Letter from W. H. M. Cobbe to Lord Wimborne, 29 April 1916

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Letter from W. H. M. Cobbe to Lord Wimborne, 29 April 1916

1 Ballycullane Portarlington April 29th 1916 To His Excellency
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland May it please your Excellency
Having regard to the present trouble in this Country;
Should your Excellency deem it necessary I am prepared to raise
a local force of at least FIFTY men for local defence purposes
which would be willing to serve under military orders to keep the peace
in Mountmellick & Portarlington & surrounding Districts. I will
guarantee the fidelity of the men, who would esteem it a privilege to
help in putting an end to the lamentable state of affairs. I remain Your Excellency's
Obedient Servant W. H. M. Cobbe I.P.
Committee
Hon Sec County recruiting Assist. UnderSecretary
Am ack. with thanks
for his offer will suffice
WMC 8/5 I.J. Do you want any special constables in this
district E O'F 8 v. 16

A letter from W. H. M. Cobbe (b. 1871), the County Recruiting Committee in Queen's County (Laois), to the Lord Lieutenant, Ivor Guest, Lord Wimborne (1873-1939). The letter refers to the raising of a force of fifty men designed for local defence purposes in the wake of the the outbreak of the Rising on 24 April 1916. Ivor Churchill Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne was appointed the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1915. Guest worked closely alongside Sir Matthew Nathan (1862-1939) in the administration of Ireland. Following the suppression of the Rising, Guest, under pressure, was forced to resign as Lord Lieutenant. A later inquiry into the Rising exonerated Guest and held Augustine Birrell (1850-1933) chiefly responsible for the events that occurred. Guest would continue to serve as Lord Lieutenant until 1918. W. H. M. Cobbe (b. 1871) was born in Ballycullane, about three miles from Portarlington. Son of an auctioneer and farmer, he carried on the family business on the death of his father in 1906. Cobbe was essential to the setting up of a golf club on the Warburton estate, when the game was sweeping Ireland.

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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__0153.html)