The Polish Irishman: The Life and Times of Count Casimir Markievicz

Casimir Markievicz was a Polish count who fell in love with Ireland’s Joan of Arc. His pictures hang in the National Gallery in Ireland and in Poland, but despite his famous name, he has been overshadowed by his wife’s reputation. He was a Renaissance Man – artist, playwright, novelist, theatre director, and actor in silent films, but most of all, a man who loved to sing and dance. The Polish Irishman depicts his unforgettable and life-enhancing story for the first time. The ‘donkey on the stage’ and ‘the whiskey in the punch’ are among many comical anecdotes from his career in the Irish theatre. The reader will also see the Rebel Countess in a different light – as an artist, lover and mother. Dublin in the early 1900s was the city of Joyce and Yeats, AE and Synge. Casimir knew them all and set Dublin’s gossipers abuzz in the years from 1903 to 1913. The Polish Irishman is the first study of Casimir’s work and shows that his relationship with Constance and Ireland was a major part of his life. Their love changed with time but did not die.

"refreshingly readable . . . fascinating biography" -- Alan Murdoch, The Sunday Times 

To download sample pages from The Polish Irishman, click here 

About the Author

Pat Quigley is a former civil servant and now full-time writer. He is the author of two novels, Borderland and Lovers for All Time, and numerous articles on the Ireland Poland connection. He is an active member in the Irish Polish Society and has travelled to Poland the Ukraine a number of times to do research for The Polish Irishman.