Edward Martyn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edward Martyn
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drawing by John Butler Yeats, 1899
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| President of Sinn Féin | |
| In office 1905–1908 |
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| Preceded by | Creation of Office |
| Succeeded by | John Sweetman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 January 1859 |
| Died | 5 December 1923 (aged 64) Tullira, County Galway, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Relatives | John Martyn and Annie Mary Josephine Smyth (parents) |
| Education | Belvedere College |
| Alma mater | Wimbledon College |
| Occupation | Playwright |
Edward Martyn (30 January 1859 – 5 December 1923) was an Irish playwright and early republican political and cultural activist, as the first president of Sinn Féin from 1905–08.
Contents
Early life
Martyn was the elder son of John Martyn of Tullira Castle, Ardrahan and Annie Mary Josephine (née Smyth) of Masonbrook, Loughrea, both of County Galway. He succeeded his father upon John's death in 1860. He was educated at Belvedere College, Dublin, and Wimbledon College, London, both Jesuit schools, after which he entered Christ Church, Oxford in 1877, but left without taking a degree in 1879. His only sibling, John, died in 1883.
Patron of the Arts
Martyn began writing fiction and plays in the 1880s. While his own output was undistinguished, he acquired a well-earned reputation as a noted connoisseur of music, both European classical and Irish traditional. He was a fine musician in his own right, giving memorable performances for guests on an organ he had installed at Tullira. Martyn used his wealth to benefit Irish culture. His activities and sponsorships included:
- foundation of the Palestrina Choir (the resident choir at the St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Dublin) in 1903
- funding and direction of St. Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea
- co-founder and endowing of the Feis Ceoil
- president of Na hAisteoirí, the Irish-language drama group
- sponsored and guided An Túr Gloine, Ireland's first stained-glass workshop
- sponsored the Irish Theatre, Thomas MacDonagh's theatre (1914–1916) presenting European and Irish-language work in Countess Plunkett's hall in Hardwicke Street
The Irish Literary Theatre
Martyn was reportedly pivotal in introducing William Butler Yeats and Lady Gregory to each other in 1896. The three founded the Irish Literary Theatre, for whom Martyn wrote his best and most popular plays The Heather Field and A Tale of a Town. He covered the costs of the company's first three seasons, which proved crucial to establishing the company and the future of the Abbey Theatre. He later parted ways with Yeats and Gregory, something he later regretted, but remained on warm terms with Lady Gregory till the end of his life.
George Moore
Martyn was a cousin and friend to George Moore (1852–1933). The two, both lifelong bachelors, made frequent trips all over Europe, where Moore influenced Martyn's views on modern art, which resulted in the latter purchasing several works by Degas, Monet, Corot and Utamaro (all later donated to the National Gallery of Ireland). The two attended performances at Bayreuth, as Martyn was a devotee of Wagner.
Their relationship was often antagonistic. The Moores were old literary family, Anglo-Irish (and Protestant until the generation preceding George Moore's birth), from the west of Ireland, and with Whiggish tendencies.
Moore wrote an insightful account of Martyn in his Hail and Farewell. He did not share Martyn's fenian ideas nor espousal of violent means to achieve national sovereignty. The cousins' political differences eventually drove their friendship apart. In later years they were no longer on speaking terms.
Republicanism
Martyn was descended from Richard Óge Martyn (c. 1604 – 1648), a leading Irish Confederate, and Oliver Óge Martyn (c.1630 – c.1709), a Jacobite who fought in the Williamite War in Ireland. Yet by his lifetime, the family were unionists. Martyn's outlook began to change in the 1880s after studying Irish history, as well as living through the events of the Irish Land War. He came out as an Irish republican when he famously refused to allow "God Save The Queen" to be sung after a dinner party at Tullira.
By this stage he was involved with the political work of Maud Gonne and Arthur Griffith, and was a vocal opponent of the visit of Queen Victoria to Ireland in 1897. He also protested the visit by Edward VII in 1903, this time as chairman of the People's Protection Committee. He was the first president of Sinn Féin from 1905-08 (the party only taking that name in the latter year). In 1908, he resigned from the party and politics in general to concentrate on writing and his other activities. He became close friends with Griffith, funding the publication of the latter's The Resurrection of Hungary in 1904.
In 1906, he was at the centre of a well-publicised court case over an off-the-cuff remark that any Irishman who joined the British Army should be flogged. This led to his suspension by the Kildare Street Club, of which he was a member. The court case was resolved in his favour. Martyn stated that he only pursued the case to continue membership as it served the best caviar in Dublin.
He was on close personal terms with Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Mary Plunkett and Patrick Pearse, and deeply mourned their executions in the aftermath of the Easter Rising. A parish hall and church that he founded at Labane, near Tullira, were burned by the Black and Tans. He supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.
Death
Martyn died at Tullira on 5 December 1923, aged 64, after years of ill health. Friends and family were shocked at a provision in his will that directed that his body be donated for the use of medical science and, after dissection, be buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. The Palestrina Choir sang at his graveside. His papers he bequeathed to the Carmelites of Clarendon Street in Dublin, who subsequently misplaced and lost them. Portraits of Martyn exist by, among others, John Butler Yeats and Sarah Purser. On his death the senior line of the Martyn family died out. His property was inherited by his cousins, the Smyths of Masonbrook and Lord Hemphill. Tullira was sold by the latter forty years later changing ownership several times since.
See also
- Oliver Óge Martyn
- Richard Óge Martyn
