Patricia Lynch (4 June 1894– 1 September 1972)[1] was an Irish children's writer and a journalist.[2][3] She was the author of some 48 novels and 200 short stories. She is best known for blending Irish rural life and fantasy fiction as in The Turf-Cutter's Donkey which was illustrated by Jack B. Yeats.[4]
Patricia Nora Lynch was born in Cork, Ireland on 4 June 1894 to Thomas and Nora Lynch (née Lynch), both of Cork. Her parents were first cousins.[1] She had one brother, Henry Patrick and two sisters, Laura and Winifred.[5] Much of the detail of Lynch's early life comes from her autobiographical A Storyteller's Childhood, and some doubts about its reliability have been raised. Her father was described as a "stockbroker" on Lynch's wedding certificate, but he is known to have pursued a number of careers, including journalism.[1]
As a result of her father's death she received her education at schools in Ireland, England, Scotland and Belgium. She became a journalist and in 1916 was sent to Dublin by Sylvia Pankhurst to report on the Easter Rising for The Workers' Dreadnought. Although a committed Irish nationalist, she retained a London accent to the end of her life.[6] She made and remained friends with several notable nationalists including Maud Gonne and Constance Markievicz.[4] She was an activist in achieving votes for women. In 1948 Irish Playwright Teresa Deevy published an essay on Lynch entitled "Patricia Lynch: A Study".[7]
Lynch married socialist historian R. M. Fox in Dublin on 31 October 1922 and they settled in Glasnevin. She died in Monkstown, County Dublin on 1 September 1972 and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery with her husband. Her semi-autobiographical A Story-Teller's Childhood was published in 1947.[6]
Patricia Lynch is best known for The Turf-Cutter's Donkey, first published in 1934. It was originally serialised in The Irish Press from 1931.[1] It was translated into Irish by Maighréad Nic MhaicínasAsal fhear na móna in 1944.[9]
She is co-author of Lisheen at the Valley Farm and other stories along with Teresa Deevy and Helen Staunton where she wrote Strange People a story about a little girl called Meg and her friends.[7]
Marcus CrouchinThe Nesbit Tradition[10] describes Lynch's work as "the richest and most heart-warming of family stories." He particularly mentions the fantasy The Grey Goose of Kilnevin and the "homely adventure" Fiddler's Quest.
Her works had many different illustrators, including the artists John Butler Yeats(The Turf-Cutter's Donkey) and Sean Keating(The Grey Goose of Kilnevin).
