Mary McGrath Blake, Writer: Irish Women of Massachusetts

Mary McGrath Blake

(1840-1907)

Born in Dungarvin, Waterford, Mary McGrath’s family emigrated to Quincy, MA in 1849, where she studied music and languages. In her teens she published poetry in the Boston Pilot and later in Boston Transcript and Boston Journal. Her published books included collections of poetry, children’s books and travelogues about Mexico, California and Europe. Mary wrote commemorative poems about Wendall Phillips and the Sisters of Charity, and forceful poems in which she challenged anti-Irish sentiment in Boston, ‘Who cast a slur on Irish worth, a stain on Irish fame?’

Mary McGrath Blake is part of BITA's 2019 Irish Women of Massachusetts series in celebration of Irish Heritage Month and Women's History Month.

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