Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (née Persse; 15 March 1852 â€" 22 May
1932)[1] was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With
William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish
Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote numerous short works
for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a number of books of
retellings of stories taken from Irish mythology. Born into a class
that identified closely with British rule, she turned against it. Her
conversion to cultural nationalism, as evidenced by her writings, was
emblematic of many of the political struggles to occur in Ireland
during her lifetime.Lady Gregory is mainly remembered for her work
behind the Irish Literary Revival. Her home at Coole Park in County
Galway served as an important meeting place for leading Revival
figures, and her early work as a member of the board of the Abbey was
at least as important as her creative writings for that theatre's
development. Lady Gregory's motto was taken from Aristotle: "To think
like a wise man, but to express oneself like the common
people."[2]Gregory was born at Roxborough, County Galway, the youngest
daughter of the Anglo-Irish gentry family Persse. Her mother, Frances
Barry, was related to Viscount Guillamore, and her family home,
Roxborough, was a 6,000-acre (24 km²) estate located between Gort and
Loughrea, the main house of which was later burnt down during the
Irish Civil War.[3] She was educated at home, and her future career
was strongly influenced by the family nurse (i.e. nanny), Mary
Sheridan, a Catholic and a native Irish speaker, who introduced the
young Augusta to the history and legends of the local area.[4]
1932)[1] was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With
William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish
Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote numerous short works
for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a number of books of
retellings of stories taken from Irish mythology. Born into a class
that identified closely with British rule, she turned against it. Her
conversion to cultural nationalism, as evidenced by her writings, was
emblematic of many of the political struggles to occur in Ireland
during her lifetime.Lady Gregory is mainly remembered for her work
behind the Irish Literary Revival. Her home at Coole Park in County
Galway served as an important meeting place for leading Revival
figures, and her early work as a member of the board of the Abbey was
at least as important as her creative writings for that theatre's
development. Lady Gregory's motto was taken from Aristotle: "To think
like a wise man, but to express oneself like the common
people."[2]Gregory was born at Roxborough, County Galway, the youngest
daughter of the Anglo-Irish gentry family Persse. Her mother, Frances
Barry, was related to Viscount Guillamore, and her family home,
Roxborough, was a 6,000-acre (24 km²) estate located between Gort and
Loughrea, the main house of which was later burnt down during the
Irish Civil War.[3] She was educated at home, and her future career
was strongly influenced by the family nurse (i.e. nanny), Mary
Sheridan, a Catholic and a native Irish speaker, who introduced the
young Augusta to the history and legends of the local area.[4]
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