Vicereine\u2019s letters from Dublin to her mother in England in 1916 to be auctioned<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Article by\u00a0Michael Parsons | 1 November 2014 | Irish Times online<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mementos associated with Ireland\u2019s struggle for Independence during the early years of the 20th century are the main highlights in\u00a0Whyte\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0History & Literature auction in Dublin next Saturday, November 8th. The top lot is an Irish Tricolour, reputedly flown over Dublin during the\u00a0Easter Rising<\/a>\u00a0in 1916, painted with the slogan \u201cSinn Fein<\/a>\u00a0go deo\u201d (Sinn F\u00e9in forever), estimated at \u20ac30,000-\u20ac50,000. A log kept by Dublin Fire Brigade\u2019s ambulance service during the Rising, which was \u201crescued from a skip\u201d by the vendor\u2019s grandfather, is expected to fetch \u20ac3,000-\u20ac5,000.<\/p>\n But some of the lots reflect the historical events from the perspective of the British establishment that ran Ireland until 1922. Two uniforms which belonged to Gen\u00a0Sir John Maxwell<\/a>, the British army leader who was dispatched to Dublin in April 1916 to suppress the Rising, will be offered as a single lot with an estimate of \u20ac15,000- \u20ac20,000.<\/p>\n Two letters written in May 1916 on notepaper headed \u2018Vice Regal Lodge\u2019 \u2013 the house in the Phoenix Park, Dublin today known as \u00c1ras an \u00daachtar\u00e1in and the official residence of President Michael D Higgins \u2013 are estimated at \u20ac1,000-\u20ac1,500. They were written by the Vicereine,\u00a0Lady Wimborne<\/a>, wife of the Viceroy, and effectively Ireland\u2019s \u201cfirst lady\u201d at the time.<\/p>\n Her husband,\u00a0Lord Wimborne<\/a>, was the King\u2019s representative \u2013 lord lieutenant \u2013 in Ireland. Like the rest of the ruling British establishment, the couple were surprised by the Rising and trapped in their residence for about a week after the Rebellion broke out on Easter Monday, April 24th.<\/p>\n On May 2nd, Lady Wimborne received post for the first time in nine days and immediately replied to her mother,\u00a0Lady Ebury<\/a>\u00a0at her home in Rickmansworth, England. The letter begins: \u201cMy darling Mummie . . it has all calmed down now but it\u2019s been a terrible time. One more awful tragedy in this beloved land.\u201d<\/p>\n She and the Viceroy \u201chad been anxious about Sein Fane [sic, she misspelt Sinn F\u00e9in] for some time past\u201d.<\/p>\n She recalled the events of Easter Monday: \u201cI was washing my hands for luncheon when I was rung up and told to stay in my bedroom. Sein Faners had attacked the Castle and might come here\u201d.<\/p>\n In the event, the Vice Regal Lodge was not attacked by the rebels but Lady Wimborne believed she and her husband were \u201cabsolutely defenceless and at the mercy of the enemy\u201d despite having \u201cten men on guard\u201d. Many of the servants had already been sent to Belfast by train because the couple had been planning to visit the city for a \u201cbig dinner\u201d and so were left in Dublin and \u201cfound ourselves with two footmen and two A.D.Cs (aides-de-camp) and the clothes we stood up in\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cDarling Mummie\u201d the Easter Rising was an \u201cawful tragedy\u201d Vicereine\u2019s letters from Dublin to her mother in England in 1916 to be auctioned Article by\u00a0Michael Parsons | 1 November 2014 | Irish Times online Mementos associated with Ireland\u2019s struggle Continue reading \u201cDarling Mummie\u201d the Easter Rising was an \u201cawful tragedy\u201d<\/span>![\"Letters](\"https:\/\/letters1916.ie\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image.jpg\")
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"