Letter from Seán Mac Diarmada to John Daly, 11 May 1916
I expect in a few hours to join Tom and the other
heroes in a better world. I have been sentenced to
a soldier's death, to be shot to-morrow morning.
I have nothing to say about this only that I look
on it as a part of the day's work. We die
that the Irish Nation may live, our blood will
re-baptise and reinvigorate the old land. Knowing
this it is superfluous to say how happy I feel. I
know now what I have always felt that the Irish
Nation can never die. Let present day place hunters
condemn our action as they will, posterity will judge
us as right from the effects of our actions. I know I will meet you soon, until then
Good Bye. God guard and protect you and all in
no. 15. You have had a sore trial but I know
quite well that M rs Daly and all the girls
feel bound proud in spite of a little temporary and
natural grief, that her son, & the girls, their brother
as well as Tom are included in the list of honour
2 Kindly remember me specially to Mrs Clarke and
tell her I am the same Seán that she always
knew. God Bless you all
as ever
Sincerely Yours Seán Mac Diarmada.
Last letter from Seán Mac Diarmada (1883-1916) to John Daly (1845–1916), uncle of Edward (Ned) Daly (1891–1916). Mac Diarmada provides an emotional account of his thoughts and feelings during the last hours before his execution. He emphasises the justification for the Rising, as well as his pride in the 'Irish nation'. He also takes time to offer sympathy to the Daly family for the loss of Edward Daly, who had been executed on 4 May 1916 for his involvement in the Easter Rising.Seán Mac Diarmada was one of the key organisers of the Easter Rising. He signed the Proclamation of the Irish Republic and was executed on 12 May for his involvement in the Rising. John Daly was a leading member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) for most of his adult life. Although bedridden with ill health by the end of the 1900s, Daly remained close friends with Thomas James (‘Tom’) Clarke (1858–1916), Seán Mac Diarmada, and Patrick Henry Pearse (1879–1916), who often visited him in his home in Limerick. During the Easter Rising British forces raided Daly's house, 15 Barrington Street, Limerick and he died soon after on 30 June. Edward (Ned) Daly was commandant of 1st Battalion in Dublin during the Easter Rising and was shot by firing squad on 4 May. He was the younger brother of Kathleen Clarke (1878-1972), wife of Thomas Clarke.
How to cite
Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__0541.html)
- Place
- Kilmainham Prison, Dublin, Ireland
- Mentioned in
- Letter from Seán Mac Diarmada to John Daly, 11 May 1916
- Letter from Patrick Pearse to his mother Margaret Pearse, 3 May 1916
- Letter from Sean MacDiarmada to John Daly, 8 May 1916
- Place
- 15 Barrington Street, Limerick, Ireland
- Mentioned in
- Letter from Seán Mac Diarmada to John Daly, 11 May 1916
- Letter from Kathleen Clarke to Fr Albert Bibby, 7 October 1916