Ann "Nancy" Wyse Power (16 November 1889 – 27 December 1963), was an Irish celticist, diplomat and nationalist.

Early life and education

She was born Ann Wyse Power in Dublin, 16 November 1889, to

John Wyse Power John Wyse Power (1859-1926), was a County Waterford born, journalist, newspaper editor and Irish nationalist. He was founding member of the Gaelic Athletic Association, and served as secretary of the GAA (1884-1887). He was involved in setting up ...

and Jane O'Toole. Her father was a civil servant and one of the founding members of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

while her mother was an Irish activist, feminist, politician and businesswoman. Her family ran a restaurant in Henry Street and leading Irish nationalists were regular visitors. Her sister,

Máire Máire is the Irish language form of the Latin Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek names Μαριαμ, or Mariam, and Μαρια, or Maria, found in the New Testament. Both New Testament names were forms of the Hebrew name or Mir ...

, was also a Celtic scholar. Wyse Power joined 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 ...

in 1902 and was on the Women's committee of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

. She went to

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(UCD) where she graduated with a degree in 1912 in Celtic Studies. She followed the bachelor's degree with a doctorate in the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

, Germany. But in 1915 she was forced to return to Ireland because of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It took until 1920 before she was able to finish, studying under

Julius Pokorny Julius Pokorny (12 June 1887 – 8 April 1970) was an Austrian-Czech linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly Irish, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian and German universities. Early life a ...

. She had specialised in Celtic

Philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

Activism and career

When in Ireland in 1915 Wyse Power joined

Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; literally "The Women's Council" but calling themselves The Irishwomen's Council in English), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and di ...

. She was active in the week leading up to the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

and knew that the rising was due to go ahead.

Bulmer Hobson John Bulmer Hobson (14 January 1883 – 8 August 1969) was a leading member of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) before the Easter Rising in 1916.D.J. Hickey & J. E. Doherty, ''A New Dictionary of Irish History fro ...

asked her to be a courier and she carried messages including to

Terence MacSwiney Terence James MacSwiney (; ga, Toirdhealbhach Mac Suibhne; 28 March 1879 – 25 October 1920) was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He ...

in Cork and to

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

on Easter Monday. She worked out of the

General Post Office, Dublin The General Post Office (GPO; ga, Ard-Oifig an Phoist) is the headquarters of An Post — the Irish Post Office. It is the principal post office of Dublin — the capital city of Ireland — and is situated in the centre of O'Connell Street, t ...

during Easter week carrying messages and moving provisions. In 1917, she, with her mother, worked to provide relief for families who lost members or had members in prison. Late in 1917 she was appointed one of the secretaries of Cumann na nBan and helped to rebuild the organisation to over 500 branches by 1920. One of the events she was involved in was Lá na mBan, 9 June 1918. She was also recommended by

Constance Markievicz Constance Georgine Markievicz ( pl, Markiewicz ; ' Gore-Booth; 4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927), also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, socialist, and the fir ...

to substitute for her if the leadership of Sinn Féin was arrested. Wyse Power was active throughout the

Irish war of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

. Wyse Power was recruited by the new Dáil's foreign service to work with their German affairs. In April 1921 she set up the offices of the Irish mission in Berlin where she was also involved in restarting the Irish Bulletin. John Chartres was later leader of the political office,

Charles Bewley Charles Henry Bewley (12 July 1888 – 1969) was an Irish diplomat. Raised in a famous Dublin Quaker business family, he embraced Irish Republicanism and Roman Catholicism. He was the Irish envoy to Berlin who reportedly thwarted efforts to obta ...

was leader of the trade mission in Berlin and he suggested both Wyse Power and Chartres had anti-treaty sympathies and had both of them recalled. However, since Wyse Power was not anti-treating she then joined Department of Industry and Commerce. She worked there from 1923 to 1932 when

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 ...

requested her to work in the Department of Local Government and Public Health as his personal private secretary. As one of the first women to get to the position of principal officer in the civil service Wyse Power acted as an advocate for women. She also worked as a governor of the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) ( ga, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a statutory independent research institute in Ireland. It was established in 1940 on the initiative of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, in Dub ...

, a position to which she was appointed in 1940. Wyse Power retired from the civil service in 1954. She was president of the UCD Women Graduates' Association from 1959-62. She died on 27 December 1963, aged 74.

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyse Power, Nancy 1889 births 1963 deaths People of the Irish Civil War (Pro-Treaty side) People of the Easter Rising Women in war in Ireland Cumann na mBan members Civil servants from Dublin (city)