Nannie Florence Dryhurst (born Hannah Anne Robinson; 17 June 1856 – 1930) was an Irish writer, translator, activist and nationalist.

Personal life

Hannah Anne Robinson was born on 17 June 1856 in

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 ...

to Alexander Robinson and Emily Egan. Her father was a dyer. She was known as Nannie to her sisters and she decided to change her name to Nannie Florence in honour of a young friend who had died. As a result she was known variously (and following her marriage) as N.F. Dryhurst, Nannie, Nora and Florence Dryhurst. After the death of her own father Dryhurst took a position as a governess as she spoke fluent

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Irish as well as having considerable skill as an artist. She worked first in Ireland and then in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She looked after a doctor's daughter, Nellie Tenison, and through them she may have met the Dryhurst family. In 1882 she became engaged to British Museum official Alfred Robert Dryhurst and married him in August 1884. Their first daughter Norah was born in 1885 and the second, Sylvia in 1888.

Anarchism

Dryhurst soon got involved with an anarchist group and wrote regularly for the ''

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

'' newspaper. She was friends with

Charlotte Wilson Charlotte Mary Wilson (6 May 1854, Kemerton, Worcestershire – 28 April 1944, Irvington-on-Hudson, New York) was an English Fabian and anarchist who co-founded ''Freedom'' newspaper in 1886 with Peter Kropotkin, and edited, published, and ...

and acted as editor when Wilson was away and in the early 1890s she took over as editor completely for some time. She also worked as a translator for

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later s ...

's works. Dryhurst spent time teaching with Wilson, Agnes Henry, and Cyril Bell at the International Anarchist School set up in Fitzroy Square in London by

Louise Michel Louise Michel (; 29 May 1830 – 9 January 1905) was a teacher and prominent figure during the Paris Commune. Following her penal transportation to New Caledonia she began to embrace anarchism, and upon her return to France she emerged as an im ...

. Dryhurst gave active support to Spanish refugees fleeing repression and gave money to support the colony at Clousden Hill from 1895 to 1902.

Nationalist

Dryhurst supported a number of different countries attempting to gain independence. She became secretary of the Nationalities and Subject Races Committee and used her writing in working towards Irish Independence. She wrote for various Irish newspapers and assisted with the creation of The Irish Citizen. A friend of

W. B. 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 literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

, she appeared in his play ''The Land of Heart’s Desire'' in June 1904. She spoke Georgian having learned it from

Varlam Cherkezov Varlam Nikolozi dze Cherkezishvili ( ka, ვარლამ ნიკოლოზის ძე ჩერქეზიშვილი; 15 September 1846 – 18 August 1925) was a Georgian aristocrat and journalist involved in Georgian anarchist an ...

, a close associate of Kropotkin. In 1906 she was a member of the Georgian Relief Committee and travelled to the country. She spoke at an international conference at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in support of Georgia. She was also a supporter of Indian independence. It was through Dryhurst that the Gifford sisters got their connection to the Irish independence movement. She introduced Muriel Gifford to

Thomas McDonagh Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh (; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916, a signatory of the Proclama ...

and

Grace Gifford Grace Evelyn Gifford Plunkett (4 March 1888 – 13 December 1955) was an Irish artist and cartoonist who was active in the Republican movement, who married her fiancé Joseph Plunkett in Kilmainham Gaol only a few hours before he was executed ...

James Plunkett James Plunkett Kelly, or James Plunkett (21 May 1920 – 28 May 2003), was an Irish writer. He was educated at Synge Street CBS. Kelly grew up among the Dublin working class and they, along with the petty bourgeoisie and lower intelligentsi ...

. After the executions of 15 leaders of the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

in Dublin, Dryhurst spent her time campaigning unsuccessfully for the reprieve of

Roger Casement Roger David Casement (; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during World War I. He worked for the Britis ...

. Not all her activities were purely political. Dryhurst was a neighbour of

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition in the role of Ray Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series '' The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the ti ...

and on her suggestion he founded the

Purcell Operatic Society The Purcell Operatic Society was a short-lived but influential London opera company devoted to the production of stage works by Henry Purcell and his contemporaries. It was founded in 1899 by the composer Martin Shaw (composer), Martin Shaw and f ...

in 1899. She became the Society's secretary. He rented accommodation near her and through her friends they found talented amateurs to put on their productions. Dryhurst had a long affair with

Henry Nevinson Henry Woodd Nevinson (11 October 1856 – 9 November 1941) was an English war correspondent during the Second Boer War and World War I, a campaigning journalist exposing slavery in western Africa, political commentator and suffragist."Nevinson ...

, a journalist she met in 1892. The affair ended in 1912. Dryhurst died in 1930. Her papers are kept in the Irish National Library.

Bibliography

Translator

*Researches in the history of economics *The great French Revolution, 1789-1793

Author

*Nationalities and subjects races report of conference held in Caxton hall