The Irish poet and activist Eva Gore-Booth (1870-1926) led a life defiantly at odds with her aristocratic origins.

Choosing to live and work among the poor of Manchester, she campaigned on behalf of barmaids, circus performers, flower sellers and pit-brow lasses, her partner, Esther Roper, at her side.

Gore-Booth was tireless in her pursuit of justice. She was a militant pacifist during the First World War, a champion of Irish independence and a pioneering thinker on gender and sexuality. She was also a prolific author, publishing nineteen volumes of poetry and prose that reflect the full force of her radical convictions.

Featuring a new preface that situates Gore-Booth’s life and work in the context of our current political climate, this new anniversary edition of Sonja Tiernan’s acclaimed biography reclaims Eva’s place as a significant figure of Anglo-Irish letters and an unsung hero of LGBT+ history.

Copies of Sonja Tiernan’s landmark Eva Gore-Booth biography will be on sale on the night and Sonja will be signing copies after the Q&A.

About the Speakers:

Sonja Tiernan is the All island co-ordinator for the Irish Humanities Alliance at the Royal Irish Academy, and the author of a number of books on Eva Gore-Booth. In 2025 she was elected President of the Women’s History Association of Ireland.

John McAuliffe is Professor of Poetry at the University of Manchester, where he is also Director of the University’s Creative Manchester platform, managing the University’s strategic partnerships in Culture and Creative Industries and convening interdisciplinary research across Creative Industries, Createch, Creative Health and Civic Futures. He is also Associate Publisher at leading Manchester-based independent poetry press, Carcanet. John has previously been a member of the Irish Arts Council, where he was Deputy Chair and led on the Council’s ten-year strategy, Making Great Art Work. He is a member of the AHRC’s peer review college and Manchester City Councils Events Commission