Today’s blog post looks back to 1953 and the announcement of the death of the legendary figure Maud Gonne. A prominent player in the literary revival and the independence movement, Gonne was connected with many of the leading figures of the revolutionary period.

  Here the Donegal Democrat newspaper reports on her death and recalls some connections with that county:

Madam Maud Gonne MacBride widow of Major John MacBride one of the executed 1916 leaders died on Monday evening at the age of 78. She was mother of Mr. Sean MacBride, S.C., T.D.  with whom she resided at Roebuck House, Clonskeagh. Dublin.

Madam Maud Gonne, from her early youth was an active participant both in the independence movement and the literary revival. She was born at Aldershot in 1885 and came to Ireland at 16 years of age. Her father Col. Gonne, at that time being appointed Assistant Adjutant General with headquarters in Dublin Castle.

In her book "Servant of the Queen", she told how her thoughts turned to Nationalism by seeing pictures of Tone and Emmet and the Manchester Martyrs in the homes of the people where she visited. From her contacts with the people grew a passionate devotion to the cause of Irish independence.

Her labours in Donegal in the 'Eighties, the stirring days of the battering ram, have passed into the folk tales of the county and her name is reverenced along with that of Father MacFadden and Patrick O'Donnell.

In "Servant of the Queen". Madam Maud Gonne devoted a chapter to, the work of Father Stephens, contemporary of Father MacFadden whose curacy was in the parish of Falcarragh. Father Stephens, who suffered two term of imprisonment for his defence of the tenantry, was one of the well known Ballyshannon family of Stephens, being uncle of Messrs. P . J. Stephens. Cecil Stephens, and Miss Ettie Stephens. One incident Madam Mauri Gonne described in her book relates how Father Stephens the "Emergency Men" to prevent the ill-treatment of an old woman who was being evicted.

For more information on Gonne search the pages of the Irish Newspaper Archive (www.irishnewsarchive.com)