Maria Edgeworth

Most prominently remembered of the Edgeworth family are, of course, Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744-1817) and one of his twenty-two children, Maria. Richard was a famous inventor and surveyor who, though his social class and status inclined him towards the Act of Union, voted against it, he having been disgusted by the methods of Castlereagh. His daughters standing as one of the most influential and famous novelists of the English language remains untouched by passage of time, her most cherished work being Castle Rackrent.

Born near Oxford in 1767, she spent most of her life in Ireland and she was deeply loved in the locality, her charitable efforts during the tragic famine years earning her much praise.

Unfortunately, she was not destined to see Ireland restored to the relative tranquility of the post-famine era. She died in 1849 and was buried alongside her father in the family vault in the Churchyard of St. Johns, where Isolda Wilde, sister of Oscar Wilde, is also buried. The family home, Edgeworthstown House, is now run as a nursing home.