Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Messrs Corrigan & Corrigan, 31 July 1916 Letters 1916-1923 George Gavan Duffy

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George Gavan Duffy (1882-1951) was an Irish politician, barrister and judge. He unsuccessfully defended Roger Casement at his trial for high treason after the Easter Rising. His legal practice represented many of those detained in the aftermath of the Rising.. Frongoch Internment Camp in Wales was a makeshift prison used for the internment of approximately 1,800 Irishmen in the wake of the Easter Rising, 1916. It was to become known as the 'University of Revolution' because of the revolutionary nature of the inmates. Gavan Duffy's legal practice has been representing Irish Prisoners held in England but, because he has been fully engaged in the defence of Roger Casement, he has had to delegate the prisoners' work to his colleague, Mr McDonnell. As regards fees, Gavan Duffy says that had he known from the outset that instructions were on behalf of the National Aid Committee he wouldn't have taken any money. He has reduced the fees to a nominal amount. He is reluctant to take on any cases which are unlikely to have a positive outcome and he urges that Irish MPs be pressed to take up the prisoners' cause and get maximum publicity.

 Military Archives of Ireland Bureau of Military History Contemporary Documents, George Gavan Duffy Collection, BMH CD45/3/17 https://letters1916.ie/item/347 English George Gavan Duffy 1916-07-31 Messrs Corrigan & Corrigan 3 St. Andrew Street, Dublin, Ireland Male Easter Rising Ireland 1916

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 stamped on the right hand corner in red BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY 1913-21.BURO MILEATA 1913-21 No. C.C. 45/4/17 31st July 1916. Measrs Corrigan & Corrigan 3 ST. Andrew Street, Dublin. Dear Sirs:- The Irish Prisoners:- I have carefully considered with Mr McDonnell your suggestion that we should reduce our proposed charge of 3/4d per head to cover the costs and expenses herein, for we are both anxious to meet you in every possible way. When you and Mr Byrne first instructed me, I did not realize that the Nation Aid Committee was instructing you and I feel considerably embarrassed now, because it is repugnant to take money from that source in competition with the destitute. Had I not been so deeply engaged in Roger Casement's case as to have had to refuse all new work & devote practically every moment of my time to him (as you will readily understand, I felt bound to do), I should have felt it a pleasure and a duty to take up the cases of the Irish Prisoners myself with to without any promise of reward. But as it was quite impossible for me to look after them, I delegated to Mr MacDonnell the bulk of the work. He is literally the only solicitor in London to whom I should have cared to confide this business and my confidence in him is not misplaced for, not only has he given up the past month almost exclusively to the Irish Prisoners at the expense of very long hours, as you know, but he has done the work and advised the prisoners with really remarkable skill. It is due to Mr McDonnell that your Committee should know that I have satisfied myself of this fact. His labours have necessarily been a very great strain upon him, but I Messrs Corrigan & Corrigan.(2)31/7/16 need not dwell on this because you are yourselves in a position, from your own observations, to give the Committee full information on that score. All the Irish Prisoners in this country (some 1,800, I think) have now been dealt with and we are now met with the unpleasant dilemma of our fees on the one hand, and Irish distress on the other. The original fees ask/ed for were by no means excessive - in fact quite the contrary, but we cannot hold our for them in the special circumstances and, after consultation with Mr McDonnell, I have decided to ask your Committee for a sum of 200 guineas in settlement, of which about £20 represents disbursements out of pocket. This will cover all the work we have done, including the Nunans' case. I only wish I had been in a position to tell the Committee that I should make no claim at all; nothing would have given no greater pleasure. As to the Nunans' case, I have taken the advice of Senior and Junior Counsel and have reluctantly come to the conclusion that there is no prospect of doing anything for them by way of habeuscorpus. As to Collins & Stack, I am in communication with Dr. O'Connell of Tralee who is specially concerned for them. As to the prisoners in England generally, you will receive by this mail a list of those who have been released from Mr McDonnell and a further list will follow. I am very anxious to apply for habeuscorpus in the case of any of those unreleased prisoners where we have a prospect of success, but, on the other hand, I really do not think that there is anything to be gained from there present temper of public opinion in England by making applications (if they are foredoomed to failure) with the object of enlisting public opinion upon the hardships these men have suffered. I am going to consider with Mr McDonnell any particular case of a person who, upon special facts, may have grounds for claiming his liberty by habeus corpus, but, apart from such special cases, as Messrs Corrigan & Corrigan (3) 31/7/16 to which I am still very doubtful of any success in the Law Courts, I think your Committee will agree that legal proceedings should not be taken unless there is, at least, a fair prospect of a favourable issue. In my view, public opinion in Ireland should be publicly acquainted with the facts concerning the prisoners, so far as it is possible for you to obtain publicity and the Irish members of Parliament should be pressed to take up the matter as a body and this, I think, they might be prevailed upon to do if your Committee's demands were supported from the various constituencies. As they are the only people who can voice Irish opinion freely at the present moment and as they are the elected representatives and ambassadors of the Nation, it is quite obviously their duty to take this matter up whole-heartedly and I think it is quite obviously the duty of those interested in the prisoners to press their claims on the Irish members, however much the politics of many of us may differ from the politics of the Irish parties. Re Tierney. He has been before the Committee, but he is very seriously ill and I have very grave doubts as to his recovery. Yours faithfully, 3 St. Andrew Street, Dublin, Ireland Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Messrs Corrigan & Corrigan, 31 July 1916Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Messrs Corrigan & Corrigan, 4 October 1916 George Gavan Duffy Letter from Fr. E.F. Murnane to George Gavan Duffy, 2 August 1916.Letter from J.T. Burns to George Gavan Duffy, 16 October 1916.Letter from Ernest Blythe to George Gavan Duffy, 18 April 1916Telegram from P.S. O' Hegarty to George Gavan Duffy, 18 April 1916Telegram from George Gavan Duffy to P.S. O' Hegarty, 18 April, 1916Letter from George Gavan Duffy to P.S. O'Hegarty, 20 April 1916Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Eoin MacNeill, 20 April 1916Letter from P.S. O'Hegarty to George Gavan Duffy, 24 April 1916Letter from Ernest Blythe to George Gavan Duffy, 12 May 1916.Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Ernest Blythe, 14 May 1916.Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Miss Helen Blythe, 22 May 1916.Letter from George Gavan Duffy to the Manager, 'Irish Independent', 22 May 1916.Letter from Ernest Blythe, Brixton Prison, to George Gavan Duffy, 29 May 1916.Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Messrs Corrigan & Corrigan, 31 July 1916Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Messrs Corrigan & Corrigan, 4 October 1916Letter from George Gavan Duffy to John O'Connell Esq., LLD, 9 August 1916Letter from Roger Casement to George Gavan Duffy, 30 June 1916Copy of letter from F. O'Donnell to George Gavan Duffy, 4 July 1916Copy of a letter from Serjeant Alex Sullivan to George Gavan Duffy, 4 August 1916Copy of a letter from George Gavan Duffy to Michael F. Doyle, 7 August 1916Letter from John Quinn to George Gavan Duffy, 9 September 1916Letter from Fr F.M. Ryan O.P. to George Gavan Duffy, 12 July 1916Letter from Fr F.M. Ryan O.P. to George Gavan Duffy, 12 July 1916Letter From E. Blackwell to George Gavan Duffy, 2 August 1916Letter from George Gavan Duffy to E. Blackwell, 3 August 1916Letter from E. Blackwell to George Gavan Duffy, 3 August 1916Letter from G. Gavan Duffy to E. Blackwell, 4 August 1916Letter from Father Edward Murnane to George Gavan Duffy, 24 July 1916Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Ernest Blythe, 21 April 1916.Letter from George Gavin Duffy to Joseph Cyrillus Walsh, 6 July 1920 Letter from George Gavan Duffy to Joseph Cyrillus Walsh, 6 July 1920