Jane Barlow

A portrait of Jane Barlow as painted by her friend, Irish painter Sarah Purser, in 1894. The painting is held by Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, Ireland. Jane Barlow (17 October 1856 – 17 April 1917) was an Irish writer, noted for her novels and poems describing the lives of the Irish peasantry, chiefly about Lisconnell and Ballyhoy, in relation to both landlords and the Great Famine.

Life Barlow was the second child and eldest daughter of Rev. James William Barlow, vice-provost of Trinity College Dublin. Born in Dollymount, Clontarf, County Dublin, she spent most of her life living in Raheny, then a village in County Dublin, in the house in the townland of Ballyhoy which then was called "The Cottage": The house was known by various names over the years, as "Ballyhoy", "The Cottage" and "Raheny House". Built in the 18th century, originally with a thatched roof, another wing was added in the 1840s. [...] In 1986, it became the Garda Siochána Retirement Home and the original house was incorporated into the new additions.

"Miss Barlow" had great success with the collection of stories Irish Idylls (1892). Running into nine editions, it was read in France, Germany, Britain, and America. When Trinity College Dublin began to grant degrees to women, Barlow was one of the first "to receive the highest honorary distinction that ancient seat of learning could bestow", a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.). Shortly before her death, she was elected to its Committee of Reference and Publication.

Death

Barlow died on 17 April 1917, in Bray. In its glowing obituary (18 April 1917), The Irish Times reported nothing of her health, nor a cause of death. Barlow's novels and poetry collections include:

History of a World of Immortals Without a God (McGee, 1891), as Antares Skorpios Bog-land Studies (Unwin, 1892) Irish Idylls (Hodder & Stoughton, 1892) — went into nine editions. Illustrations by Clifton Johnson The End of Elfintown (Macmillan, 1894) — fairy poetry illustrated by Laurence Housman, Kerrigan's Quality (Hodder & Stoughton, 1894) — with 8 illustrations The Battle of the Frogs and Mice (Methuen, 1894) — a translation of the Greek mock-epic Batrachomyomachia with illustrations by Francis Donkin Bedford Strangers at Lisconnell, a Second Series of Irish Idylls (1895) Maureen's Fairing, and Other Stories (Dent, 1895) — illustrations by Bertha Newcombe Mrs. Martin's Company, and Other Stories (Dent, 1896) A Creel of Irish Stories (Methuen, 1897) From the East unto the West (Methuen, 1898) From the Land of the Shamrock (Methuen, 1900) — short stories Ghost-Bereft, with Other Stories and Studies in Verse (Smith, Elder & Co., 1901) The Founding of Fortunes (Methuen, 1902) By Beach and Bog Land (Unwin, 1905) Irish Neighbours (Hutchinson, 1907) The Mockers, and Other Verses (Allen, 1908) A Strange Land (Hutchinson, 1908), as Felix Ryark — a "lost race" tale Irish Ways (Allen, 1909) — illustrations by Warwick Goble Mac's Adventures (Hutchinson, 1911) — dedicated to Algernon Charles Swinburne Flaws, a Novel (Hutchinson, 1911) Doings and Dealings (Hutchinson, 1913) Between Doubting and Daring (Blackwell, 1916) In Mio's Youth (Hutchinson, 1917)

In the United States, Barlow's works were published by Dodd, Mead & Co.

A Bunch of Lavender

Barlow wrote a play titled A Bunch of Lavender, staged by the Theatre of Ireland on December 18th, 1911. Because it was not a success, the play was never published.