Eileen O'Faolain
Eileen O'Faolain (10 June 1900 – 20 September 1988) was an Irish writer of children's books. Early life and family Eileen O'Faolain was born Eileen Gould at 5 Lee Rd, Cork on 10 June 1900. Her parents were Joseph Gould, engineman, and Julia (née O'Connell). She had four siblings. Her mother died young, so O'Faolain and her siblings were raised by their maternal aunt at 4 Walls Terrace, Sunday's Well. She was educated locally, and graduated from University College Cork (UCC) with a degree in economics in 1923. O'Faolain spent summer holidays in west Cork with Irish-speaking families, and met Seán Ó Faoláin at an Irish language summer school at the Presentation Brothers College. When he followed her to Ballingeary, to an Irish summer school, they started a relationship. They attended UCC together, sharing mutual interests in literature and Irish cultural and republican movements. O'Faolain was an active member of Cumann na mBan during the Irish Civil War, acting as a courier, distributing an underground anti-treaty news sheet. She was arrested in February 1923, and was imprisoned for a number of months. She became disillusioned, believing that many of her fellow republicans were driven by "love for [their] own ruthless