THE LADY OF THE IRISH REBELLION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2765, 8 May 1916, Page 3

THE LADY OF THE IRISH REBELLION

V ' THE COUNTESS MAEKIEWICZ. . Some interesting details of the charac-ter-of. tho Countess MarMowics' '-were given to a representative of tlic Auckland "Star" on Friday by an Auckland gentleman who met and conversed with herdiiring a recent visit to tho Comity of Sligo. This Irish woman's name has figured prominently in the cables of reccrnt date, she being the leader of the Irish rebels at the Royal College of Surgeons at St. Stephen's Green, Dublin.

The Countess is tlia eldest daughter of the late Sir Henry Wm. Gore-Booth, Bart., of County Sligo.. She is a handsome woman, of' regal bearing, and is known over the country as being one of the most beautiful Irish women of her day. Feather-brained and daring, she had a passionate love of horses, and, riding astride, sho would leap fences that her male escorts would be inclined to avoid.' Her'beautiful eyes and flaxen hair made her a prominent figure at the Dublin Court functions. . Before sho married she was the Hon. Lady GoreBaoth, and as such was prominent in tho suffrage movement. She seemed to take a delight in breaking away from tho demands of convention, and judged a cause or opinion by the excitement it afforded lic-r. t ln spite of her almost masouline characteristics she loved. society, and was happy in a drawingroom, where lier brillianco of conversation and musical gifts made her a prominent and much-sought-after personality; Her lovo of horses led her to endloss escapades, and there wero few hunt .•meetings that were not marked with her presence. The mother of the Countess was a nicoo of the ninth Earl of . Scarborough—father of the present earl. It.was from her mother that the daughter inherited her beaut? c:u! love of art. The-extreme love for the unusual which marked her behaviour u'uring her girlhood did not cease when some years ago sho married tho foreigner, Count Jlarkiewicz. Sho continued to show an'active interest in the cause so contrary to the wishes of her old loyalist father, and was prominent as a woman leader. Tho Countess's father, Sir Henry Willianr Gore-Booth, possessed none of the tiery nature which marked tho early days of his daughter, but-was a quiet;, unassuming man —a regular old Tory— who, if he wore alive, would probably think Iris daughter's present position was tho result of a brain disorder. His estate, Lisadale, was one of the most beautiful in tho west of Ireland, and ho had what was judged to be tho best pack of foxhounds that were followed during his hunting days. His keen love of his hounds influenced him to make it a condition in hia "'ill that, the pack be maintained after his death. Tho present occupier of ho property is £ir Jocelyn Booth, a sou ot the late baronet.