On her father's side Lady Dufferin came of a genuinely Irish stock. The O'Sheridans were an ancient and important Celtic sept, who possessed castles and lands in the County Cavan, so that a large tract of country was marked on the map as "the Sheridan country."
With varying fortunes the family went on till we come to Dr. Thomas Sheridan, the friend of Swift, and by profession a schoolmaster. He used to spend months with Swift in Dublin, and Swift constantly went to Quilca, a country house which belonged to Dr. Sheridan. Esther Johnson (Stella) sometimes brightened the evenings with her presence, and witty talk flowed abundantly, for Sheridan as well as Swift excelled in conversation. Not a day passed that he did not make a rebus, an anagram, or a madrigal. Lord Cork says he was "idle, poor, and gay, and completely ignorant of the value of money." Of the doctor's illustrious grandson, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, there is no need to speak, for his fame is world-wide. Moore has well described him in the following lines:—
The pride of the palace, the bower, and the hall—
The orator, dramatist, minstrel, who ran
Through each mood of the lyre, and was master of all.
As a dramatist, Sheridan takes the highest place, and two of his comedies, The Rivals, and The School for Scandal, hold the stage at the present day.
