Alice Furlong (26 November 1866 – 1946) was an Irish writer,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and political activist who also worked on Irish publications with

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 ...

(later President of Ireland).

Life

She was born at Old Bawn, near

Tallaght Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres. Up to th ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, the daughter of John Furlong, a sporting journalist. She trained as a nurse at

Dr Steevens' Hospital Dr Steevens' Hospital (also called Dr Steevens's Hospital) (), one of Ireland's most distinguished eighteenth-century medical establishments, was located at Kilmainham in Dublin Ireland. It was founded under the terms of the will of Richard Stee ...

. In the 1890s, her father was injured in a race-course accident and ended up in her ward, where he died shortly afterward, and her mother died two months later. Her first literary contributions were to the '' Irish Monthly'' at age 16. In 1899, Furlong published ''Roses and Rue'', favourably reviewed by Stopford Brooke and others, and in 1907 ''Tales of Fairy Folk'' and ''Queens and Heroes''. Her verse appeared in several anthologies. She contributed to several journals, including the ''Irish Monthly'', the ''Weekly Freeman'', ''

Chambers's Journal ''Chambers's Edinburgh Journal'' was a weekly 16-page magazine started by William Chambers in 1832. The first edition was dated 4 February 1832, and priced at one penny. Topics included history, religion, language, and science. William was so ...

,'' and the nationalist ''Shan Van Vocht'', run by

Alice Milligan Alice Letitia Milligan 'pseud.'' Iris Olkyrn(4 September 1865 – 13 April 1953) was an Irish writer and activist in Ireland's Celtic Revival; an advocate for the political and cultural participation of women; and a Protestant Irish nation ...

, and Anna Johnston (

Ethna Carbery Ethna Carbery, born Anna Bella Johnston, (3 December 1864 – 2 April 1902) was an Ireland, Irish journalist, writer and poet. She is best known for the ballad ''Roddy McCorley'' and the ''Song of Ciabhán''; the latter was set to music by Ivor G ...

). After 1916 she started studying Irish, and in the 1920s published poems in Irish and translated from Irish, and added the

Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' ( Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. History Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 ...

to the journals she contributed to. In 1900 she was a founder-member of Inghinidhe na hÉireann, the revolutionary women's organisation led by

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 ...

. Furlong was elected a vice-president of the association, along with Jenny Wyse Power, Annie Egan and Anna Johnston. Two of her sisters, Katherine and Mary, also wrote poetry, but died young, while another sister, Margaret, married the songwriter P. J. McCall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furlong, Alice 1866 births 1946 deaths 19th-century Irish poets 20th-century Irish poets Irish women poets Writers from County Dublin 20th-century Irish writers Victorian women writers Victorian writers 20th-century Irish women writers 19th-century Irish women writers Irish nurses People from Tallaght Health professionals from County Dublin