| abstract |
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa and his wife Mary Jane Irwin O'Donovan Rossa became transatlantic celebrities both honored and occasionally ridiculed by the Irish, the British,
and the American populations--sometimes all at once. Their life reflected all that was destructive about the British and Irish relationship and all that was possible
with the involvement of the diaspora in the United States. The culmination of this celebrity was Rossa's funeral in Dublin attended by hundreds of thousands of Irish
citizens. Mary Jane had created the opportunity for this extraordinary funeral by agreeing to bury her husband with great fanfare in Dublin rather than keep his remains
in New York with those of her beloved lost children or with Rossa's family in County Cork. Mary Jane recognized the power of public events and dreamed Rossa's closing
act would honor his passion for a Free Ireland. Her last achievement for him would follow the pattern of their lifetimes. This book is a biography of Mary Jane
O'Donovan Rossa with her husband Jeremiah and the unique way their marriage took advantage of their talents both literary and political. They created a unique
celebrity by the power of the pen, public speaking, and the ingenious use of the growing strength of the press. Mary Jane was more than a partner in Rossa's life;
she was the architect and the protector of his celebrity. She was the mother of thirteen of his children and the victim of his chaotic approach to life, but she was
a patriot in her own right. She believed as wholeheartedly as he in the cause of Ireland. She was an accomplished woman of her time: a writer, a poet, and a public
speaker. Mary Jane and Rossa used their celebrity to keep the struggle for Irish freedom front of mind on both sides of the Atlantic for more than fifty years. This
is the story of these two formidable Irish patriots: one whose name is remembered in Ireland but whose personal life is not well known, and the other who has been
nearly ignored in history and commemoration but whose spirit was the bridge between the Fenians and the Easter Rising in 1916. No other book about this courageous
and talented lady has ever been published. It is researched through personal letters, family journals, contemporary newspapers, and memoirs telling a story of great
fortitude and passion.
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