Mary Eva Kelly (later O'Doherty) (1826–1910) was an Irish-Australian poet and writer who was widely known as "Eva" of "the Nation".

Biography

Born in

Headford Headford () is a small town in County Galway, located 26 km north of Galway city in the west of Ireland. It is an angling centre for the eastern shore of Lough Corrib, and Greenfields, approximately 6.5 km west of the town, is its bo ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland, Kelly was educated privately with other members of her family. Her first poems were translations, including one of

Alphonse de Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869) was a French author, poet, and statesman. Initially a moderate royalist, he became one of the leading critics of the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe, aligning more w ...

's ''Dying Christian''. Kelly became famous for her contributions to ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', the first being "The

Banshee A banshee ( ; Irish language, Modern Irish , from , "woman of the Tumulus#Ireland, fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or kee ...

". Initially using her own name, she adopted the non-de-plume ''Eva'' starting with her "Lament for Davis". She also contributed prose, essays and ballads. She was one of the three most famous women writers for ''The Nation'', who were known as "the Three Graces". During the period that Kelly wrote for the ''Nation'', she interacted with Olivia Knight, who was known as "Thomasine of the ''Nation''". In 1848, Kelly met

Kevin Izod O'Doherty Kevin Izod O'Doherty (7 September 1823 – 15 July 1905) was an Irish Australian politician who, as a Young Irelander, had been transported to Tasmania in 1849. He was first elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1867. In 1885 he ret ...

who was in prison for his radical politics. She married him in 1855 at

Kingstown Kingstown is the capital and largest city of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The city, located on the main island of Saint Vincent, has the main port and the biggest commercial center of the islands. With a population of 12,909 (2012), K ...

. He practised in Dublin successfully, and in 1862 they went to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia and he became well known as one of its leading physicians. In 1885 they returned to England, where O'Doherty was elected M.P. for North Meath. They returned to Brisbane in 1886. Much has been written about the romance of Mary and Kevin. Mary Eva O'Doherty died at Rosalie, Brisbane on 21 May 1910 and was buried in

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland, Queensland's lar ...

.O'Doherty Mary Eva
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 21 February 2015. Mary's grandson Kevin Louis Vincent O'Doherty was killed in action at Dernancourt on 5 April 1918. Her granddaughter Isabel Maud Mignon O'Doherty married actor Thomas Hunter Nesbitt on 30 April 1919 in Brompton, London.

London Metropolitan Archives The London Archives (previously known as the Greater London Record Office 1965–1997, and London Metropolitan Archives 1997–2024) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London ...

; London, England; Reference Number: p84/tri2/025 Ancestry.com; 2010; sourced 12 February 2021.

Bibliography

* ''Poems by Eva of the Nation (Mary Eva Kelly)'', San Francisco, Thomas, 1877. * ''Poems by Eva of the Nation (Mary Eva Kelly)'', edited by Séamas MacManus, with a biographical sketch by Justin McCarthy,

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 ...

, 1090. *Christine Kinealy, ''Repeal and Revolution. 1848 in Ireland'' (Manchester UP, 2009)

References

External links

* http://www.from-ireland.net/mary-eva-kelly-young-irelander/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Mary Eva Writers from County Galway 1826 births 1910 deaths Irish women poets Burials at Toowong Cemetery Writers from the Colony of Queensland 19th-century Australian women writers People from Headford 19th-century Irish poets 19th-century Irish women writers Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Writers from Brisbane 19th-century Australian poets