Maud Gonne Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Maud Gonne
OCCUPATION: Activist
BIRTH DATE: December 21, 1866
DEATH DATE: c. 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH: Farnham, United Kingdom
Originally: Edith Maud Gonne

Best Known For

Maud Gonne was an Irish revolutionary, a romantic muse for William Butler Yeats, and mother to Nobel Peace Prize-winner, Sean MacBride.

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Maud Gonne

APA Style

Maud Gonne. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 01:37, Jun 20, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/maud-gonne-215202.

Harvard Style

Maud Gonne. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/maud-gonne-215202 [Accessed 20 Jun 2013].

MLA Style

"Maud Gonne." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 20 2013, 01:37 http://www.biography.com/people/maud-gonne-215202.

MHRA Style

"Maud Gonne," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/maud-gonne-215202 [accessed Jun 20, 2013].

Chicago Style

"Maud Gonne," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/maud-gonne-215202 (accessed Jun 20, 2013).

CBE/CSE Style

Maud Gonne [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 20] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/maud-gonne-215202.

Bluebook Style

Maud Gonne, http://www.biography.com/people/maud-gonne-215202 (last visited Jun 20, 2013).

AMA Style

Maud Gonne. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/maud-gonne-215202. Accessed Jun 20, 2013.

Synopsis

Maud Gonne was born on December 21, 1866 near Farnham, Surrey, England. She founded the Irish Nationalist group, The Daughters of Ireland. She had a relationship with poet, William Butler Yeats and was the inspiration for some of his poems. In 1903, she married Major John MacBride and the couple’s son, Sean MacBride, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974.

Profile

Irish revolutionary. Born Edith Maud Gonne on December 21,1866 near Farnham, Surrey, England. Maud Gonne was born into a distinguished and wealthy family, and her father served as an army captain. Her mother died of tuberculosis when she was a child, and she and her sister were raised and educated by a French nanny. This cosmopolitan upbringing was furthered by travels throughout Europe with her father, then a military attaché.

In 1884, Maud Gonne??s father died of typhoid fever, and she received a considerable inheritance. After moving to France to be with her aunt, Gonne met and fell in love with right wing politician Lucien Millevoye. Though he was already married, he instilled Gonne with his political passions. She began a nearly lifelong fight for Irish freedom from England and the release of political prisoners. She and Millevoye had two children, one whom survived, before their relationship ended.

Moved by the plight of those evicted in the Land Wars, Maud Gonne continued to campaign for the Irish nationalist cause. In 1900, she founded the Daughters of Ireland, which provided a home for Irish nationalist women. She also began a relationship with poet and playwright William Butler Yeats, though she refused his many marriage proposals. Gonne was the inspiration for many of Yeats??s poems.

In 1918, Maud Gonne was arrested for being a political agitator. She became severely ill in prison and after her release, she began a crusade for improved conditions for Ireland??s political prisoners. In 1903, Maud Gonne married Major John MacBride. The couple??s son, Sean MacBride, was active in politics and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974. Maud Gonne??s autobiography, A Servant of the Queen, was published in 1938.