Margaret Pender
Margaret Pender (1848 – 17 March 1920) was a Belfast-based Irish writer whose fiction and poetry appeared regularly in the nationalist press. Early life Margaret Pender was born Margaret Teresa Doherty in 1848 or 1850 in the townland of Ballytweedy, near Templepatrick in County Antrim. Her parents were farmer, Daniel, and Margaret Doherty (née White). Her father was from a poor Catholic background, and her mother was a wealthier Presbyterian who disowned her after her marriage. She was the youngest daughter of the couple's 7 children. There was a literary and nationalist tradition in the family, her maternal grandfather, William White, and her mother were poets. Pender started to write verse from a young age. Pender was educated at home, as well as attending Ballyrobin national school and Convent of Mercy, Belfast. She trained to be a teacher, and taught for a short time in Aghagallon. She married Hugh Owen Pender, a printer, in 1869 and moved to Belast. Writing She was published in the Shamrock, the Belfast Morning News, The Shan van Vocht, The Nation and United Ireland, winning a number of poetry competitions. She wrote under the pseudonyms "Marguerite", "Colleen", and "M.T.P.". She also wrote serialised novels and