Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to Alfred Byrne, MP, 13 October 1916

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Letter from Irish Prisoners, Frongoch to Alfred Byrne, MP, 13 October 1916

1 Irish Prisoners, Internment Camp, Frongoch, 13th Oct. 1916. Alfred Byrne, MP House of Commons, I enclose herewith a list of various Irish books which have
been forwarded to the prisoners here and never received by them:- History of Ireland. by Geo.Keating, Forwarded by, P.J Flinn
Esq. Alexander Park, Manchester, to:-192
J.O'Hanlon on 2nd July.
Forwarded to:-1668 Owen O'Brien
in July. One Irish Grammar
Three Irish Text Books
Forwarded to:- 1784 Thomas McGrave. Aesops Fables (in Irish) Forwarded by Miss O'Connell Main St..
Charciveen
Irish Books (various) ) Forwarded by:- Miss O'Connell, Dominican
Convent Dublin to:- 1379 Mortimor
O'Connell in September. Two Irish Books. Forwarded from Belfast to:-1120 Martin Gleeson
on 29th Sep. (these belonged to a parcel of
six, five of which were delivered.)
Forwarded to:- 1320 M.Collins on 6th Oct 'Notes of an Irish Exiles'. Forwarded by J.J.King Esq.45 St
Patrick's Road, Drumcondra, Dublin
to:- 362 W.J.Brennan Whitmore on
7.9.16. * New Testament (in Irish) ('An Tioma Nua') Taken from Brian O'Higgins on his
arrival here on 10th July, and sent to
London for censoring. Never returned. I should feel very much
obliged if you could see your way to make inquiries into the
cause of the non-delivery of these books, as, of course, great 2 inconvenience and annoyance have been given to the various
addresses all of whom are earnest and dilligent celtic students.
It is strange that with so many Irish scholars here, and such a
quantity of Irish literature being forwarded to them that a
censor with efficient knowledge of Irish should not have been
appointed to the camp. Thanking you in anticipation,
I am, etc., M. Staines Head Camp Leader. 7, 1916, *P.S.I desire to draw your earnest and early attention
to the enclosed cutting taken from ________. This
explanation of the non return of Brian O'Higgins copy of the
'New Testament' (in Irish) discloses a scandalous state of
affairs connected with the censoring of the private property
of the Irish prisoners.

This letter was written by Michael Staines, on the behalf of Irish prisoners in Frongoch, to Alfred Byrne. The letter lists a number of books in the Irish language, including a copy of the New Testament, which have been sent to prisoners but which haven't been given to them. It would appear that the books are held up by the censor and the writer suggests that there should be a censor with a good knowledge of Irish.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.

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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__0360.html)