The file comprises the following article clippings: ‘Pearse saw Ireland with idealism, and detachment’, 'Irish Press', 10 Nov. 1954. Another clipping from the same edition of the paper includes articles by Francis MacManus, Pádraig de Brún, and Lennox Robinson. Desmond Ryan, ‘Emmet’s spirit over Rathfarnham’, 'Irish Press', 13 Nov. 1954. Desmond Ryan, ‘A moment with Pearse’, 'Irish Press', 11 Nov. 1954. Includes a photograph Senator Margaret Mary Pearse, ‘the only surviving member of the family’. Desmond Ryan, ‘Pearse the orator’, 'Irish Press', 12 Nov. 1954.
Letter from Margaret Mary Pearse, St. Enda’s School, Rathfarnham, to Fr. Senan Moynihan OFM Cap. (6 April 1955), conveying her blessings at Easter and remembering her pilgrimage to Rome with the friar. The letter is attached to a typescript (with manuscript additions) of an article titled ‘The books we want written’.
William Pearse was born in Great Brunswick Street in Dublin on 11 November 1881. He was the younger brother of Patrick Pearse, the writer, educationalist, and revolutionary. He joined the family sculpting business and ran it following the death of his father James Pearse in 1900. William attended classes at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art between 1897 and 1910 and he seemed destined to embark upon a career as an artist. He later became a full-time art teacher at Scoil Éanna, the Gaelic school founded by his brother in 1908. Although William was more of an artist than a revolutionary, he shared his brother’s interest in the Irish language and Gaelic culture. Like his elder brother, William was also a founding member of the Irish Volunteers in 1913. During the Easter Rising he served as a captain on the headquarters staff and stood alongside his brother as he read the Proclamation of Independence. William Pearse was one of the last, if not the last person, to leave the General Post Office after the evacuation order was given. Following the surrender, he was court-martialled and, contrary to expectations, executed in Kilmainham Jail (4 May 1916). William Pearse was the only one of the executed leaders to plead guilty, though he exercised no real authority during the rebellion and his leadership role was said to be minimal.
Personal cheque from William Pearse’s personal bank account with the Terenure branch of the Royal Bank of Ireland Limited, for the payment of £2 to Percy C. Webb. The cheque is signed by Pearse.
Margaret Brady was born in Dublin on 12 February 1857. She worked in a stationer’s shop until she married James Pearse, an English stonemason and sculptor, on 24 October 1877. The couple had four children: Margaret Mary, Patrick, William, and Mary Brigid. Of firmly held nationalist opinions, Margaret imbued her children with similar beliefs. In 1908 she joined her sons at Scoil Éanna, taking charge of domestic arrangements at the school. Margaret supported her sons’ political beliefs. Following their executions in 1916, she expressed her wish to maintain their legacy and became involved in political life. Elected to Dáil Éireann as a Sinn Féin TD in 1921, she strongly opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty and left the Dáil following its ratification. She would later join Fianna Fáil as a founding member in 1926. She died on 22 April 1932, at the age of 75, and was honoured with a state funeral. The collection includes mostly personal correspondence, photographs, nationalist ephemera, and material relating to her role in the management of St. Enda’s School.
Letter from the Royal Insurance Office, to Margaret Pearse, Sandymount Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin, re a policy of life insurance on her late husband (James Pearse) and the amount paid to the National Bank Ltd. on his death. With two manuscript enclosures seemingly re James Pearse’s debts and his account with the National Bank (4 March 1902).
A letter to Margaret Pearse from Anna H. Fraher, 4 Bridge Street, Tralee, County Kerry. The letter refers to the impending plans to emigrate to the United States on board the SS ‘Imperator’.
Letter to Margaret Pearse from Sara Coughlan, ‘Ard-na-Ri’, South Ridge Road, Durban, South Africa. She asks for a copy of a prospectus for St. Enda’s School and expresses her hopes that her children will ‘become fluent speakers of Irish, and grow up with a truly Irish spirit’.
Letter to Margaret Pearse from Caitlin bean Ui [ ], 4 Arundel Drive, Langside, Glasgow. The letter notes that she is organizing ‘a little sale of work for the Irish Distress Fund’.
