Francis Joseph Christopher Skeffington (later Sheehy Skeffington; 23 December 1878 – 26 April 1916) was an Irish writer and radical activist, known also by the nickname "Skeffy". He was a friend and schoolmate of James Joyce (and the real-life model for a character in Joyce's novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man), Oliver St. John Gogarty, Tom Kettle, and Frank O'Brien (the father of Conor Cruise O'Brien). When he married Hanna Sheehy in 1903, he adopted her surname as part of his own, resulting in the name "Sheehy Skeffington". They always spelled their joined names unhyphenated, although many sources add the hyphen. Early life Francis Skeffington was descended from Sir William Skeffington (1465-1535), who ruled Ireland in the early 16th century as Lord Deputy of king Henry VIII. Francis was born in Bailieborough, County Cavan, and was raised in Downpatrick, County Down, the only son of Dr. Joseph Bartholomew Skeffington (c.1850-1919), an inspector of National Schools, and his wife Rose, née Magorrian (c.1834-1909). Joseph and Rose were married in 1869 at the Roman Catholic Chapel at Ballykinlar, County Down. Francis (known in childhood as "Frank") was educated initially at home by his father, and later at the Jesuit school in St Stephen's Green, Dublin. He manifested an early sympathy for radical politics, as attested by his enthusiasm for the constructed language Esperanto. In 1893, at the age of 15, he wrote a letter to his local newspaper in County Down stating that "Gaelic" was irretrievably dead and "the study of Esperanto would be more useful to the youth of Ireland". Later in life he became fluent in the language, and had a number of Esperanto books in his library when he died. This enthusiasm was not unusual at the time in leftist circles, and several prominent leaders of the 1916 Easter rising, including James Connolly, were also Esperantists. Student years In 1896 (aged 17), he enrolled in University College, then run by the Jesuits and located on St Stephen's Green in the centre of Dublin. He stayed at the college long enough to earn a master's degree. Skeffington was a well-known figure at the college, individualistic and unconventional in temperament. He was active in student politics and debating societies, including the Literary and Historical Society, which he revived in 1897. His closest companions in his student days were James Joyce and Thomas Kettle (the latter later became