Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Ernest Blythe, 14 May 1916.

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Ernest Blythe, 14 May 1916.

1 14th May 1916 Ernest Blythe, Esq., No. 3134 Brixton Prison. S. W. Dear Mr Blythe:- I have just received your letter and am very sorry for
your plight. You should send in a full statement on the lines
of your letter to me. I am defending Sir Roger Casement and am
utterly unable to go to Brixton or indeed to take up any other
new work. I shall ask Mr MacDonnell, solicitor and nephew of
Lord McDee to go and see you instead of me and I know he will do
do. I am very sorry indeed I really can't do more. You must not be
sanguine of success as the authorities and the public still think the
Sinn Fein and the rebellion are synonymous and won't believe the
contrary. Yours sincerely,
G. Gavan Duffy.

In this letter George Gavan Duffy (1882-1951) writes that he cannot represent Earnest Blythe (1889-1975) this time as he is busy with Roger Casement's defence. Instead he will send a colleague to see him in Brixton. He advises him not to be too hopeful of success because of the attitudes of the British authorities and public towards Sinn Féin and the rebellion.George Gavan Duffy was an Irish politician, barrister and judge. He unsuccessfully defended Roger Casement at his trial for high treason after the Easter Rising.Gavan Duffy had been acting for Ernest Blythe, organiser for the Irish Volunteers. Blythe had been arrested under the Defence of the Realm Act. He was released from prison in England before the Easter Rising but was rearrested there during Easter week 1916.

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How to cite

Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__0074.html)