Edward Martyn is remembered today as a cultural patron, a minor dramatist and an Irish nationalist. As a patron, he was involved in the founding of the Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin (1899), and as a dramatist wrote in the shadow of W. B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory. When Yeats found another financial backer for the Abbey Theatre (founded 1904) in Annie Horniman, Martyn’s involvement was no longer required. By 1900 Martyn knew that Yeats had little sympathy for his cultural plans for the new Ireland, which were already preparing the way for Martyn’s emergence as the first President of Sinn Fein (1905-1908) when that organisation, founded by Arthur Griffith, was launched to create forms of Irish cultural nationalism by means other than that of revolutionary violence. Martyn’s…
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Citation: Nolan, Jeremiah. "Edward Martyn". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 February 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2967, accessed 25 November 2024.]