Curated by Sabrina Higgins, in partnership with the Hamilton Gallery.
Eva Selina Gore-Booth (1870-1926) was a poet, political activist and champion of women’s rights. Born at Lissadell in Co Sligo, she wrote nine books of poetry, as well as plays, spiritual essays and religious studies. A sister of the more well-known Constance Markiewicz, she spent a considerable period of her life in the UK, campaigning for the Women’s Suffrage Movement and other political causes with her lifelong companion, Esther Roper.
A vocal opponent of capital punishment, she returned to Ireland in 1916 to the side of her sister Constance, who had been sentenced to death for her role in the Easter Rising of 1916. The sentence was successfully overturned, but the trauma of the situation found its way into Eva’s writing. In later years she devoted herself to painting, and died in Hampstead, London, where she is buried alongside Roper. Their tombstone contains a quote from the iconic Greek poet Sappho: “Life that is Love is God.”
This exhibition, celebrating the life and works of Eva Gore-Booth as a poet, dramatist and suffragist, featured artwork from 93 women, each piece having been inspired by Gore-Booth in some way. Partnered with the Hamilton Gallery in Sligo, this installation took place in the Iveagh Room in MoLI, and featured prominent artists such as Derval Freeman, who responded to Gore-Booth’s poem ‘The Dreamer’, and Vera Gaffney, who responded to Yeats’ poem, ‘In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markeivicz’.
In conjunction with the wonderful artwork on display, this exhibition featured an accompanying lecture by Professor Lucy Collins of University College Dublin, who discussed and analysed Gore-Booth’s poetry through a personal and philosophical lens, and how these works reflected her belief in the power of art in shaping the world around us.
