Agnes O'Farrelly
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Agnes O'Farrelly (born Agnes Winifred Farrelly; 24 June 1874 – 5 November 1951) (; nom-de-plume 'Uan Uladh'), was an academic and Professor of Irish at
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
(UCD).Ríona Nic Congáil, ''Úna Ní Fhaircheallaigh agus an Fhís Útóipeach Ghaelach'' (2010
Úna Ní Fhaircheallaigh agus an Fhís Útóipeach Ghaelach
She was also the first female Irish-language novelist, a founding member of
Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; but in English termed The Irishwomen's Council), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and dissolving Inghinidhe na hÉireann, and in 191 ...
, and fourth president of the
Camogie Association The Camogie Association (, formerly ) organises and promotes the sport of camogie in Ireland and around the world. The association has close ties with the Gaelic Athletic Association, but is still a separate organisation. History The Camogie A ...
.


Early life

Agnes Winifred Farrelly was born 24 June 1874 in Raffony House,
Virginia, County Cavan Virginia () is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. Founded in the 17th century as a plantation town, it now holds both local industry and commuter housing. History Foundation Virginia was founded in the early 17th century, at Aghanure (), during ...
, one of five daughters and three sons of Peter Dominic and Ann (née Sheridan) Farrelly. Her first published work was a series of saccharine-sweet articles in the '' Anglo-Celt'' in January–March 1895, ''Glimpses of Breffni and Meath'', appeared, after which the editor, Edward O'Hanlon encouraged her to study literature. In February 1887, she signed up to the "Irish Fireside Club", a new column in the ''Weekly Freeman'' edited by Rose Kavanagh, symptomatic of the expanding field of children's literature during the ''fin de siècle''. This club boasted over 60,000 child members during its height, and facilitated the mass-indoctrination of a generation of Irish children into the cultural nationalist movement. She was to become the most vocal female within this club, which moulded her utopian, feminist and nationalist thought throughout adulthood.


Academic career

As soon as she became financially independent, she enrolled in St Mary's University College, ( Muckross Park College) in Dublin, and she duly convinced her College Principal to enlist the college's first ever
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
lecturer so that she could study the language as part of her Arts Degree.
Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill (; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist, and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Ceann Comhairle of D ...
, Vice-President of 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 eme ...
, the main cultural nationalist body in operation in Ireland since 1893, was recruited and a class was set up, with Farrelly (or O'Farrelly as she then became known) encouraging young women from other Women's Colleges in Dublin to attend. Through this initiative, a core group of middle-class and educated female cultural nationalists emerged in the capital city, including
Máire Ní Chinnéide Máire Ní Chinnéide (English ''Mary'' or ''Molly O'Kennedy'') (17 January 1879 – 25 May 1967) was an Irish language activist, playwright, first President of the Camogie Association and first woman president of Oireachtas na Gaeilge. Mái ...
and Mary E.L. Butler, who, like O'Farrelly, would go on to play major roles in the Gaelic League's development through the first two decades of the twentieth century, as literary figures, educationalists and language activists. She graduated from the
Royal University of Ireland The Royal University of Ireland was a university in Ireland that existed from 1879 to 1909. It was founded in accordance with the University Education (Ireland) Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the ...
(BA 1899, MA 1900), and spent a term in Paris studying under Henri D'Arbois de Jubainville, professor of Celtic in the Collège de France. She was the first woman to have studied Celtic to such an advanced level. O'Farrelly was appointed a lecturer in Irish at
Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...
and Loreto colleges, and also taught Irish in the Central Branch of the Gaelic League. She convinced Mary Hayden to apply for the Royal University's Senior Fellowship, in an effort to challenge the view that female scholars were ineligible for such awards. In 1902, along with Hayden, she helped found the Irish Association of Women Graduates and Candidate Graduates, to promote equal opportunity in university education. She gave evidence to the Robertson (1902) and Fry (1906) commissions on Irish university education, arguing successfully for full co-education at UCD.


Gaelic League

During the summer of 1898, when O'Farrelly had then finished her second year of study at St. Mary's College, Eoin MacNeill arranged for her to visit
Inis Meáin Inishmaan ( ; , the official name, formerly spelled , meaning "middle island") is the middle of the three main Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. It is part of County Galway in the province of Connacht. Inishmaan has a ...
, the middle of the
Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...
, to improve her Irish. Over the next five summers which she spent on Inis Meáin, she became fluent in the Irish language and in August 1899 she founded 'The Women's Branch' of the Gaelic League, a year after a men's branch of the Gaelic League was established in both Inis Mór and Inis Meáin. This branch provided the first dedicated leisure time that the island women experienced. When she returned from the Aran Islands in the autumn of 1898, she signed up to the Central Branch of the Gaelic League in Dublin and soon became a member of its executive committee and the most influential female member of the Gaelic League until 1915. Throughout her early involvement in the Gaelic League, O'Farrelly promoted her women's agenda amongst her influential male colleagues. If anything, this enhanced her popularity, which was testified to when she topped the poll in 1903 and 1904. She was one of the most active and diligent language activists at this time. In 1907, O'Farrelly became chairperson of Coiste an Oideachais ducational Committeeof the Gaelic League, having relinquished her role as advising Intermediate examiner in Celtic. Her chief role was to mediate between the diverging views on educational policy within the Gaelic League and to appease elements of the clergy whilst still campaigning for the promotion of Irish within the educational system. According to Roger Casement, it was O'Farrelly who convinced the Commissioner of National Education, Dr. Starkie, of the merits of the bilingual programme in national schools, a programme initiated in 1904 in 27 schools.


Political activity

She presided at the inaugural meeting of
Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; but in English termed The Irishwomen's Council), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and dissolving Inghinidhe na hÉireann, and in 191 ...
in 1914, supporting its having a subordinate role in relation to the
Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...
. O'Farrelly left the organisation that year over the issue of Irishmen joining the British Army during World War I. She did however remain active in the Gaelic League. In 1916, along with Maurice Moore, she gathered a petition that unsuccessfully sought a reprieve of the death sentence of her close friend
Roger Casement Roger David Casement (; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during World War I. He worked for the Britis ...
. She was a member of a committee of women which negotiated unsuccessfully with IRA leaders to avoid
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
in 1922. She was defeated as an independent candidate for the NUI constituency in the general elections of
1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...
and June 1927.


Camogie president

Her great legacy to camogie is the
Ashbourne Cup The Ashbourne Cup is an Irish camogie tournament played each year to determine the national champion university or third level college. The Ashbourne Cup is the highest division in inter-collegiate camogie. The competition features many of the ...
. A founder member in 1914 and president (1914–51) of the University College Dublin camogie club, it was O'Farrelly who persuaded
William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...
(the second Lord Ashbourne), to donate a cup for the inter-collegiate camogie competition instituted in 1915. She was appointed honorary president, first of the Ulster Camogie Association and then the Camogie Association in 1934 alongside Maire Gill, who continued to chair central council and congress. She opposed the divisive ban on hockey introduced by the association in 1934 and made several appeals for unity when the association became embroiled in several splits. In 1941–42 she took over as chair as well as President of the Association, and briefly succeeded in reintegrating the dissident
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
and
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
boards into the association before another secession in 1943. In 1931, a set of medals she presented helped spark a camogie revival in Cavan which led to 25 teams being affiliated. Further medals for an inter-county match between Cavan and Meath helped start the game in her native county.


Work on behalf of female graduates

She was also president of the Irish Federation of University Women (1937–39) and of the National University Women Graduates' Association (1943–47). In 1937 she was actively involved in the Women Graduates' campaign against the new
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
, seeking deletion of articles which they believed discriminated against women. O'Farrelly also became a founder and President of the Dublin Soroptimist Club in December 1938.


Irish Colleges and other work

She was a founder member, and subsequently principal for many years, of the Ulster College of Irish, Cloghaneely,
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
, she was also associated with the Leinster and Connacht colleges and served as chairperson of the Federation of Irish Language Summer Schools. An anecdote told by
Brian O'Nolan Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth-century Irish literature. Born in Straban ...
deprecating her spoken Irish may have been born out of professional rivalry. She also became president of the Irish Industrial Development Association and the Homespun Society, and administrator of the John Connor Magee Trust for the development of
Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...
industry. She represented the Ulster Gaelic Union at
Celtic Congress The International Celtic Congress (, , , , , ) is a cultural organisation that seeks to promote the Celtic languages of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. The International Celtic Congress is a non-political chari ...
es in the 1920s and 1930s.


Celtic Congress

In 1917, Edward Thomas John, a Welsh nationalist and Member of Parliament for
Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...
, attempted to revive the former Celtic Association under the new name of "The Celtic Congress", thus initiating the second wave of inter-Celtic relations. For O'Farrelly and indeed her closest friend
Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde (; 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 to June 1945. He was a l ...
, who also took an active interest, the Celtic Congress held much in common with the Gaelic League with which they had for so long been involved: its ''raison-d’être'' was to nurture and promote scholarship and culture (albeit 'Celtic' rather than Irish); the congress was in theory to be held annually (similar to the Oireachtas); and its leading members were now drawn from educationalist and linguistic circles rather than the more exclusive Dublin Castle circle with which it had been associated at the turn of the twentieth century. Mary Hayden, Osborn Bergin, Eoin Mac Néill and Robin Flower were among those also involved in the Irish wing of the Celtic Congress. When E.T. John died in early 1931, O'Farrelly took on a heavier administrative role within the Celtic Congress, and in the Breton Francois Jaffrennou-Taldir's words, "the Association was given a new life in 1935 ic thanks to Miss Agnes O'Farrelly".


Retirement and death

An oil portrait by
Seán Keating Seán Keating (born John Keating, 28 September 1889 – 21 December 1977) was an Irish romantic-realist painter who painted some iconic images of the Irish War of Independence and of the early industrialization of Ireland. He spent two week ...
was presented to her by the Women Graduates' Association on her retirement from UCD in 1947, after which she lived at 38 Brighton Road,
Rathgar Rathgar () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (off ...
, where she died on 5 November 1951. The
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
and President attended her funeral to
Deans Grange Cemetery Dean's Grange Cemetery (; also spelled ''Deansgrange'') is situated in the suburban area of Deansgrange in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland. Since it first opened in 1865, over 150,000 people have been buried there. It is, toge ...
. She never married, and left an estate valued at £3,109.


Writing

O'Farrelly wrote in both Irish and English, often under the pseudonym 'Uan Uladh'. Prose works include ''The Reign of Humbug'' (1900), ''Leabhar an Athar Eoghan'' (1903), ''Filidheacht Sheagháin Uí Neachtain'' (1911), and her novels ''Grádh agus Crádh'' (1901), ''An Cneamhaire'' (1902) and the travelogue ''Smaointe ar Árainn'' (1902). Poetry includes ''Out of the depths'' (1921) and ''Áille an Domhain'' (1927). O'Farrelly recorded her experiences on Inis Meáin which would later form the basis of her travelogue ''Smaointe Ar Árainn''. The importance of this travelogue lies less in its linguistic features than in the access it provides to the life of women and children on the island, access that the more celebrated account of Synge does not provide. It is also a document which offers significant insight into the aims and aspirations of O'Farrelly herself and of her beloved Gaelic League: it serves as a platform from which O'Farrelly's belief in equality for women is projected; it depicts the modus operandi used by the Gaelic League to promote its ideology on Inis Meáin; and it reveals the manner in which the League's so-called 'Irish-Ireland' principles were assimilated by the islanders.Agnes O'Farrelly, ''Smaointe ar Árainn/ Thoughts on Aran'', ed. Ríona Nic Congáil, (2010), pp 20–24 ''Out of the Depths'' (1921) is a collection of
political poetry Political poetry brings together politics and poetry. According to "The Politics of Poetry" by David Orr, poetry and politics connect through expression and feeling, although both of them are matters of persuasion. Political poetry connects to pe ...
, composed in reaction to the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
, and it displays how O'Farrelly comes to terms with an Ireland far from her ideal. It portrays the dystopian nature of English power, as O'Farrelly sees it, juxtaposed with the light, spirituality, purity, truth, hope and unity of Ireland, which could enable its future salvation. The overall propagandist purpose of the collection is to offer hope to the demoralised Irish people. ''Áille an Domhain'' (1927), produced in a climate of relative stability, reveals a romantic utopianism, and celebrates a return to a harmonious rhythm of life, uninterrupted by the unnatural nature of war.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ofarrelly, Agnes Alumni of the Royal University of Ireland Presidents of the Camogie Association Irish women academics Gaelic games players from County Cavan 1951 deaths 1874 births Academics of University College Dublin Cumann na mBan members UCD camogie players People from Virginia, County Cavan Scholars and academics from County Cavan