Asylum Magdalene asylums, also known as Magdalene laundries, were initially Protestant but later mostly Roman Catholic institutions that operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries, ostensibly to house " fallen women". The term referred to fema ...

for Protestant Girls in

Leeson Street __NOTOC__ Leeson Street (; ) is a thoroughfare near central Dublin, Ireland. Location The street is divided into two parts by the Grand Canal: Lower Leeson Street, in Dublin 2 is to the north of the canal, linking to St Stephen's Green, with ...

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 ...

in 1765.

Early life and family

Arabella Fitzmaurice was born in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, the second daughter of Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Earl of Kerry, and Anne Petty (daughter of Sir

William Petty Sir William Petty FRS (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to su ...

). As a teenager, she ran a basic medical dispensary for the tenants on her father's estate. She married Colonel Arthur Denny, M.P. for Kerry, on 26 August 1727. Lady Arabella was widowed at the age of thirty-five. A nephew of Arabella Denny was

William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, (2 May 17377 May 1805; known as the Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history), was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first ...

, who became Prime Minister of Great Britain. Lady Arabella lived at Peafield Cliff House (now Lios an Uisce/Lisnaskea House), in

Blackrock, County Dublin Blackrock () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, northwest of Dún Laoghaire. Location and access Blackrock covers a large but not precisely defined area, rising from sea level on the coast to at White's Cross on the N11 national primary road. ...

where

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

, who founded and led the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

, visited her in 1783.

Philanthropy

Lady Arabella Denny was a supporter of the Dublin Foundling Hospital, which had been established to care for children abandoned due to poverty and/or illegitimacy. In 1760 she presented a clock to the Dublin Workhouse; it was put up in the nursery for foundling children and used to regulate the feeding of infants. She was instrumental in the reforming of the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...

and in 1764 was thanked by the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

for her "extraordinary bounty and charity". She worked with the

Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

, helping to introduce lace-making into workhouses, especially among the children there. In recognition of her work with the poor she was conferred with the

Freedom of the City of Dublin The Freedom of the City of Dublin is awarded by Dublin City Council after approving a person nominated by the Lord Mayor. Eighty-two people have been honoured under the current process introduced in 1876. Most honourees have made a contribution ...

in 1765. She was elected honorary member of the Dublin Society in 1766.

Magdalen Asylum Leeson Street

Her work with the Foundling Hospital brought her in contact with despairing young women forced to give up their children, homes, and families. In June 1767 she founded

for Protestant Girls in Leeson Street, which was a home for ''fallen women'' or '' penitent prostitutes'', who would work in exchange for accommodation, clothing, food and religious instruction. The women would spend between 18 months and 2 years in the asylum and were only allowed to leave if they had a position to go to or they were permitted to return home It was the first institution of its kind in Ireland, and became a model for institutions throughout the country.Broderick, Marian. "Lady Arabella Denny", ''Wild Irish Women: Extraordinary Lives from History'', University of Wisconsin Press, 2002
The stated purpose was of delivering them " ..from Shame, from Reproach, from Disease, from Want, from the base Society that ha either drawn

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

into vice, or prevailed upon

to continue in it, to the utmost hazard of

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

eternal happiness". In 1773, she founded the ''Magdalene Chapel'', which was an episcopal chapel, frequented by many of high society in Dublin. Chaplains to the Magdalen Asylum included Rev. Dr. Joseph Henderson Singer FTCD (secretary of the Church Missionary Society, and Bishop of Meath), assistant Rev. J. Lowe. President was the Archbishop of Dublin, patrons included the Duchess of Gloucester. The Governance of the Magadalene Asylum, became the ''Leeson Street Trust'', which was named in her honour the ''Lady Arabella Denny Trust'', or ''Denny House'', which is still a registered charity today. The Protestant Adoption Society which became PACT named its office Arabella House in her honour. Lady Denny also established an almshouse in Tralee.

Retirement and death

Arabella Denny retired in 1790 and died in Dublin on 18 March 1792. She had a

fear of being buried alive Taphophobia (from Greek τάφος - ''taphos'', "grave, tomb" and φόβος - ''phobos'', "fear") is an abnormal (psychopathological) fear of being buried alive as a result of being incorrectly pronounced dead. Before the era of modern medicin ...

and left instructions that she should not be removed from her deathbed for at least seventy-two hours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Arabella 1707 births 1792 deaths Irish Anglicans Irish humanitarians Date of birth unknown People from County Kerry Daughters of Irish earls