AOH 32

This week’s famous Irish woman is Constance Gore-Booth, the Countess Markievicz
(4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927)

She was an Irish Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil politician, revolutionary nationalist and suffragette. She was the first woman elected to the British House of Commons, though she did not take her seat and along with the other Sinn Féin TDs formed the first Dáil Éireann. She was also the first woman in Europe to hold a cabinet position (Minister of Labour of the Irish Republic, 1919–1922).

This weeks famous Irishman is Finley Peter Dunne (July 10, 1867–April 24, 1936)

He was a Chicago-based U.S. author, writer and humorist. He published Mr. Dooley in Peace and War, a collection of his nationally syndicated Mr. Dooley sketches, in 1898.The fictional Mr. Dooley expounded upon political and social issues of the day from his South Side Chicago Irish pub and he spoke with the thick verbiage and accent of an Irish immigrant.

This week’s famous Irishman is George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950)

He was an Irish playwright. Although Shaw’s first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, his talent was for drama, and he authored more than 60 plays.

The famous Irishman of the week is Samuel Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989)

He was an Irish writer, dramatist and poet. Beckett’s work offers a bleak outlook on human culture and both formally and philosophically became increasingly minimalist. As a student, assistant, and friend of James Joyce, Beckett is considered by many one of the last modernists; as an inspiration to many later writers, he is sometimes considered one of the first postmodernists.

This week’s famous Irishman is St. Columban (540 – 615)

He was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Italian kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil (in present-day France) and Bobbio (Italy), and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe. He spread among the Franks a Celtic monastic rule and Celtic penitential practices for those repenting of sins, which emphasized private confession to a priest, followed by penances levied by the priest in reparation for the sin. He is also one of the earliest identifiable Hiberno-Latin writers.

This week’s famous Irish woman is Grace O’Malley (1530 – 1603)

She was also known as Granuaile or Gráinne Mhaol, known in English as Grace O’Malley, is an important figure in Irish folklore, but was in fact a larger-than-life figure from 16th century Irish history. O’Malley is sometimes known as “The Sea Queen Of Connaught”. The Irish song “Oró Sé do Bheatha ‘Bhaile” is dedicated to her. Her story is currently being made into a feature film.

This week’s famous Irishman is Eugene O’Neill (16 October 1888 – 27 November 1953)

He was an American playwright, and Nobel laureate in Literature. His plays are among the first to introduce into American drama the techniques of realism and were among the first to include speeches in American vernacular.

This week’s famous Irishman is Paul Cardinal Cullen (April 29, 1803–October 24, 1878)

He was a Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin who became the first Irish cardinal. By training a biblical theologian and scholar of ancient languages, he is best known for his crafting of the formula for papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council. He is largely credited for ushering in the “devotional revolution” experienced in Ireland in the nineteenth century. He advocated Catholic religious education.

This week’s famous Irishman is John Devoy (1842-1928)

He was an Irish rebel leader and exile.

This week’s famous Irishman is James Cardinal Gibbons (23 July 1834 – 24 March 1921)

He was an American prelate, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 until his death. In 1886 he became the second man from the United States to be made a cardinal. He served as Cardinal-Priest for Santa Maria in Trastevere basilica in Rome.