A Biography of Lady Gregory

Not so long ago in Ireland, Irish culture – including the Irish (Gaelic) language – was scorned by the Anglo-Irish ruling class, known as the Ascendancy. The prevailing attitude was that Irish should be spoken only by “peasants,” or country people. Interest in Ireland’s ancient traditions of myths and sagas was strongly disparaged by professors at Dublin’s Trinity College. But all this began to change toward the end of the nineteenth century. Lady Augusta Gregory, herself a member of the Ascendancy, was – ironically – one of the primary agents of that change, helping to revitalize Irish culture and bring its literature and drama to world acclaim.