Norma Borthwick
| Norma Borthwick | |
|---|---|
Norma Borthwick by John Butler Yeats
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| Born |
Mariella Norma Borthwick 25 July 1862 Highfield, Higher Bebington, Chester, England |
| Died | 13 June 1934 (aged 71) Kilbride, Skye, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Aodh Rua, Fear na Móna |
| Occupation | Artist, writer, teacher |
| Known for | Irish-language activist |
Mariella Norma Borthwick (25 July 1862 – 13 June 1934) was a British artist and writer and an Irish language activist.
Mariella Norma Borthwick was born in Highfield, Higher Bebington, Chester, on 25 July 1862. She was one of five daughters and three sons of the merchant George Borthwick, and Mary Elizabeth Borthwick (née MacDonald). Though she was born in England, Borthwick considered herself a Scot of Gaelic descent. From an early age she displayed an interest in the culture of Ireland, and learned the Irish language at the Southwark Literary Society in London.
A talented artist, Borthwick found fame in Ireland first through her sketches of tenant evictions on the Olphert estate in Gweedore, County Donegal which were published by United Ireland in late 1890. She became involved in the language movement in London and Dublin, visiting the west of Ireland and the Aran Islands regularly.
In January 1895, Borthwick joined the Gaelic League in London, and while living on Markham Square, Chelsea acted as its treasurer. She won a prize for her essay, Brí na teanga i gcúis na náisiúntachta (The significance of language to the nationalist cause), at the inaugural Oireachtas na Gaeilge in 1897, under the pseudonym "Aodh Rua" (Red Hugh). The following year she won a prize in singing. When the Irish Texts Society was created on 26 April 1898 in London Borthwick and Eleanor Hull were the first secretaries.
From May to December 1898 Borthwick served on the central council of the Gaelic League as secretary, and became a member of the executive council in 1899. The same year she was secretary to the year's Oireachtas na Gaeilge, with her "education and taste" noted as beneficial to the organisation.
Borthwick was the chairman of the new Gaelic League branch in Drumcondra, Dublin in 1900. After her resignation from the League, there was a dearth of prominent and strong female voices within the organisation.
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