WB Yeats’ sisters, Susan (Lily) and Elizabeth (Lolly) were important cultural figures in their own right – having brought William Morris’ arts and crafts movement to Ireland and, through their Cuala Press, published some their brother’s most important work. I created this poster for Yeats Day 2017, and the LillyLolly craft trail that took place on the final weekend.
The illustration is of the Cuala Press premises on Lower Baggot Street, which they occupied between 1925 and 1942. The 1925 date comes from Gifford Lewis’ The Yeats Sisters and the Cuala Press, but Lewis didn’t say when they left – only that the press was located on Palmerston Road when Elizabeth died. Fortunately, Ellen O’Flaherty at Trinity College Dublin’s Manuscripts & Archives Research Library was able to retrieve TCD MS 11535 and cite some information that helped determine the likely date of the relocation.
The premises is now occupied by a restaurant, but there doesn’t seem to be any blue plaque indicating the building’s historical importance. One day, hopefully.
The Barking Angels Press 