Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory

Lady Gregory was born at Roxborough House near Coole, Co. Galway. In 1880, she married Sir William Gregory and together they travelled in Ceylon, India, Spain, Italy and Egypt. The couple also entertained a salon in London which was frequented by many literary luminaries of the time, such as Robert Browning, Lord Tennyson and Henry James. Following her husband's death in 1892, Lady Gregory retired to his estate Coole Park in the west of Ireland. A growing interest in the Irish linguistic heritage and folklore of the area led to the publication of a number of volumes of folk material, including A Book of Saints and Wonders (1906), The Kiltartan History Book (1909), and The Kiltartan Wonder Book (1910). In his introdcution to Lady Gregory's version of Cuchulain of Muirthemne (1902), W. B. Yeats declared it the best book to have come out of Ireland in his time. This was followed by the publication, in 1904, of Gods and Fighting Men. A founding member of the Irish Literary Theatre, Lady Gregory served as fundraiser, director, playwright and actress for the Irish national theatre, the Abbey Theatre, until declining health forced her to retire in 1928. In her works, she sought to captivate the original Irish voices in a form of Hiberno-English which lends them a particular authenticity and acuteness. Lady Gregory died in Coole Park aged 80.