A collection of mainly legal and financial papers relating to St. Enda’s School (Scoil Éanna), an Irish language college established by Patrick Pearse in Cullenswood House on Oakley Road in Ranelagh, Dublin, in 1908. The school moved to the Hermitage, a former country house in Rathfarnham, in 1910. Pearse founded St. Ita’s School for girls along the same general lines as St. Enda’s in Cullenswood House in 1910, when he moved St. Enda's boys' school to Rathfarnham. Some of the records refer to the precarious financial state of St. Enda’s and to Pearse’s efforts to raise funds to keep the school solvent. The section also contains some miscellaneous notes by Pearse on education-related subjects. Some of the documents listed below are in either Pearse’s hand or are endorsed with his signature.
Letter to Patrick Pearse from Captain [James O’Sullivan?], Wexford Brigade, Irish Volunteers. The letter to various meeting with Volunteer officers in County Wexford.
Copy conveyance from William Jeffares to George James Paterson of premises on Cullenswood Avenue ‘now known as Oakley Road’. The original conveyance dates to 6 December 1895. The copy (c.1908) was prepared by French & French, solicitors, 7 Stephen’s Green North, Dublin.
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.
Copy abstract of title of George James Paterson to a ‘portion of land on the west side of Cullenswood Avenue, now known as Oakley Road, … together with the two dwelling houses thereon and known respectively as Cullenswood House and Woodlands …’ in the urban district of Rathmines in Dublin. The copy was prepared by French & French, solicitors, 7 Stephen’s Green North, Dublin.
Copy fee farm grant from Godwin Swift to Samuel Warren of a plot of ground on the west side of Cullenswood Avenue in Ranelagh, Dublin, for an annual farm rent of £100 and in consideration of 5s. The original deed is dated 18 November 1853. This copy is dated c.1908.
