[1][2] Irene Lisboa was born in Quinta da Murzinheira in the municipality of Arruda dos Vinhos, Portugal.
She then worked as a teacher and a school inspector before becoming an official of the Instituto para a Alta Cultura (Institute of High Culture).
"[4] From 1926 to 1958, in addition to several academic works on pedagogy, she published poems, short stories, novels, books for children, and literary essays.
[1] The poet and literary critic Jorge de Sena considered she was one of the "greatest Portuguese writers on account of the incomparable originality of her style and personality".
[2] This led her to adopt pseudonyms to write her opinions, namely João Falco, Manuel Soares and Maria Moira.