The procedure for Irish couples divorcing and remarrying in the late 19th and early 20th century is illustrated by 1907 divorce proceedings in Dublin and Westminster brought by an Irish sporting barrister, Henry Morgan Byrne against his errant wife Laura (above left), first muse of William Butler Yeats later famous for her whistling of operatic arias.
Mystery still surrounds the identity of the named co-respondent, the mysterious Richard McDowell, of Grafton Street, who may or may not have been a device employed by the Morgan Byrnes to enable them both to remarry other persons without any aspersions being cast on their future spouses.
Sources:
Book extracts referencing Laura are from William H Murphy ‘Prodigal Father: The Life of John Butler Yeats’ (1978)
The image of Laura is from A Norman Jeffares ‘WB Yeats, a New Biography’ (1988)
Newspaper articles and images of Peggy Morgan Jones and Henry Morgan Jones are from British Newspaper Archives.
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