Eileen Shanahan facts for kids
Eileen Shanahan (born October 28, 1901 – died January 28, 1979) was an Irish poet. She is best known for her poem, The Three Children (Near Clonmel). This poem was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1929. It has been republished five times since then. It was also featured in the famous Oxford Book of Irish Verse in 1958.
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Her Life Story
Eileen was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, George Shanahan, worked for the Irish Board of Works. He was also a treasurer for a social and economic society. Her grandfather, J. J. Clancy, was a Member of Parliament for North County Dublin. Through her grandmother, Eileen was related to Piaras Béaslaí, a revolutionary and poet.
Education and Work
Eileen went to school at St Catherine's Dominican Convent in Blackrock, Dublin. She also studied at Alexandra College. After school, she worked as a secretary in Dublin. In 1929, she moved to Geneva to work for the League of Nations. The League of Nations was an organization that worked for world peace.
Family and Later Life
In 1936, Eileen married a Scottish man named Richard Webster. They had five children together. When World War II started and France was invaded in 1940, she moved her family. They first went to Dún Laoghaire, Ireland. Later, they moved to Wallington, Surrey in England. She lived there for the rest of her life.
Her Poetry
Eileen wrote most of her poems in the late 1920s. Her poems first became well-known when four of them appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in 1929. A famous writer named Lord Dunsany really liked her poetry. He helped her get her poems The Three Children and Shankill published in The London Mercury.
Poems on the Radio and Stage
Some of her poems were even read on the radio! The Dublin radio station 2RN broadcast them on May 31, 1930. Eileen also wrote a play for Christmas called The Inn at Bethlehem. This play was similar to her poem Epiphany. It was performed at the Theatre Royal, Dublin in 1928. It was also broadcast by Radio Eireann on Christmas Eve in 1944.
What Her Poems Were About
Eileen's poems often explored themes like birth and childhood. They also talked about the challenges of love. She wrote about different ways to approach life, whether with passion or caution. Ireland and its unique situation were also common topics. Many of her poems had a strong sense of place. For example, The Three Children was inspired by visits to her relatives in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. Another poem, Shankill, was inspired by the countryside near her childhood home in Dalkey. She admired the poetry of F. R. Higgins and Francis Ledwidge.
Even though she wrote about 70 poems, only eleven were published while she was alive. So far, fourteen of her poems have been published in total.
Published Poems
Here are some of Eileen Shanahan's published poems:
- The Cherry Tree in Spring – First published in Clonmel Nationalist, 1921.
- The Three Children (Near Clonmel) – First published in The Atlantic Monthly, 1929.
- The Desolate Lover – First published in The Atlantic Monthly, 1929.
- Judas in Purgatory – First published in The Atlantic Monthly, 1929.
- To Adventurers (in Romance) – First published in The Observer, 1930.
- Shankill – First published in The London Mercury, 1931.
- Moon and Swan – First published in The Commonweal, 1931.
- The Kilkenny Boy – First published in Irish Times, 1935.
- Pastorale, 1946 – First published in Irish Times, 1947.
- Epiphany – First published in New Irish Poets, 1948.
- Free State (1925) – First published in Earth Voices Whispering, 2008.
- September – Route de Malagnou – First published in Poetry by Women in Ireland: A Critical Anthology 1870–1970, 2012.
- The Colonel's Wife – First published in Poetry by Women in Ireland: A Critical Anthology 1870–1970, 2012.
