As it’s St Patrick’s Day, we went looking through the Letters of 1916 collection in search of letters written by people named Patrick or Patricia.
We found only one Patricia in the whole collection:
Patricia Lynch (1894-1972) was an Irish nationalist and supporter of the suffragette movement. While living in London she befriended Sylvia Pankhurst who reportedly sent her to Dublin in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising to gain an eyewitness account for the Worker’s Dreadnought. Her piece in the Worker’s Dreadnought was later reprinted as part of a pamphlet entitled Rebel Ireland published by the Workers’ Socialist Federation.
Here is a selection of letters written by Patricks from the collection:
A letter from Patrick Langford Beazley to his son Piaras Béaslaí wishing him a happy St. Patrick’s day and discusses the number of men who’ve ‘gone to the colours’ or enlisted with the British Army. Patrick also writes of the ‘terrible’ death of W. McCarthy, who perished in a car accident.
A letter from Patrick Alphonsus Carroll to the Army Veterinary Service with a completed application for a commission as an officer of the Army Veterinary Corps.
A letter written Patrick Pearse, executed as one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising, in December 1915. The letters was probably written to Joseph Michael Stanley, a printer, and refers to the printing of Christmas cards.
A letter from Patrick J. Little, editor of the New Ireland newspaper. The letter was written a week before the Easter Rising and encloses copies of ‘Secret Orders issued to Military Officers’.
A letter was written by Patrick Sheehan, a labourer in County Cork, who was injured while carrying a bundle of empty sacks down a stairs.
A letter from Patrick Carphin, a native of Rathgar in Dublin, to his sister. Carphin gives a detailed description of the Easter Rising as he saw it and tells how he and his daughter were wounded by crossfire.
In this letter, Patrick Clarke writes regarding his fourteen year old son, Patrick James Clarke (b. 1902), who has a ‘horror for school.’ Patrick hopes to get his son on a naval training ship, as his job takes him out of the home and the boy’s mother is unable to keep him out of trouble.
A letter from Patrick Foran, an Irish prisoner of war in Germany. Foran thanks Lady Clonbrock for a parcel of socks she had sent him.
To find more letters in the Letters of 1916 collection, search our Explore database by key word.