Anne Donnellan

Anne Donnellan (about 1700 to 1762) was an Irish promoter of literature, learning and the arts and a literary critic, sometimes called an Irish proto Bluestocking. Born into a gentry family and financially independent after her sister's marriage settlement in 1728, she never married and divided her time between Middlesex and Ireland. She moved among leading figures of her day, including Jonathan Swift, George Frideric Handel, Mary Delany and Samuel Richardson, who sought her advice on his novel Sir Charles Grandison. Through her friendship with Elizabeth Montagu she was linked to the early Bluestockings, and she encouraged Montagu to continue her education. Her lasting contribution to education came from her will, which left a quarter of her assets, 1,243 pounds, to Trinity College Dublin to promote religious learning and good manners. The college used the money to begin the annual Donnellan Lectures, its first public lecture series, which continued for centuries. She died at Hanover Square, Middlesex, in 1762.