In the Abbey Theatre there is a wonderful portrait of Máire Nic Shuibhlaigh by John B Yeats. There is also a plaque celebrating her (and others') participation in the Easter Rising in 1916. Born Mary Walker into a nationalist Parnellite family in 1883, she immersed herself in the artistic and political movements of the day. Hers is the memory of the Walkers, Yeats, the Fay Brothers, the Abbey split of 1905, the Jacobs Garrison and much more. The introduction is by the editor, Nic Shuibhlaigh's grand-nephew David Kenny. The book is an expanded edition of the original published in 1955 with the original preface by Padraic Colum, one of Maire's many friends. It is a personal memoir, in no way a history. Her description of the riots in New York over Synge's Playboy still amazes. It is in some respects a bittersweet story as Maire went from being the Abbey's first leading lady and acting on Broadway to giving elocution lessons in her home.
