MY NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOUR
In September of 2019, as part of Culture Night, I was asked to make a small presentation at St. George's Arts & Heritage Centre, Mitchelstown. Various topics were kindly suggested by Bill Power, of which I chose to explore the very tenuous link between St. George’s and Oscar Wilde.
Buried in the graveyard, on the right hand side of the grounds was a lady called Mary Travers, with her sister, Emily. Mary had been a resident of Kingston almshouses, now known as Kingstown College and it is reported that she tried to lead a low profile lifestyle there. Unknown to those that lived around her, Mary, as a young woman, had been part of a notorious Dublin court case with the Wilde family. Yes, Oscar Wilde’s family, notably his mother and father, Jane and William Wilde.
The more I researched, the more I uncovered the scurrilous entanglement there was, within this ménage á trois!
Mary had brought a case against Jane Wilde, a highly respected and well known writer of nationalistic verse, who wrote under the pen name, Speranza. William Wilde was co-defendant in these proceedings. By bringing William into the case, Mary hoped to discredit his very high status, within society, at that time. Mary Travers’ libel case opened on December 12th, 1864 and this extraordinary case enthralled the country with accusations of sexual assault and illicit affairs. Oscar was then only 10 years of age. William Wilde was at the peak of his profession.
William Wilde, at 17, was bound as an apprentice to a pre-eminent Irish surgeon, at Dr. Steevens’ Hospital, Dublin. Wilde also studied at a highly respected private school of anatomy, medicine and surgery. In 1837, he was awarded his medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. In the same year he travelled to the Holy Land, the Mediterranean, Egypt and other lands. Upon his return, he published a number of articles on his travels.
Thereafter he ran his own hospital, St. Mark’s, which specialised in diseases of the eye and ear in Dublin and is reputed to have operated on George Bernard Shaw’s father. In 1841, he was involved in the gathering of census information on medical care, slum housing and sanitation conditions in Ireland. In 1845, he became editor of ‘The Dublin Journal of Medical Science’. He was appointed Surgeon Occulist in Ordinary, to serve Queen Victoria in Ireland, in 1853. He revolutionised the treatment of middle ear infections.
On further travels to Scandinavia, he was awarded an honourary degree in Stockholm and the Order of the North Star was conferred upon him. Then on January 28th, 1864 he was knighted.
In his personal life, William had fathered three children prior to his marriage to Jane. However, these children were acknowledged and their education paid for by William. From his union with Jane, Oscar, Willie and Isola (who died in childhood) were conceived. His philandering reputation preceded him. My research states that William Wilde justified his wanderings, because he was married to a Bohemian woman, they were necessary for his mental and physical health!
Mary Travers met William in 1854, just over three years after he had married. Mary’s first meeting with William was as his patient. She came from the same class background as himself. She was the daughter of his colleague, Dr. Robert Travers, professor of medical jurisprudence in Trinity College. Mary was said to be a very attractive girl, ‘petite with a voluptuous and well formed figure, deep brown, luxuriant and wavy hair and green eyes’. It is reported that she was a contrast to the usual wenches he took! She was stimulated by literary conversation, interested in philosophy and archaeology and was attempting to write poetry.
It appears that William, who was by now a tired middle aged man, was rejuvenated by this young woman. They were seen openly at lectures, at the theatre and Mary even visited the family home in Merrion Square, where Jane tactfully received her. I understand that Mary was there frequently in William’s presence in his study and he would walk her home. Mary developed the habit of calling to the house at odd times, which became very annoying.
At one stage, it is reported that Mary had entered Jane’s bedroom uninvited in 1861 and William urged them to make up. Mary became more demanding and impatient in her need for William’s affections. Tensions were growing between both women.
William Wilde gave Mary money. In fact, in a bid to get rid of her, on two occasions in 1862, he paid for her passage to Australia to be with her brothers, but at Liverpool she turned around and returned to Dublin. In the court hearing, further evidence of this was given in letters produced, from William to Mary, offering her money for boots and winter things.
However, Mary’s limelight was fading and she complained to William that she was being frozen out from the Wilde family. William was becoming increasingly bored and moving on to other conquests. Mary’s anger was also increasing and she was determined to destroy his reputation. She wrote a pamphlet, under Jane’s nom de plume, Speranza, recounting a tale of a couple, Dr. and Mrs. Quilp, insinuating Dr. Quilp’s practice of chloroforming his female patients into unconsciousness to have his way with them. These pamphlets were distributed outside a venue where William Wilde was giving a lecture and at which she picketed.
Following this event, Jane Wilde wrote to Mary’s father, highlighting his daughter’s indiscretions about the company she kept and her attempt to extort money from her husband. Mary retaliated by bringing proceedings against Jane.
The court awarded Mary the minimalist sum of a farthing. One of the results of this case was the ruination of her father’s career, who was humiliated and passed over in his occupation. In hindsight, this entire episode marked Mary as a fallen woman. It had also affected William’s health.
Mary died on March 18th, 1920 and is buried in the graveyard located at St. George’s Arts & Heritage Centre. So, you never know what famous people you live next to!