The Collegians, also known as The Colleen Bawn, is a novel written by Gerald Griffin in 1829. The story is set in Ireland during the 19th century and follows the tragic love story of Hardress Cregan, a wealthy gentleman, and Eily O'Connor, a poor but beautiful young woman. Hardress is engaged to Anne Chute, a woman of his own social standing, but he falls in love with Eily when he meets her by chance. Eily is the daughter of a poor farmer and is being...