Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh
| Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Mary Elizabeth Walker 8 May 1883 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 9 September 1958 (aged 75) Drogheda |
Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh | Máire Nic Ṡiúḃlaiġ (8 May 1883 – 1958) was an Irish actress and republican activist. She started acting in her teens and appeared in the first Irish-language play performed in Ireland. She was a founder-member of the Abbey Theatre and was leading lady on its opening night in 1904, when she played the title role in W.B. Yeats's Cathleen Ni Houlihan. She later joined the Theatre of Ireland, which she helped to found.
Nic Shiubhlaigh was born Mary Elizabeth Walker in Charlemont Street, Dublin into a nationalist and Irish-speaking family. Her father, Matthew, came from County Carlow (of a County Kilkenny family) and was a printer and publisher who became proprietor of the Gaelic Press. Her mother, Mary, was a dressmaker from Dublin. She grew up in 56 High Street in the Dublin Liberties.
She joined the Gaelic League about 1898 and came into contact with Arthur Griffith and William Rooney. She joined the cultural and revolutionary women's group Inghinidhe na hÉireann in 1900. With the help of drama enthusiasts William and Frank Fay she started acting with the drama group of Inghinidhe na hÉireann. In 1901 the drama group took part in a feis with two plays, Tobar Draoidheachta by Father Dinneen and Red Hugh by Alice Milligan. George Russell (AE) and W.B. Yeats, who were at the performance, were moved by the dedication of the amateur players. Russell, who had already offered the Fays his mythic play Deirdre, persuaded Yeats to offer them his patriotic play, Cathleen Ni Houlihan.
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