Lizzie Twigg (c. 18821933) was an Irish poet and Gaelic revivalist who was famously known for her appearance in ''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'' by

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

Life and work

Despite being known as a character in ''Ulysses'', Lizzie Twigg was a real person. Born Eliza Ann Twigg in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to British soldier, Sergeant Major William Twigg and his wife Frances. He retired to live in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

where he worked as a clerk when she was a small child. Twigg was educated in the local Presentation Convent school on Sexton street. She worked in London and Dublin as well as living in Limerick. Twigg was a protégé of

George William Russell George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935), who wrote with the pseudonym Æ (often written AE or A.E.), was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism, and a centra ...

and an ardent nationalist. She wrote poems for the dominican published monthly the

Irish Rosary ''Irish Rosary'' ("A monthly magazine conducted by the Dominican Fathers"), was an Irish Catholic monthly magazine produced by the Irish Dominicans. The ''Irish Rosary'' was the first publication from the Dominican Publications since its foundatio ...

and the United Irishman in February 1903. Her volume of poems was called ''Songs and Poems'' in 1904. Although quite well known by her penname Éilis Ní Chraoibhín in Arthur Griffith's paper, she was largely forgotten by the time of her death and today it is her appearance in Ulysses for which she is best remembered. She died after a long illness in Limerick on 3 January 1933.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twigg, Lizzie Irish women poets Writers from County Limerick British people in colonial India 1880s births 1933 deaths Year of birth uncertain