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Early life and Family

Old Church at Cushendun with plaque

Moira O'Neill was born in Mauritius on the 13th of July, 1864 and was raised in Cushendun, County Antrim in Northern Ireland. She used the name "Moira O'Neill" to publish her poems, However her birth name was "Agnes Higginson" but people used to call her "Nesta". She was the youngest daughter of Charles Higginson who was a colonial administrator in Mauritius and Mary Higginson who was the daughter of the Governor of Mauritius Sir James MacAuley. Charles and Mary were initially first cousins and raised seven children together, four boys and three girls. Agnes's brothers joined the military which then encouraged the family to move to Rockport, Cushendun in County Antrim.

On the 5th of June, 1895, Agnes got married to Walter Clarmont Skrine who was born in Warleigh Manor, County Somerset. The couple got married in Cushendun and after that moved to Alberta, Canada since Walter had land holdings placed there."The couple settled in the Bar S Ranch, 24 miles southwest of High River where Walter had nearly 17,000 acres under lease and built a new, two-story home for his family, the lumber freighted from Calgary by teams of horses". Agnes and Walter raised five children together, three sons and two daughters. Charles John and Susan were born in Canada, Mary Nesta who became a famous writer and was known as "Molly Keane", Godfrey Higginson and Walter Henry were born in Ireland when the family moved back in 1902 and settled in the Ballyrankin House, Ferns, County Wexford.However, in 1921 the house got burned down by the republicans and the Skrine family had to move back to Northern Ireland and lived at their cousins house until the Skrine's home in Ballyrankin was stable to live in again.