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Titre
Date(s)
- c. 1887-c. 1921 (Création/Production)
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Étendue matérielle et support
56 pp.
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Notice biographique
Agnes Mary Gaffney was born in Limerick in 1874 to Thomas Gaffney and Agnes Mary née Clune and was educated at Laurel Hill Convent. She was her parents’ only surviving daughter, but had several brothers, many of whom became prominent figures in Irish public life. Among these were James Gaffney (1866-1933), who became a Crown solicitor for county Limerick; Joseph Gaffney (1868-1897), a prominent figure in municipal politics in Limerick and High Sheriff of the city during the year 1896; and Thomas St John Gaffney (1864-1932), who emigrated to America and served as US Consul General at Dresden and Munich in Germany from 1905 to 1915. A strong pro-Irish nationalist, he openly supported Germany during the First World War, which cost him his consular post.
Agnes Mary Gaffney divided her time between Ireland and America as a socialite and featured prominently in the cultural life of both countries. She also took an interest in women’s rights issues through the influence of her sister-in-law Frances Humphreys Gaffney née Smith, who was elected president of the National Council of Women in America in 1899. Agnes settled permanently in Ireland following her marriage to George Robert Ryan in 1900. Her subsequent life history is unknown.
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Portée et contenu
Bound hardback scrapbook signed ‘Agnes M. Gaffney New York January 1895’ on the inside of the front cover. The book contains mainly press cuttings accounting the movements and activities of Agnes Gaffney and her brothers in America and Ireland. Several pages have been dedicated to the sudden death and funeral of Joseph P. Gaffney in 1897 and to the activities of Frances Gaffney née Humphreys, wife of Agnes’s brother Thomas St John Gaffney and an early women’s rights activist, who was elected president of the National Council of Women in 1899. There are reviews and accounts of musical and theatrical entertainments, many of which included performances by members of the Gaffney family, who were gifted singers. Also included are calling cards of various family members; invitations to weddings, dinner parties and other gatherings; and theatre and concert programmes, such as the golden jubilee celebrations at Laurel Hill Convent on 11 June 1895, a concert organised by Adare Bicycle Club under the patronage of the Earl and Countess of Dunraven on 31 January 1896 and a celebratory dinner in honour of Joseph Gaffney as High Sheriff of Limerick city on 9 January 1897. There are articles about the state of the stock market and about political events unfolding in Limerick. One of the pages contains a broadsheet entitled ‘Supplement to the Summit Herald’ dedicated to Thomas St John Gaffney’s views on America’s foreign policy, outlining his reasons ‘Why Every Irish-American Should Support and Uphold the Republican Party.’ Also to be found in the scrapbook is a White Star Line booklet incorporating a list of saloon passengers on board Royal & US Mail SS Germanic from Liverpool to New York on 24 October 1894.
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Fragile with damaged spine, in need of conservation treatment. Book cushion required for handling.