This is a letter from Brother Vincent O'Kelly in Rochestown Monastery to the Chief Secretary's office, Dublin. O'Kelly requests an official to come and see him, asking that they come in person rather than write as he would not receive the letter. The letter was directed towards the chief secretary's office. At this time the chief secretary was Augustine Birrell. Birrell (1850-1933) served as the chief secretary of Ireland from 1907 to 1916. Birrell was a liberal politician praised for his reforms of the Irish education system. The Easter Rising caught him unawares and, occupied in London, there was little he could do. A later inquiry into the Rising held Birrell chiefly responsible for the events that occurred leading to his resignation on 1 May 1916.