Eibhlín Nic Niocaill (; 22 October 1884 – 13 August 1909) was an Irish

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 ...

activist.

Early life and education

Eibhlín Nic Niocaill was born Eveleen Constance Nicolls in

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 ...

on 22 October 1884. She was the only daughter of Archibald J. Nicolls (1845–1924) and Mary (1853–1938). Her father was a barrister and secretary of the Loan Fund Board of Ireland. She had four brothers, Arthur, Jasper,

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

and Edward. Despite her father having a government job, the family held nationalistic beliefs and were Irish speakers. Her brother, George, later joined

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

. By the 1901 census, Nic Niocaill was using the Irish spelling of her name and George was Seoirse. She attended Loreto Convent, Rathmines and then Loreto Convent, St Stephen's Green where she excelled, particularly in languages. At her senior examination she attained first prizes in Irish, French, and German, going on to take

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 ...

courses at Loreto College. She was consistently top of her class in college, winning a number of exhibitions. When she attained her BA in 1906, she was first in all of Ireland and won the Steward scholarship. To complete her MA, she was awarded a £300 travelling scholarship, travelling to Germany and Paris studying Old Irish under

Marie Henri d'Arbois de Jubainville Marie Henri d'Arbois de Jubainville (; 5 December 1827 – 26 February 1910) was a French historian, philologist and Celtic scholar. Career He qualified as a lawyer in 1850, and entered a seminary with the intention of becoming a Catholic priest ...

. While in Paris she lectured at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

and reorganised the Parisian branch of the Gaelic League.

Career and death

Upon her return to Ireland she was a prominent member of the

. She joined the Five Provinces branch, lectured, and organised the 1909

Feis A () or () is a traditional Gaelic arts and culture festival. The plural forms are () and (). The term is commonly used referring to Irish dance competitions and, in Ireland, to immersive teaching courses, specialising in traditional musi ...

. In her writings for the League's paper, ''

An Claidheamh Soluis ''An Claidheamh Soluis'' () was an Irish nationalist newspaper published in the early 20th century by ''Conradh na Gaeilge'' (the Gaelic League). It was named for the " Sword of Light" (in modern spelling ''Claíomh Solais'') of Gaelic myth. ...

'', she linked the revival of Irish to the independence movement as well as bringing in the rights of women. Nic Niocaill was an early feminist, writing for the magazine ''Bean na hÉireann''. She was part of a large circle of friends including

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, Irish poetry, poet, writer, Irish nationalism, nationalist, Irish republicanism, republican political activist a ...

and Mary E.L. Butler. She travelled to tour the

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 ...

of south Kerry with Butler in summer 1909. In previous summers she had travelled to 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 ...

, developing a close knowledge of the Gaelic vernacular. Butler returned home after a week in

Dingle Dingle ( or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula (known in Irish as ''Corca Dhuibhne''), it sits on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...

, Nic Niocaill went on to

Ventry Ventry (), officially ''Ceann Trá'', is a Gaeltacht village in County Kerry, Ireland, on the Dingle Peninsula, 7 kilometres west of Dingle. Due to its long sandy beach, Ventry is a tourist destination. History Six kilometres west of Ventry ar ...

to stay with Thady Kevane. Here she became friends with

James Cousins James Henry Cousins (22 July 1873 – 20 February 1956) was an Irish-Indian writer, playwright, actor, critic, editor, teacher and poet. He used several pseudonyms, including Mac Oisín and the Hindu name Jayaram. Life Cousins was born at 29, ...

, who described here as "tall, stately: an embodiment of sweetness and gentleness, sweetness that has no mawkishness in it, and a gentleness resting on fixity and fearlessness." Like many of the descriptions of her, it appears idealised, referring to her modesty, good looks, and calmness. On 13 July 1909, she arrived on the

Great Blasket Island The Great Blasket () is the principal island of the Blasket Islands, Blaskets, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It was home to a small fishing community of Irish speakers until the island was abandoned in 1953 when living there bec ...

, staying in the house of Pádraig Ó Catháin who was called "the King". Enchanted by the island, she decided a long stay. While there she began teaching the girls of the islands to swim. On Friday 13 August she was teaching the daughter of

Tomas O'Crohan Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomàs, a Catalan given name and surname * ...

, Cáit, to swim. Despite them only being a few feet from the shore, she and Cáit got into trouble. Cáit's brother, Donal, attempted to save both of them. Another local Peats Tom Ó Cearnaigh came to their aid, but could only save Cáit. Nic Niocaill and Donal drowned. Her death inspired a huge outpouring of grief both locally and nationally. She had just been elected to the Gaelic League's executive committee, the youngest person to be elected to this position. There was a funeral service in

Dunquin ''Dún Chaoin'' ( Irish, meaning 'pleasant fort' ), unofficially anglicised as Dunquin, is a Gaeltacht village in the west of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. Dunquin lies at the most westerly tip of the Dingle Peninsula (Irish: ''Cor ...

, after which her body was transported by train from Dingle to Dublin, where it was met by thousands. They accompanied her body to

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

for burial. Joseph Holloway, the diarist, write that there was never a more solemn funeral. Pearse called Nic Niocaill the "most nobly planned" of all the women he knew in an article in the ''

Freeman's Journal The ''Freeman's Journal'', which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper. History Patriot journal It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified ...

'' on 16 August. Biographers later tried to insinuate a romance between her and Pearse, but there is no evidence of this. The Gaelic League invoked Nic Niocaill as a hero for saving Cáit, selling portraits of her at meetings, with the funds raised going to the O'Crohan family. 300 pictures were sold by July 1910, and raised over £21. At a meeting on 9 September 1909, £49 was raised for a scholarship, in her memory, to send a girl to the Gaeltacht, and for a statue or plaque dedicated to Nic Niocaill. In the next 6 months, £100 was raised but the plans never came to fruition. Eulogies were written to her by

Katharine Tynan Katharine Tynan (23 January 1859 – 2 April 1931)Clarke, Frances (2013)"Hinkson (née Tynan), Katharine Tynan" in ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). was an Irish writer, known mainly for her novels and p ...

Padraic Colum Padraic Colum (8 December 1881 – 11 January 1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival. Early life Co ...

and James Cousins. The book ''A Dark Day on the Blaskets'' by Mícheál Ó Dubhshláine was inspired by the events around Nic Niocaill's death. The play ''Snámh na Saoirse'' by Róisín Sheehy recounts the events of her drowning.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nic Niocaill, Eibhlín 1884 births 1909 deaths People educated at Loreto College, St Stephen's Green 20th-century Irish writers 20th-century Irish women writers