The true-born Irishman : or, Irish fine lady : a comedy of two acts by Macklin
"The true-born Irishman : or, Irish fine lady : a comedy of two acts by Macklin" is a satirical stage comedy written in the late 18th century. The play skewers fashionable pretension and social climbing in Dublin, lampooning anglicized airs, reckless gambling, and marital folly, while contrasting sturdy Irish plain-dealing with imported vanity. Country gentleman Murrogh O’Dogherty laments that his wife, newly back from London and rebranded “Mrs. Diggerty,” has caught the
“fine lady” fever—aping English speech, chasing titles, and losing money at cards with Lady Kinnegad, Lady Bab Frightful, and their set. An English coxcomb, Count Mushroom, also Lord Old-Castle’s agent, tries to seduce her to sway lease terms, but O’Dogherty and the maid Katty intercept his letters and answer in her name to entrap him. At a bustling evening of gaming, O’Dogherty’s brother, Counsellor Hamilton, shocks Mrs. Diggerty into repentance with a blunt warning about her reputation. The husband forgives her and bids farewell to French cooks and London affectations. Finally, Mushroom arrives in women’s clothes for an assignation, is terrified by O’Dogherty’s feigned jealousy and pistol, and, in a panic, hides in a portmanteau. The company exposes and parades him for ridicule, and the play ends with the coxcomb punished and the “Irish fine lady” reclaimed to sense. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Macklin, Charles, 1697?-1797 |
|---|---|
| Title | The true-born Irishman : or, Irish fine lady : a comedy of two acts |
| Original Publication | Dublin: The Booksellers [Association of Great Britain and Ireland], 1783. |
| Credits | Chris Hapka and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 79.7 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PR: Language and Literatures: English literature |
| Subject | Comedy plays |
| Subject | English drama -- Irish authors |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 76327 |
| Release Date | Jun 16, 2025 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 127 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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