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Kitty O'Shea)
Katherine Parnell, variously known as Katie O'Shea, Kitty O'Shea, or Katherine Wood, (1845/1846 - 1921) was an English woman whose affair with Charles Stewart Parnell eventually caused his downfall. They first met in 1880 when Katherine was already married to Captain Willie O'Shea , an MP. Three of Katherine's children were fathered by Parnell.
Katherine has been generally known to history as "Kitty O'Shea". However, at the time she was known to her friends as Katie O'Shea. Parnell's opponents called her "Kitty O'Shea" for reasons which are slightly complicated, but basically because at that time "kitty" was a slang term for a prostitute.
Captain O'Shea knew about the affair but kept quiet for several years, his reasons for filing for divorce at the time he did are a matter for speculation. He may have had political motives. Alternatively, it has been suggested that he had been hoping for an inheritance from Katherine's aunt who he expected to die soon, but the aunt obstinately remained alive. Although their relationship was common knowledge among politicians, public knowledge of the affair created a huge scandal and led to Parnell's being deserted by his own party, and to his downfall and eventual death.
However, Katherine and Parnell did marry shortly after her divorce from Captain O'Shea, and remained married until Parnell's death. She lived the rest of her life in relative obscurity, and is buried in Littlehampton in Sussex.
