Fannie Gallaher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
30 May 1854
Fannie Gallaher | |
|---|---|
 Advert for F. M. Gallaher's books for children in 1889 | |
| Born | Francesca Mary Gallaher 30 May 1854 Cork, Ireland |
| Died | 22 December 1935 (aged 81) Ditchling, Sussex, England |
| Other names | Sydney Starr and F. M. Gallaher |
| Education | Alexandra College |
| Occupation(s) | writer, novelist and teacher |
| Employer(s) | Alexandra College and Adeline Marie Russell, Duchess of Bedford |
| Notable work | Katty the Flash: a mould of Dublin mud (1880) |
| Relatives | Patrick Gallaher (grandfather) |
Francesca (Fannie) Mary Gallaher aka Sydney Starr and F. M. Gallaher (30 May 1854 – 22 December 1935) was an Irish writer, novelist and teacher.
Gallaher was born in Cork in 1854, but the family soon moved to Dublin where she grew up.[1] Her parents were Sarah Gallaher (née Russell) and John Blake Gallaher, who was the editor of the Freeman's Journal for nearly thirty years.[2] Her grandfather was ventriloquist Patrick Gallaher. She had two brothers who were writers and associates of James Joyce.[3]
Career
Teaching
Gallaher attended Alexandra College, Dublin, and she after graduating was employed there as a teacher.[1]
Writing
Gallaher was also a writer. In 1880 her novel Katty the Flash: a mould of Dublin mud, centred on an impoverished woman who has a non-marital baby,[4][5] was published.[2] The same year her publishers also released A Son of Man under the pseudonym of Sydney Starr.[6]
Katty the Flash was successful and it was republished in the New York Sun and the Temple Bar magazine. Temple Bar attributed it to "Miss Gallaher", but the New York Sun was criticised by the Weekly Irish Times for allowing it to be amended and published under the name[1] of her rival May Laffan Hartley.[7] Gallaher's letter of protest to the plagiarism and unwelcome changes to her story were published in 1883. The confusion continued with a modern index still attributing Gallaher's story to Hartley.[7] Later critics have noted the stories "urban realism"[1] whilst representing women as significant figures who are either good or bad.[7]
Gallaher also wrote stories for children that were published in the 1880s.[citation needed] She wrote books on the teaching of domestic science that were used in schools in Northern Ireland[8] and were considered essential for new families by The Dublin Journal of Medical Science.[9]