Ellen O'Leary (1831–1889) was an Irish poet who sympathised with the

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

movement. She was the sister of Irish nationalist and leading Fenian John O'Leary.

Life

Ellen O'Leary was born in 1831 in the town of Tipperary,

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

. Her father was a shopkeeper. Under the pseudonyms of 'Eily' and 'Lenel', O'Leary contributed poetry to ''The Irish People'', an

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

(IRB) newspaper that was published from November 1863.Novak, Rose; Eire-Ireland; Fall/Winter2008, Vol. 43 Issue 3/4, p58-84, 27p, 3 Black and White Photographs On 15 September 1865, the newspaper was seized by the government. Her brother, along with other editors and contributors, was arrested and sentenced to twenty years' penal servitude, of which five years were spent in English prisons. Following the suppression of the newspaper, O'Leary joined the IRB's Ladies' Committee, in order to help in the preparations for the 1867 Fenian Rising. However, the rising failed. She decided to return to her home in Tipperary, where she would live until her brother's return in 1885. There, she kept herself busy by writing poetry and volunteering for Catholic charities. Once her brother John was freed, they moved to Dublin, where they contributed to the

Irish Literary Revival The Irish Literary Revival (also called the Irish Literary Renaissance, sometimes nicknamed the Celtic Twilight though this has a broader meaning) was a flowering of Irish literary talent in the late 19th and early 20th century. It includes wor ...

by holding weekly salons featuring a host of prominent literary figures such as

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

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 ...

, George Russell, and Rosa Mulholland. Incidentally, it was through one of these salons that she had a role in introducing

Maud Gonne Maud Gonne MacBride (, born Edith Maud Gonne); 21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953) was an Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette and actress. She was of Anglo-Irish descent and was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of people evict ...

to W.B. Yeats. She lived in Dublin until her death in 1889. In 1890, just after her death, a collection of her poetry was published, entitled ''Lays of Country, Home and Friends''. However, this volume was heavily edited. It is unknown whether she took part in the selection process for the volume in the final months of her life. Nevertheless, there is evidence that both her brother John O'Leary and her friend W.B. Yeats helped her in correcting and editing the poems she had written twenty years previously.The Collected Letters of W. B. Yeats, Volume 1: 1865-1895

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:OLeary, Ellen 1831 births 1889 deaths Irish poetry