Ina Boyle competed in the art competitions at the 1948 London Summer Olympics, where she was awarded a commemoration medal and diplome d'honneur in the music category for her Greek-themed chamber work, Lament for Bion.
Boyle was one of the most famous Irish composers of the 1920s and lived her entire life in her parents' house at Bushey Park near Enniskerry, becoming known as an eccentric and sometimes impoverished local character.
In her youth, Boyle learned to play violin and cello and later studied composition. She received the Carnegie Award and a number of her pieces were published and performed in London, where she finished her studies. Although she became a recognised composer, she had frequent problems getting her music published and performed. She wrote choral works, song cycles, a string quartet, concerts for orchestra and three ballets. For the ballets, she also designed the stage design and the costumes. Her last major work was an opera called "Maudlin of Paplewick". Her lyrics were influenced by Gaelic and medieval poems and contemporary English poetry. Boyle died of cancer just having finished her opera.
Arts
