Letter from Andrew Philip Magill to Bridget McLoughlin, 15 August 1916 Letters 1916-1923 Suffield Mylius

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Letter from Andrew Philip Magill (1871-1941) to Bridget McLoughlin and concerns the death of her son Detective Sergeant Matthew McLoughlin (1879 -1916). This series of correspondence refers to the granting of relief to Mrs McLoughlin as a result of her son's death and her dependence upon him. The first of these letters, sent by Magill, states that the chief secretary, Henry Edward Duke (1855-1939), hopes to be able to render Mrs McLoughlin some assistance. This letter also raises the concerns of the chief commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police Force, Walter Edgeworth Johnstone (1863 – 1937), regarding Mrs McLoughlin’s situation. The letter explains how the entirety of Sergeant McLoughlin’s allowance under the Police Act has been given to his widow and child with no provision for his mother whom he also supported. In the letter he notes that Mrs McLoughlin received the sum of £5 from a Metropolitan Police Private Fund but that the resources of this fund are limited and therefore further assistance from elsewhere is required.The enclosed letter was sent by the secretary of the Prince of Wales’ National Relief Fund, . This fund was established with Edward, Prince of Wales, as treasurer, to help the families of serving men and those suffering from 'industrial distress” during the First World War. Andrew Philip Magill was the private secretary to the chief secretary of Ireland. Magill was a civil servant and held the position of private secretary for successive chief secretaries of Ireland until his transfer to the Northern Irish Civil Service in 1921.Matthew McLoughlin was one of the thirteen members of Lord Kitchener's (1850-1916) staff who died in the sinking of the HMS Hampshire on the 5 June 1916 just west of the Orkney Islands in Scotland.

 National Archives of Ireland Chief Secretary's Office Registered Papers, CSO RP/1916/5620/13426 https://letters1916.ie/item/530 English Suffield Mylius 1916-08-04 Irish Office, Old Queen St., London SW, England Bridget McLoughlin Foilnadrough, Kilcommon, Thurles, Tipperary, Ireland Male Industry and Public Administration

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 Copy 15th August, 1916. Dear Madam, With reference to your letter addressed to the 'Officer in Charge, War Allowance Department, London,' relative to the death of your son, Detective Sergeant Matthew McLoughlin, I am desired by the Chief Secretary to inform you that he has made enquiries into the matter, and he understands that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has had your case under consideration, and the Chief Secretary hopes that it may be possible to render you some assistance in view of the particular circumstances of your son's death. The letters received fro you which were sent to you by your son are returned herewith. Yours faithfully, (Sd) APM Mrs. M. McLoughlin, Foilnadrough, Kilcommon, Thurles. COPY G.R.116843/4. 4th August, 1916. Sir, I am directed by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to bring to your notice the case of Mrs. Bridget MCLoughlin of Foilnadrough, Kilcommon, Thurles, Ireland, the mother of the late Detective Sergeant Matthew McLOUGHLIN who lost his life whilst en route to Russia on board H.M.S. Hampshire when on protection duty with the late Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War. Sergeant McLoughlin's widow and child are receiving the maximum allowance that can be given under the Police Act. This Act, however, makes no provision for dependants other than the widow and children, and consequently no assistance from this source is available for Sergeant McLoughlin's mother, who up to the time of her son's death had been in a great measure dutifully suported by him, being in very poor circumstances. Copies of her letters to this office, together with one from the Parish Priest at Kilcommon, are enclosed herewith for your perusal. From these it will be seen that a grant of £5 for immediate necessities has been made to Mrs McLoughlin from a Metropolitan Police Private Fund. As the resources of this Fund are on a strictly limited scale the Commissioner desires to bring the facts to your notice in the hope that it may be deemed right to render assistance to Mrs McLoughlin from the Prince of Wales' National Relief Fund in view of the particular circumstances of his death. The Secretary, The Prince of Wales' National Relief Fund, Belgrave Square, S.W. It may be added, that inasmuch as the late Sergeant McLoughlin was not in the pay of either the Admiralty or the War Office, the Commissioner fears that there is little likelihood of either Department having the power to make any grant to his widowed mother. I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, (s.d.) Suffield Mylius. Foilnadrough, Kilcommon, Thurles, Tipperary, Ireland Letter from Andrew Philip Magill to Bridget McLoughlin, 15 August 1916 Irish Office, Old Queen St., London SW, England Telegram from Power, Irish Office, London, to the Under Secretary, 4 May, 1916Telegram from Andrew Philip Magill to Sir Robert Chalmers, 15 July 1916Letter from Andrew Philip Magill to Bridget McLoughlin, 15 August 1916 Suffield Mylius Letter from Andrew Philip Magill to Bridget McLoughlin, 15 August 1916