Mr Willie Mooney’s letter collection came to our attention through Rita Redmond from the Old Dunboyne Society. Willie has a collection of his letters written to and from his father, Peter Mooney, during World War One, and approximately 60 letters from the collection fit into the time frame of the project. Rita tells us how the letters came to be part of the Letters of 1916 collection.
Members of the Old Dunboyne Society are currently working on a project about soldiers who took part in WW1 and who had a connection with Dunboyne.
We came across Peter Mooney (seated on the right hand side in the middle row above), who was a sergeant in the war. His son, Willie Mooney kindly gave us access to ninety letters which were exchanged between Peter and his sister during the war. The letters are in great condition and also have their envelopes. When we attended the launch of the Woodman Diary, I approached Professor Schreibman and she expressed interest in the letters from the collection which covered the period of the 1916 letter’s project. Willie gave permission for the letters to be uploaded.
While doing our research for our own project we became very much aware how artifacts and information is lost through time. We see the Letters of 1916 project as being an invaluable opportunity to preserve these letters and allow people in the future to experience what life was like for people in 1916.
To read one of Peter’s letters to his sister Katie, click here.