The file includes the following editions from mainly national newspapers reporting on the Rising and on subsequent events: 'Cork Examiner', 24 June 1916 'Irish Weekly Independent', 29 Apr. & 6 May & 13 May 1916 'Weekly Irish Times', 29 Apr. & 13 May 1916 'Irish Times', 18 Apr.-1 May 1916; 12 May 1916 (p. 5 only) 'Saturday Herald', 27 May 1916 'Cork Examiner', 6 May 1916 'Freeman’s Journal', 11-13 May 1916; 2 June 1916 (13 May 1916 has pp 5-8 only). 'Irish Independent', 15 May 1916
The Report of the Royal Commission on the Rebellion in Ireland in 1916. A Royal Commission of Inquiry was established under Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (1858-1944) to investigate the causes of the Rising. The commission commenced its work on 18 May 1916 and it heard evidence over nine days from key figures including Augustine Birrell, the Chief Secretary for Ireland (1905-1916), and Neville Chamberlain, the Inspector General of the Royal Irish Constabulary. The report of the commission was published on 26 June 1916. The report outlined conclusions drawn from the commission of inquiry. It criticized the administrative and intelligence systems in place in Ireland. It reached the general conclusion that the main cause of the rebellion, ‘appears to be that lawlessness was allowed to grow up unchecked, and that Ireland for several years past has been administered on the principle that it was safer and more expedient to leave the law in abeyance if collision with any faction of the Irish people could thereby be avoided'.
A collection of pamphlets and reports covering the national movement principally from c.1915-1921. The sub-series comprises printed ephemera such as fliers, handbills, and other publications.
The series contains souvenir booklets and miscellaneous ephemera and artefacts relating to the 1916 Rising. Most of the booklets contain photographic postcards depicting various figures, events and artefacts associated with the Easter Rising and its aftermath.
Statement by Fr. Augustine Hayden OFM Cap., ‘Franciscan Monastery, Rochestown, County Cork, formerly of the Priory, Church Street, Dublin’, referring to the hostilities during Easter Week, 1916. The record (which is incomplete) is a copy of the statement made by Fr. Augustine to the Bureau of Military History (held in the Irish Military Archives). The statement concludes on Monday, 8 May 1916, before the executions of Michael Mallin, Seán Heuston, Con Colbert and Éamonn Ceannt.
The sub-series comprises papers relating to the ministries undertaken by Fr. Aloysius Travers OFM Cap. to various republicans detained after the Easter Rising. The section includes authorisations and passes from British forces allowing him to visit Kilmainham Jail and extracts from various letters written by republican prisoners in the immediate aftermath of the Rising.
A record by Fr. Columbus Murphy OFM Cap. of events between 30 April and 4 May 1916. Most of the memoir refers to his interaction with British military officers and his efforts to minister to the rebel leaders prior to their executions in Kilmainham Jail. The memoir begins: ‘I have been asked repeatedly to write out a detailed and connected account of my personal experiences, what I actually saw and did during the Rising. At length I have decided to comply with the request. I do so however not with the intention of ever publishing this report. … As I sit then at my desk here in the silence and solitude of my monastic cell in Dublin, fourteen weeks have elapsed since those eventful days. I take up my pen. …’.
A collection of personal papers of Fr. Columbus Murphy OFM Cap. relating to his involvement with republican combatants and other individuals during the 1916 Rising.
The sub-series comprises papers relating to the ministries performed by Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap. to republicans detained after the 1916 Rising. The section includes authorisations from British armed forces allowing Fr. Albert to visit detainees and extracts from various prison letters.
The fonds consists of the correspondence and papers of Capuchin friars detailing their involvement with participants in the national struggle. The majority of the material dates from 1916-1925 and includes many records highlighting the roles played by Irish Capuchins in ministering to republican leaders and their relations. Of particular interest is a large collection of prison letters including the correspondence of some of the leading figures of the Irish Revolution. The fonds also contains a large collection of republican publicity material, newspapers and miscellaneous items of ephemera and artefacts mostly relating to the military and political campaign organised by nationalists for Irish independence. A smaller collection relating to the repatriation of the bodies of Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap. and Fr. Dominic O’Connor OFM Cap. from the United States to Ireland in 1958 is also extant.
