Maud Gonne: A True Literary Figure
Although the Daughters of Ireland do not conquer as many literary aspirations, such as writing a novel, as physical aspirations, such as chaining themselves to buildings, in Dublin By Lamplight, the real life heroine who inspired the group in the play was a true literary figure herself. Maud Gonne was an inspirational literary figure during the 19th century Dublin alongside many others. Some of her works included her autobiography titled “Servant to the Queen“, letters to her dear friend and confident, William Butler Yeats, and her written excerpts on the Daughters of Ireland and their hopes and dreams for their country. Gonne was a spark of hope to many women, and her passion, and devotion to her life, and the better living conditions in the lives of others was heart-warming. Her works are still cherished today and can be located in any library. One of her aspirations involved teaching the children in the schools. Gonne, alongside the Daughters’ of Ireland, wished to teach the children Gaelic, a language that happened to be banned in the schools (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-LxoSGHgeQ) . They were supposed to learn English, but Gonne would not hear of this, and believed that it was the beginning process that would wipe out “Irishness” entirely. Alongside of her friends and co-workers, Gonne hoped to keep Ireland alive by bestowing the history of the country and the language on the children in the public schools. Whether or not their attempt was successful is unsure, but this was the very first project that the Daughter’s of Ireland embarked on as a female organization.-Amanda M
Background of Maud Gonne
As mentioned above the true hero of the Nationalist Movement was Maud Gonne, and although people speak of her literary accomplishments not many realize from where she came. Unlike the character based on her, Eva St. John, Gonne was not wealthy and came from an Irish father as well as an English mother. When her father passed it was “his dying wish (according to Maud)…that he could have done more to redress some of the injustices he could see all around him,” (Broderick 192) prompting her to begin a “…lifelong love affair with Irish revolutionary politics” (Broderick 192). She spent time moving from England, to France, to Ireland, back to France and again to Ireland for the next several years, partaking in an affair with a married man named Lucien Millevoye which ended shortly after the birth of their second child, Isleut. She spent time traveling “…around Donegal helping to mount resistance against the shameful evictions of 1889 and 1890, in some cases actually rebuilding the burnt-out houses of evictees” (Broderick 194). For these efforts she was given the name “…’Woman in Green or the ‘Woman of the Sidhe’ (fairies)” (Broderick 194). Gonne is credited with initiating the change in legislation to include 
Lucien Millevoye
Lucien Millevoye
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Cumann na mBan
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-Shana Pereira
Mary Butler and Eva’s Fight for Eire:
Mother Ireland at Home and in the Streets
Unlike the widely examined and celebrated Maude Gonne, some women are rarely given rightful recognition for their contributions to the building of an “Irish-Ireland” (Biletz, 51). One of these lesser-known figures is Mary Butler. She was a housewife who grew to feel deeply about Irish nationalism and expressed her passionate belief that Irish women in the private spheres of life were of as much significance in the fight for an independent nation as were the people on the public stage of nationalism (Biletz, 59). She wrote some fiction, but was better known for her articles in nationalist newspapers (Biletz, 61.) Butler used pseudonyms like “Maire” when expressing her views in articles such as “Irishwomen’s Women work” and preferred to remain anonymous (Biletz, 64). She was not a feminist and felt that woman’s place was in the home, unlike Eva in Dublin by Lamplight who publicly fights for an independent Ireland through acting in the theatre and demonstrating in the streets of Dublin. Although the character of Eva appears to be a drastic contrast to Mary Butler, the two are closely related in their embodiment of Eva: Look at you William. Look at what you’ve become. You have lost your soul. (She draws herself up.) Who’s coming with me in my mission to help the afflicted? (Act III, Scene 3)
As an activist, Eva’s treatment of Willy as a son links to Mary Butler’s emphasis on the power of the Irish woman in the role of mother . As well, Eva, like Butler, is on a “mission” to lead “the sons and daughters of Ireland” to build “a new Eire” (Act I, Scene 5).
Mary Butler, a writer, nationalist, and promoter of Mother Ireland in the domestic sphere, represents a group of women in Ireland who quietly, but significantly did their part to spread Irish nationalism. Perhaps if Ma, in Act One of Dublin By Lamplight, had encountered Butler’s writings she would have converted to nationalism and encouraged her daughter Maggie to do her part for Ireland as a mother or children’s tutor. -Kendra Tyre
Maud Gonne as Mother Ireland
This photograph of Maud Gonne (founder of Inghinidhe na hEireann) conjures up images of a strong, caring Mother Ireland. Note how the founding member of this women’s nationalist organization is depicted as a protective and nurturing mother figure with hand gently yet firmly placed around her son. This particular interpretation of the photo relates to Eva in Dublin by Lamplight, who often scolds or instructs in a stereotypical, all-knowing mother’s tone . For example, she wisely instructs a Daughter of Ireland to properly wrap a tourniquet (Act III, Scene5) and after preaching about “…a new Eire, a new time, for theatre, for nationhood…” sharply reminds Willie “never to be late again” in Act I, Scene 5. -Kendra Tyre
(Image taken from Gonne, Maud . The Autobiography of Maud Gonne: A Servant of the Queen. Ed. A. Norman Jeffares & Anna MacBride White. University of Chicago Press:1994)
Dion Boucicault was picked for a reason
Dion Boucicault was an actor and playwright who contributed to the changing the view of the Irish on stage. He wrote plays that used his homeland for setting and plot taking the Irish away from their roles as servants or soldiers in England. However, he also adapted work and he is most well known for adapting Alexander Dumas’s The Corsican Brothers for the stage. Martyn, from Dublin by Lamplight, has just finished as regional tour of the play and he uses the notoriety he gained from this tour as leverage with the police officers when he is trying to free Eva. Michael West could not have chosen this play for Martyn to have been in arbitrarily for its themes; two brothers, a long standing family feud, and a faked death mirrors many of the themes of Dublin by Lamplight. The fact that Boucicault was a major figure in the reinvention of the Irish on stage in a play about the development in the Irish National Theatre can also not be a coincidence.- Ashley Williamson
Founding Authors of the Irish Literary Revival:
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Anglo-Irish poet who at twenty one years of age became the most significant Irish Revivalist author and the driving force behind the re-establishment of an Irish national literature. Yeats inspired Lady Gregory and they established the Abbey theatre in 1904. In Dublin by Lamplight, Willy shows echoes of Yeats, a passionate artist with firm ideals in Irish nationalism.
Though often criticised for his broadness, Yeats was one of the first Irish authors to re-define the Irish peasant which led to a restructuring of the view of “Irishness” not only on the page but also in the theatre (Watson 100; Hirsch 1121). Yeats drew inspiration from traditional Irish myth and folklore and utilized classical Irish literary models to connect the “new literature” he created to its roots in the past (Hirsch 1121-1123). This reshaping of Irish mythology is reflected in The Wooing of Emer which includes the mythological character, Cuchulain. Yeats, with Lady Gregory offered Ireland, “richer and more ideal modes for her self-realisation, arising from his belief that national culture must be based on something larger than the intensely rhetorical and rancorous politics of his contemporary Ireland” (Watson 107). This belief of Yeats’ is reflected in Dublin by Lamplight through Willy whose main concern is the establishment of a national theatre. Willy is willing to perform any play in order to establish an Irish theatre even when the political world outside the playhouse has become violent. He states, “People are depending on us…This isn’t a platform for your social profile…This is the noble call. A chance to make our mark on history. Our chance to create a National Drama to be proud of” (West 58-59).
Though Yeats is not mentioned directly in Dublin by Lamplight, his play Cathleen ni Houlihan, one of his “most intensely and narrowly nationalist”, is mentioned multiple times (Watson 87). In Act Three, the actors are interrogated by Trench who states, “You didn’t write the…what was it, Countess Cathleen?” (West 55). Trench then corrects himself identifying Yeats’ play as a symbol of political destruction. – Caitlin Carr
Image: http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/pictures/william_butler_yeats.jpg
Lady Augusta Gregory
“The reason Yeats and the Abbey succeeded was Lady Gregory. She had required the influence and a patent was granted” – (West, “Introduction”, 4)
Lady Gregory is one of the most well-known female faces of Irish literature and one of the most influential faces of the Irish Literary Revival. The Irish Literary Revival began after Lady Gregory founded the Abbey Theatre with William Butler Yeats in 1904, a movement in history reflected in Dublin by Lamplight (Hill 177). Though Willy and Eva’s attempt to establish a national theatre does not succeed in the play, the Abbey theatre remains open today (Usher). Lady Gregory wrote over 40 Irish plays, many of which were featured at the Abbey (Usher). She was an important figure in raising awareness of Irish nationality because of her contact with influential figures of the period including some members of parliament (Hill 110). She was also influential because of her dedication to Irish culture and her accessibility to Irish resources because of her financial freedom (unlike the characters in the play, excluding Eva, that are limited because of their poverty). After Lady Gregory met Yeats’ she acted “without hesitation” and followed his suggestion to “Buy Irish books” (Hill 108-109). She subsequently provided Yeats with a collection of Irish literature (Hill 109-110). At age 50, Gregory mastered the Irish language, a development that was critical to her influence in such organizations as the Irish Literary Society and the Gaelic League (Usher). Gregory’s home at Coole Park became an important building for the writers of the Irish Literary Revival who often congregated at her estate to share ideas (Hill ix). – Caitlin Carr
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Douglas Hyde
“I should like to call attention to the illogical position of men who drop their own language to speak English, of men who translate their euphonious Irish names into English monosyllables, of men who read English books, and know nothing about Gaelic literature…the Irish race is at present in a most anomalous position, imitating England and yet apparently hating it. How can it produce anything good in literature, art, or institutions as long as it is actuated by motives so contradictory?”
- Douglas Hyde, “The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland”
Douglas Hyde was a Gaelic writer and scholar who was the chief figure for the preservation of the Irish language. Hyde was the president of the Gaelic League and guarantor of the Irish National Theatre (Hill 416). Hyde, along with Yeats realized the importance of publicity and published articles about the Gaelic language, including the difference between the language spoken by scholars and in the vernacular (Hill 107). Hyde’s “The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland” was a speech delivered in front of the National Literary Society in Dublin in 1892, and described the need for revival of the Irish language and culture as an urgent concern (Hill 107). This sense of urgency is felt in the play in Act Two when Maggie impulsively replaces Eva as Emer, and when Jimmy is given the opportunity to play Cuchulain. Hyde is an important figure as guarantor of the Irish National Theatre because he supports having a building for a national theatre, which is something Willy and Eva desire in Dublin by Lamplight. – Caitlin Carr