Gonne, Maud

Gonne, Maud (Edith)

 married name Maud MacBride

(born Dec. 21, 1866, Tongham, Surrey, Eng.—died April 27, 1953, Dublin, Ire.) Irish activist, actress, and feminist. Gonne became involved in the Irish nationalist movement at an early age and cofounded the Daughters of Erin (1900–14; a nationalist organization). She was also a founder of Sinn Féin. While engaged in political activities, Gonne became a noted actress. The poet and dramatist W.B. Yeats fell in love with her, and she was the model for the heroine of his play Cathleen ni Houlihan (1892). Nevertheless, Gonne turned down his many proposals of marriage and in 1903 married Maj. John MacBride, a fellow activist who was executed for his role in the Easter Rising in 1916. Their son, Seán MacBride, the first chairman of Amnesty International, won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1974.