Edward MacLysaght
Edward MacLysaght | |
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![]() MacLysaght c. 1960 | |
Senator | |
In office 11 December 1922 – 17 September 1925 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Edgeworth Lysaght 6 November 1887 Somerset, England |
Died | 4 March 1986 County Dublin, Ireland | (aged 98)
Nationality | Irish |
Political party | Independent |
Spouses |
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Children | 5 |
Parent |
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Education | Rugby School |
Alma mater | Corpus Christi College, Oxford |
Edgeworth Lysaght, later Edward Anthony Edgeworth Lysaght, and from 1920 Edward MacLysaght (Irish: Éamonn Mac Giolla Iasachta; 6 November 1887 – 4 March 1986)[1] was a genealogist of twentieth-century Ireland. His numerous books on Irish surnames built upon the work of Rev. Patrick Woulfe's Irish Names and Surnames (1923).[citation needed]
Early life and education
Edgeworth Lysaght was born at Flax Bourton, Somerset (near Bristol), to Sidney Royse Lysaght, of Irish origin, a director of the family iron and steel firm John Lysaght and Co. and a writer of novels and poetry, and Katherine (died 1953), daughter of Joseph Clarke, of Waddington, Lincolnshire. Lysaght's grandfather, Thomas Royse Lysaght, was an architect, and his great-grandfather, William Lysaght, a small landowner distantly connected with the Barons Lisle.[2] Lysaght was named "Edgeworth Lysaght" after his father's friend, the economist Francis Ysidro Edgeworth; "Edward" was added at baptism, and he was called "Ned". "Anthony" was added at confirmation. He lost the sight in one eye after a childhood accident.[3]
Lysaght was educated at Nash House preparatory school, Bristol, and at Rugby School, where he was unhappy, his parents' frequent absence due to his father's business responsibilities necessitating travel to South America, South Africa, and Australia contributing to this. He was a contemporary there of Rupert Brooke, whose father was Lysaght's housemaster. Eighteen months after leaving Rugby, on the advice of Francis Edgeworth, he then went to Corpus Christi College, Oxford, to study law, but, having on his own account "had a wild time as part of the smart set" and anticipating rustication after a drunken incident, he left after three terms.[3]
Life in Ireland
Lysaght took up residence in a caravan at Lahinch, County Clare, Ireland, where he had previously holidayed and become friendly with local people. His father, himself strongly connected to his Irish boyhood and wanting to establish himself as a "country gentleman", recognized his son's enthusiasm for Ireland and in 1909 bought a 600-acre estate at Tuamgraney, at which Lysaght would farm until 1913, introducing an electrical generator and other forms of modernization[4] including the development of a limekiln, nursery, and school where young men of means could learn the basics of farming.[4] This was the beginning of a metamorphosis for Lysaght; although of English upbringing, he disliked the local gentry, considering them "layabout rentiers", and preferred to make friendships amongst employees and his neighbours.
He sought to replace his English accent with a Clare one, and eschewed his lack of religion (despite an Anglican upbringing)
By 1915 Lysaght's command of Irish had improved dramatically, and in that year he founded the Nua-Ghaeltacht at Raheen, County Clare.[4]
He was an independent delegate to the 1917–1918 Irish Convention in which he opposed John Redmond's compromise on Home Rule. By 1918 his involvement in all aspects of the Irish independence movement had deepened greatly. Although not known if he was actually a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), he was very active in the Irish War of Independence as a supporter, financially and otherwise, of the East Clare Brigade of the IRA.[3]
In 1919, he published a largely autobiographical novel entitled The Gael.[3] In 1920, Lysaght, along with others of the name, changed his name to "MacLysaght", "so as to emphasise its Gaelic origin".[3]
His Raheen office served as a meeting place for the Volunteers and guns, documents and ammunition were stored there. However, the war led to a sharp decline in the fortunes of his farm. The execution of close friends such as Conor Clune of Quin in November 1920 and the subsequent devastating raids on his farm resulted in his playing a far more active role in Sinn Féin as a loyal supporter of the new TD for Clare, Éamon de Valera. For this, he was imprisoned following his return from Britain as part of a Sinn Féin delegation which was publicising the Black and Tans atrocities.
Later life
MacLysaght was elected to the
Death
MacLysaght died on 4 March 1986, aged 98, and was interred in the graveyard of St. Cronan's Church, Tuamgraney.[8]
Works
- Irish Life in the Seventeenth Century (1939)
- The Surnames of Ireland
- MacLysaght, Edward (1957). Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origins. Dublin: Hodges Figgis & Co Ltd.
- Supplement to Irish Families
- More Irish Families
- More Irish Families incorporating Supplement to Irish Families
- The Gael (1919)
- Cursaí Thomáis (1927)
- Changing Times (1978)
See also
- Heraldry
- Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland
References
- ^ Corpus Christi College Oxford Biographical Register 1880-1974, ed. Neil A. Flanagan, Philip A. Hunt, Oxford University Press, 1988, p. 205
- ^ A History of GKN: Volume 2- The Growth of a Business, 1918-45, Edgar Jones, Springer, p. 22
- ^ a b c d e f g Lysaght, Charles. "MacLysaght, Edward Anthony Edgeworth". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ a b c "Edward MacLysaght (1887–1986)". ricorso.net.
- ^ North American Gaels: Speech, Story, and Song in the Diaspora, ed. Natasha Summer, Aidan Doyle, McGill-Queens University Press, 2020
- ^ "Cork Summer Show". Cork Examiner. 24 June 1932.
- ^ "Edward MacLysaght". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ^ Battersby, Eileen. "Through the door of history". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
Sources
- Ó Ceallaigh, Seán (2003). Liam Prút (ed.). Éamonn Mac Giolla Iasachta, 1887-1986: beathaisnéis. Baile Átha Cliath: Coiscéim. pp. 475p.
- Princess Grace Irish Library at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 September 2004), database of Irish writers; comprehensive listing of life and works. Retrieved 5 August 2010. Archived 2004.