Lawless, Hon. Emily (1845-1913), novelist and poet. Born at Lyons Castle, Co. Kildare, daughter of Lord Cloncurry, she was brought up in England and the west of Ireland. Excepting A Chelsea Householder (1882) and A Millionaire's Cousin (1885), her novels are devoted to Irish subjects. Her first novel, Hurrish (1886), deals with agrarian crime during the Land War, while Grania (1892) takes the side of an Aran island girl against the males of her society. Her other novels are mostly historical. With Essex in Ireland (1890) is the ‘diary’ of an Englishman during Essex's campaign in Ireland. The title-character in Maelcho (1894) is a seanchaí who relates the grim events of the Desmond Rebellion, 1579-82. With the Wild Geese (1902) is a collection of lyrics relating to the Irish brigades. The Race of Castlebar (1914), dealing with the United Irishmen's Rebellion, was written in collaboration with Shan Bullock. Ireland (1885) is part topography, part autobiography.

The Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature. Copyright © 1996, 2000, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.