Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to Alfred Byrne, MP, 11 October 1916 Letters 1916-1923 M.S.

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This letter was written by Michael Staines, on the behalf of Irish prisoners in Frongoch, to Alfred Byrne. This letter concerns the living conditions of Irish prisoners interned in Frongoch. According to the letter the living conditions in Frongoch are not suitable for human habitation and are causing health problems for some of the men.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' due to the influential effect it had on its inmates.The letter was signed by Michael Staines (1885 - 1955). Staines was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and served as Quartermaster in the GPO during the Easter Rising. After the Rising he was detained in Frongoch where he was elected Head Leader by his peers.The letter was addressed to Alfred Byrne (1882-1956). Byrne served as a member of parliament in the British House of Commons at the time of the Easter Rising. He would later serve as a TD in Dáil Éireann.

 Military Archives of Ireland Bureau of Military History Contemporary Documents, George Gavan Duffy Collection, BMH CD45/4/11/1 https://letters1916.ie/item/359 English M.S. 1916-10-11 Frongoch Internment Camp, Wales Alfred Byrne House of Commons, Westminster, London, England Male Easter Rising Ireland 1916

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 26th August 11th October, 1916. To Alfred Byrne M.P., House of Commons. A chara, We, the undersigned, being the duly elected Camp Leaders are desirous of drawing your attention to several grave complaints concerning the conditions of our internment here. As doubtlelss you are aware the Irish prisoners are housed here in grain lofts which were never intended for human habitation, some of them not even possessing windows, being lighted and ventilated only by a few skylights. According to Government measurement the grain lofts at present in occupation are supposed to accomodate 185, 200, 300, and 60 prisoners respectively but we feel sure that all impartial persons having any knowledge of hygiene or sanitation will agree with us that they are really unfit for human habitation, and their injurious offensiveness in this respect is considerably aggravated by the fact that two lavatories are established inside the grain lofts. Men arise in the morning with what is known to us as 'that tired Frongoch feeling'; and the debilitating effect of the sleeping in these grain lofts have been established beyond all doubt by the number of men who have fainted on the early morning parade. There are quite a number of prisoners suffering from lung trouble sleeping amidst the other prisoners and when these prisoners have been sent sick in the ordinary course of procedure they have been certified as alright; but when these men are brought specially before the doctor by the camp leader he admits on a re- examination that these men are suffering from lung trouble. It is absolutely iniquitous that these unfortunate prisoners should be compelled to live in such grain lofts amidst hundreds of other men. On the 26th August last an application was made by the Camp leader for a transference of the whole body of prisoners to what is known as the North Camp (wooden huts) on the grounds that it was more healthy and comfortable than the old distillery buildings which constitute the South Camp; this application was brutally ignored. Another application for a transfer was made on 11th October but the Commandant stated that he could not move us without an order from the Home Office. We should like to know if this refusal to transfer us arose from a desire on the part of the authorities to ruin the men's constitution by keeping them in the unhygienic and insanitary surroundings of the South Camp. Signed (5) M.S. P.S. It is rumoured this morning (11th inst) that this transfer to the North Camp is about to be granted to us. We should like very much to know the reason why it should not be granted to us on the 26th August instead of leaving it to this late hour of the day when any of the men's health has already become affected. We are enclosing a copy of a letter to Mr. Ginnell which was posted to him on the 10th inst. and we should be very glad if you would deal with it, as no doubt, Mr. Ginnell would have dealt with it had he been at liberty. House of Commons, Westminster, London, England Letters from Andrew Philip Magill to J. P. Farrell, 7 April 1916Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to William O'Brien, Esq., MP, 11 October 1916Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to Alfred Byrne, MP, 11 October 1916Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to Alfred Byrne, MP, 13 October 1916Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to William O'Brien, Esq., MP, 14 October 1916Letter from Laurence Ginnell, 9 December 1915 Frongoch Internment Camp, Wales Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to Alfred Byrne, MP, 11 October 1916 M.S. Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to Alfred Byrne, MP, 11 October 1916 Alfred Byrne Letter from Alfred Byrne to Helena Molony and Nellie Gifford, 4 January 1916Letter from Andrew Philip Magill to Alfred Byrne, 1 April 1916Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to Alfred Byrne, MP, 11 October 1916Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to Alfred Byrne, MP, 13 October 1916Telegram from Alfred Byrne to Mrs. Walter Harris Wilson, 23 May 1916Telegram from Alfred Byrne to Frank McNally, 12 July 1916Letter from Alfred Bryne to Augustine Birrell, 30 March 1916Letter from Alfred Byrne to Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, 15 May 1916Letter from Michael Staines to Alfred Byrne, 11 October 1916