Identity area
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Title
Date(s)
- 20 August 1912 (Creation)
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1 item
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Name of creator
Biographical history
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.
Archival history
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Scope and content
Photo postcard (88 x 140 mm) depicting (on the right) Thomas St. John Gaffney on the deck of an ocean liner, accompanied by two women, a female child and a man similar in appearance to Thomas, presumably one of his brothers. The card was sent from Dresden by Thomas St John Gaffney to his sister Agnes Ryan née Gaffney, urging her to join him by 29 August ‘when the Kaiser makes is state entry… It will be a great Pageant.’