William Butler Yeats fell in love with first time he saw Maud Gonne She was the woman to whom he addressed some of the most moving love poems in the English language. Though she refused to marry him, Maud reciprocated with an extraordinary friendship which lasted a lifetime.
Maud married Irish rebel John McBride, and their divorce trial was an international scandal.
Her son, Sean McBride, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974.But most of all, British-born Maud loved Ireland and dedicated her life to fighting for its independence.
Known as the “Irish Joan of Arc,” she battled for exploited Irish tenant farmers, for starving Irish children, for the rights of women.