Nannie Lambert Power O'Donoghue

Nannie Lambert Power O'Donoghue, also known as Ann Stewart Lyster Lambert, (2 June 1843, Dublin, Ireland – 12 January 1940, Dublin Ireland) was a writer and equestrian.

She was known for her horse riding, poetry and journalism projects. She was a journalist and wrote pieces and articles concerning social welfare and animals well being. She had written many different books, her most famous; Riding for Ladies (1887) sold more than 94,000 copies.

Early life Ann Stewart Lyster Lambert was baptized under the Church of Ireland on 2 June 1843 in the Parish Church of St. Thomas in North Dublin, youngest daughter of Charles and Jane Catherine Lambert (Maiden name Irwin). Her father, Charles Lambert of Athenry, was from a landlord family which originates from County Galway.

Nicknamed 'Nannie' as an endearment to her being the youngest child of the family, Ann had 3 sisters: Lizzie, Jane Catherine and Hannah Elizabeth Ellen, one brother: Charles Edward, and two half-brothers; Arthur Irwin and Robert Henry Downes, from her mother's first marriage to Robert Henry Downes Mahon. Ann grew up in various locations within Dublin first at 5 Cumberland Street, followed by a move to 19 Upper Gloucester Street in 1850 (now Seán McDermott Street) During its short two year life, Mrs Power-O'Donoghue wrote a column called "The Ladies' Letter" in The Jarvey, a weekly comic magazine edited by Percy French from January 1889-January 1891. The letter focus on matters domestic, on education and on matters equestrian. When she left the column in March 1890 French thanked her and described her as an "Amazon" but her style surfaced in other gossip columns called 'Fan Lights' and 'Chit Chatters' and she may also have had a hand in a Leader column called 'Pony Leaders,' which may sometimes have been collaborations between her and Ethel French, Percy French's first wife.

At age 37, O'Donoghue suffered a spinal injury from a fall, preventing her from riding again. Following this, she started to branch out towards other writing subjects. She started writing articles and covering such things as shows and race meetings for Lady’s Pictorial. She also started to freelance as a journalist and it wasn’t uncommon for her to write pieces under pen names, continuously branching out and covering more and more topics of writing, such as art critique of plays, exhibitions, and concerts.

Through her writing O’Donoghue tried to initiate social reforms. She often brought up topics that she felt strongly about such as poverty, education for women, and animal abuse. Her humanitarian mindset and writing skill led her to write for the Irish times. Spring Leaves, London, 1877. Ladies on Horseback; Learning Park-riding and Hunting; With Hints upon costume and Numerous Anecdotes, London, W. H. Allen & Co., 1881 and 1891. Unfairly Won; A Novel, 3 volumes, London, Chapman and Hall 1882. A Beggar on Horseback; A Novel, 3 volumes, London, Hurst and Blackett, 1884. The Common Sense of Riding; Riding for Ladies, with Hints on the Stable, London, W. Thacker and Co., 1887 and 1904. Rhymes for Readers and Reciters, Dublin, 1895.

Family tree

Her family tree is one that originates from the west of Ireland and was a wealthy Anglo-Irish family with her grandfather Walter Peter Lambert of Castle Ellen, originally from Yorkshire England, owning over three thousand acres of land in Galway when he was alive. Her father, Charles Lambert and mother, Jane Catherine Irwin had three other daughters and a son, as well as her mother having another two sons in her first marriage who would have been her half-brothers, but there is no documentation of them have a relationship with one another. Her family tree was not extended by O’ Donoghue and her husband but there are some notable relations within the family to be recognised such as her cousin being the mother to Edward Carson who was a unionist politician as well as a noted judge and barrister.

John Lambert of Creg Clare, fl. 1645-after 1669. =Redish Lynch, daughter of Thomas Lynch, Mayor of Galway =Mary French | ___________________________ | | | | | Mary Joseph of Mayo Charles Lambert of Creg Clare, k. Derry, 1689. =Robert French of Rashane =Janet Taylor of Ballymacragh (Castle Taylor) | Walter Lambert of Creg Clare =Miss Hamilton =Sybilla Martyn of Tullira | |__________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | Charles John Peter, d. 1836. Thomas Belinda Ms. Lambert =Miss Carrol of Ardagh ____________________________|______________ | | Walter Peter Lambert of Castle Ellen. Sabina Lambert =Ellen Tubbs =Thomas Mahon of Belleville, Co. Galway. |__________________________________________ | | Peter, 1785-1844. Charles, b. 1804. =Eleanor Seymour =Maria Louisa Caroll =Jane Catherine Irwin of Oakfield, County Sligo. | | | | Isabella Louisa Maria, 1837-1904 Nannie, 1843–1940 =Edward Henry Carson =Henry Jenkins Stavely Bowdler =William Power O'Donoghue | Edward Carson