History

Her mother's cries bounced off the rocks, those rocks left unturned by British invaders, so remote and so sharp were they out on the west coast of Ireland. Tomás and Síle Coyne welcomed their first and only daughter into a village whose population was made up of more sheep than people, but it was a tight knit community nonetheless, one that fostered the creativity that sprouted up anew in the decades that followed Ireland's Gorta Mór. Nora spent a considerable amount of her childhood in the care of her local clergy growing up, while her parents, a costumer and a dancer respectively, traveled around the country, primarily touring the much more affluent eastern counties. They returned to her with new techniques and stories to share, passing on a love for the stage to their daughter, who wanted nothing more than to dance.

In 1879, an Gorta Beag crawled through the soil, infecting each and every crop in its path. Connacht crumbled. Mamó and Dadó Coyne went with it. Síle and Tomás made contact with colleagues overseas, who helped them organise passage to London. Still, amidst the descending gloom, there was hope. Hope took the shape of a the Holy Mother of God, who appeared at the parish church in Knock, County Mayo, that August. The Coynes went there on a pilgrimage before emigrating in the Spring of 1880. Once in London, further favours were called in, and without a moment to lose, Nora was sent further afield to Paris to train in ballet.