During one of his lectures on famous and influential women of 20th century Ireland a guest asked Clive about Constance Markievicz’s daughter, Maeve. Truthfully, Clive knew very little and decided there and then to research her life. And the result is his third published book.
Constance Markievicz left an indelible mark on Irish life, especially around the early years of the 20th century. She and her Polish husband, Casimir, had a daughter whose life was greatly disrupted by her ambitious mother.
Her childhood was largely spent, not with her parents, but with her maternal grandmother at the Gore-Booth family home at Lissadell, Co. Sligo.
Maeve’s relationship with Constance was an erratic one and, although not actually abandoned by her mother, she soon learned that she would have to fend for herself.
She trained as a landscape gardener in England, where she spent most of her adult life. The time she spent living in Egerton, Kent was probably the happiest of her life. In her last years she reverted to type and returned to Ireland to paint scenes of the county Sligo she remembered as a child.
Maeve, though not a frontline subject in Ireland’s history, has an interesting and compelling story to reveal. Her position as the daughter of such a famous Irishwoman makes for a unique look at the mother/daughter relationship.
Congratulations on the book. It brought to life aspects of a somewhat mysterious person and your insights were interesting. Mary R. Bergin
Published: October 2003
