Ethna Carbery
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Ethna Carbery, born Anna Bella Johnston, (3 December 1864 – 2 April 1902) was an Irish journalist, writer and poet. She is best known for the ballad ''
Roddy McCorley Roddy McCorley (died 28 February 1800) was an Irish nationalist from the civil parish of Duneane, County Antrim, Ireland. Following the publication of the Ethna Carbery poem bearing his name in 1902, where he is associated with events around the ...
'' and the ''Song of Ciabhán''; the latter was set to music by
Ivor Gurney Ivor Bertie Gurney (28 August 1890 – 26 December 1937) was an English poet and composer, particularly of songs. He was born and raised in Gloucester. He suffered from bipolar disorder through much of his life and spent his last 15 years in psy ...
. In
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
in the late 1890s, with
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 ...
she produced '' The Shan Van Vocht'', a nationalist monthly of literature, history and comment that gained a wide circulation in Ireland and in the Irish diaspora. Her poetry was collected and published after her death under the pen name Ethna Carberry, adopted following her marriage to the poet
Seumas MacManus Seumas MacManus (31 December 1868 – 23 October 1960) was an Irish author, dramatist, and poet known for his ability to reinterpret Irish folktales for modern audiences. Biography Born James McManus on 31 December 1868 in Mountcharles, Count ...
in 1901.


Life

She was born Anna Bella Johnston on 3 December 1864 in the
townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
of Kirkinriola,
Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...
,
County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...
, the daughter of Robert Johnston, a timber merchant and a leading member of the
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 ...
, and Marjorie (Mage) Magee, who came from
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 ...
. Born in 1839 her father had grown up hearing stories from the last veteran
United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association, formed in the wake of the French Revolution, to secure Representative democracy, representative government in Ireland. Despairing of constitutional reform, and in defiance both of British ...
who had fought at the
Battle of Antrim The Battle of Antrim was fought on 7 June 1798, in County Antrim, Ireland during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 between British troops and Irish insurgents led by Henry Joy McCracken. The British won the battle, beating off a rebel attack on Ant ...
and personally knew a number of
Young Ireland Young Ireland (, ) was a political movement, political and cultural movement, cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nation (Irish news ...
ers from the 1840s before himself becoming involved in the 1867
Fenian rising The Fenian Rising of 1867 (, ) was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland, organised by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). After the suppression of the ''Irish People'' newspaper in September 1865, disaffection among Irish radical n ...
. He later oversaw the re-organisation of the IRB in the 1880s and had hosted many of the future readers of the Easter Rising in his Antrim Road home in Belfast. Carbery's husband, the poet and folklorist Seumus MacManus, called Robert Johnston the "''…connecting link that kept the spirit of freedom alive throughout more than a century.''" From the age of fifteen, when she had her first piece published, Carbery contributed poems and short stories to a number of Irish periodicals, including ''United Ireland'', ''Young Ireland'', the ''Nation'' and the ''Catholic Fireside''. She participated in the nationalist commemorations of the 1798 Rising and with Alice Milligan,
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 ...
and others toured the country delivering lectures on the
United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association, formed in the wake of the French Revolution, to secure Representative democracy, representative government in Ireland. Despairing of constitutional reform, and in defiance both of British ...
. 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 ...
. She was elected a vice-president of the association, along with Jenny Wyse Power, Annie Egan and Alice Furlong. She and Milligan wrote and produced plays as part of its cultural activities. In October 1895, with
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 ...
, she produced the ''Northern Patriot'', the journal of the commemorative Henry Joy McCracken Literary Society. But after just four issues, she was dismissed. The sponsors were wary of an association with her father, an active "Fenian". Milligan resigned in solidarity and, working out of the offices of Robert-Johnston's timber yard, they launched their own independent monthly ''The Shan Van Vocht'', producing forty issues. Leading literary revivalist
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 ...
attributed its comparative success to "a freshness that came from its femininity". Carberry (still Johnston) and Milligan were joined as prominent contributors by Alice Furlong, Katherine Tynan, Margaret Pender and Nora Hopper. The first issue, January 1896, gave an early platform to socialist republican
James Connolly James Connolly (; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was a Scottish people, Scottish-born Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist, and trade union leader, executed for his part in the Easter Rising, 1916 Easter Rising against British rule i ...
. On 22 August 1901 she married Seumas MacManus (1867–1960), a contributor and moved with him to Revlin House, just outside
Donegal Town Donegal ( ; , "fort of the foreigners") is a town in County Donegal in Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. Although Donegal gave its name to the county, now Lifford is the county town. From the 15th until the early 1 ...
in
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 ...
in the west of
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
. It was then that she began writing under the pen name of Ethna Carbery because once she took the last name of MacManus she didn't want to be confused with her husband (also a writer). Carbery died in Revlin House of
gastritis Gastritis is the inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It may occur as a short episode or may be of a long duration. There may be no symptoms but, when symptoms are present, the most common is upper abdominal pain (see dyspepsia). Othe ...
on 2 April 1902, aged 37. Her husband, who was three years her junior, outlived her by 58 years. Although MacManus and Johnston were only married for one year her impact on his life ran deep. Her poetry was published by her husband after her death in ''The Four Winds of Erin'', which was phenomenally successful over the next few years. Some further volumes followed. He also wrote a memoir dedicated to her. At the fiftieth anniversary of her death, a public address was given by Sinead de Valera in which she stated that "Among women poets Ethna Carbery would always hold the foremost place and, even though her life was short, it was full of devotion and idealism" (''Irish Press'' 2/4/1952).


Works

*''The Four Winds of Eirinn'' (1902) - poems *''The Passionate Hearts'' (1903) - stories *''In the Celtic Past'' (1904) - hero tales *''We Sang for Ireland: Poems of Ethna Carbery, Séamus MacManus, Alice Milligan'' (1950) - poetry *''The Love-Talker'' - poetry *''Death of Sweet Roses'' - poetry


See also

* List of Irish writers


References


External links


''The Four Winds of Eirinn: Poems by Ethna Carbery''
Dublin: M. H. Gill And Son, Ltd. Jas. Duffy And Co., Ltd. 1906 a
A Celebration of Women Writers



The Story of Seamus MacManus
- Emerald Reflections - June 2008
The Shan Van Vocht Online
at th
UCD Digital Library
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 ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carbery, Ethna 1864 births 1902 deaths Irish folklorists Irish women folklorists Irish women poets People from Ballymena 19th-century Irish poets 19th-century Irish women writers 19th-century Irish writers Cumann na mBan members Writers from County Antrim