Irish revival and a later life in California
Young was born in County Antrim and later lived in Dublin, graduating from the Royal University of Ireland in 1898. She learned Irish, collected folklore and joined Theosophical and Hermetic circles. Friendship with George Russell and Maud Gonne placed her within the cultural revival, while Irish republican organisations gave her interests a political form.
She joined Sinn Féin and Cumann na mBan and opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Her memoir contains accounts of republican activity that require the caution appropriate to personal recollection. From about 1925 she taught Irish myth and lore at the University of California, Berkeley. Reincarnation and the presence of spiritual beings in landscape were enduring beliefs, closely connected with her storytelling.
Retelling inherited stories
Celtic Wonder Tales appeared in 1910. Its title credits Young as reteller and Gonne as illustrator and decorator. These are literary versions of inherited material, shaped by Young’s language and outlook. The opening Earth-Shapers combines song with repeated dialogue as the divine company becomes aware of the Earth and its desire for beauty.
Other tales make radiant objects the focus of difficult obligations, bargains and loss. Repeated questions and answers can carry delight in one scene and grief in another. Young’s cadence gives the stories an oral presence, while Gonne’s pictures and decorations give them a designed place on the page. Myth, modern retelling and illustration remain distinct contributions to the collection.
