Letter from Helen Duffin to Celia Duffin, 22 December 1915 Letters 1916-1923 Helen Duffin

This work was originally published by Maynooth University in Ireland in 2017. In 2026 this data, stored in a relational database was extracted and converted into this TEI/XML document.

 Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities Vienna, AT 2026

This is an open access work licensed under Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC 4.0).

In this four page letter, Helen Duffin is writing to her sister Celia who is ill and who cannot be with the family for Christmas. Helen tells Celia about an 'odd' incident she had with an unexpected visitor to her office: a little man with a 'pale face' and a 'fuz of red hair' who is looking for some contributions to a poetry book for which Lavery (possibly John Lavery, the painter) is also providing a drawing. The man has requested that Celia provide a poem for the volume and their sister Ruth is also sending him one. At the end of the letter Helen encloses a humorous sketch.Helen (b.1891) and Celia Duffin (b. 1888) are two of the Adam and Maria Duffin's nine children. At the age of sixteen, all seven Duffin girls attended Cheltenham Ladies College in Gloucestershire, England. Celia Duffin along with her sister Ruth published a book of poems titled 'Escape Poem' (illustrated by their sister Emma Duffin) and published by Maunsell & Co. Ltd in 1913.This letter is part of a rich correspondence between various members of the Duffin family, a large prosperous family living in Strandtown, Belfast. Several family members served in the war, including Major Terence Duffin, who served as a staff officer with 107 Brigade, and later with Royal Irish Rifles; Major Charles G Duffin MC, Royal Field Artillery; and their sisters Emma, Celia and Dorothy who served as Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADS) in Egypt and France, and with the YMCA.

 Public Record Office of Northern Ireland Duffin Papers D2109/9/4/C, Duffin Papers D2109/9/4/C https://letters1916.ie/item/632 English Helen Duffin 1915-12-22 Dunowen, Belfast, Ireland Celia Duffin Female Culture and the Arts Personal Relations World War I (1914-1918)

The data in these XML files was generated based on a data dump from the Magellan database (https://github.com/Maynooth-Center-for-Digital-Humanities/Magellan). Each database record has been converted to a JSON file (https://github.com/letters1916static/letters-data/tree/main/json). The element section of the JSON file contains the TEI-encoded contents of the letters. The TEI XML has been cleaned and made well-formed using a Python script (https://github.com/letters1916static/letters-data/tree/main/src).

 DUNOWEN, BELFAST. 22.12.15. My dear Celia, It is folly to wish you a Merry Christmas if you are going to spend it in bed, but I don't want only to wish you a 'comfortable' Christmas! I wish you could walk home for a few days. This morning in the office I was so amused — the office boy walked in and asked if I would see Mr.Gregory, the architect. I could not think who he was at first, but said I would see him & then the oddest little man walked in & introduced himself as 'Padraig Gregory' from the office opposite! He has a little pale face & has a fuz of red hair — do you know his look? He asked if I were Ruth or Edith & I denied being either & then he went on to explain that he was editing a volume of poetry for the St Hospital (St. Dunstans) for blind soldiers & wanted you to contribute. All the best Ulster people are to be represented & and Lavery is doing a drawing. Ruth says she will send him 'something'. I had not time to read 'The dog Collection', but it looked very fine. You are getting quite famous. We feel quite a crowd now & Ruth comes to-morrow. Poor D is very depressed. I am so glad you have got a nice girl in your room. We had a letter from Harry to-day (enclosed) — please return to us. Good Luck old thing, Yrs, Helen D2109/9/4/C You haven't got a man! Hand drawing of a lady wearing a hat sitting on a tilted back chair with her feet on desk with a speech bubble coming out of her mouth and sheets of paper thrown on the floor Miss Perry giving me dictation in the office. Desperate - at the rate of an hour. Ever yours, Helen . Dunowen, Belfast, Ireland Letter from Helen Duffin to Celia Duffin, 22 December 1915Letter from Terence Duffin to Maria Duffin, March 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria Duffin, 15 March 1916Letter from Helen Duffin to Celia Duffin, 16 March 1916Letter from Dorothy to Maria Duffin, 25 March 1916Letter from Dorothy Duffin to her mother, Maria Duffin, 30 March 1916Letter from Maria Duffin to Celia Duffin, 13 February 1916Letter from Maria Duffin to Celia Duffin, 9 January 1916Letter from Maria Duffin to Celia Duffin, 27 February 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria DuffinLetter from Maria Duffin to Celia Duffin, 19 March 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria DuffinLetter from Emma Duffin to her mother, Maria Duffin, 5 March 1916Letter from Dorothy to Maria Duffin, 22 March 1916Letter from Dorothy Duffin to her mother, Maria Duffin, 31 July 1916Letter from Emma Duffin to her mother Maria Duffin, 27 March 1916Letter from Olive Duffin to her mother, Maria Duffin, November 1915Letter from Emma Duffin to her mother Maria Duffin, 22 November 1915Letter from Terence Duffin to his father Adam Duffin, 10 November 1915Letter from Terence Duffin to his mother Maria Duffin, 26 November 1915Letter from Olive Duffin to her mother Maria Duffin, November 1915Letter from Adam Duffin to his daughter Dorothy Duffin, 7 November 1915Letter from Dorothy Duffin to her mother Maria Duffin, 8 November 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to her mother Maria Duffin, November 1915 Helen Duffin Letter from Helen Duffin to Celia Duffin, 22 December 1915 Celia Duffin Letter from Emma Duffin to her sister Celia Duffin, 29 December 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria Duffin, 24 January 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria Duffin, February 1916Letter from Helen Duffin to Celia Duffin, 22 December 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria Duffin, 15 March 1916Letter from Helen Duffin to Celia Duffin, 16 March 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Ruth Duffin, 6 December 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to Auntie D, 3 December 1915Letter from Emma Duffin to Celia Duffin, 15 January 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria Duffin, 8 December 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to Adam Duffin, 9 December 1915letter from Anna Duffin to Celia Duffin, 3 December 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria Duffin, 8 January 1916Letter from Maria Duffin to Celia Duffin, 13 February 1916Letter from Maria Duffin to Celia Duffin, 6 February 1916Letter from Maria Duffin to Celia Duffin, 9 January 1916Letter from Maria Duffin to Celia Duffin, 27 February 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to her mother Maria Duffin, 14 February, 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria DuffinLetter from Maria Duffin to Celia Duffin, 19 March 1916Letter from A. Duffin to Celia Duffin, 2 March 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria DuffinLetter from Celia Duffin to Maria Duffin, 10 February 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria Duffin, April 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to her mother, Thursday November,1915Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria Duffin, 3 November 1915.Letter from Celia Duffin to her mother Maria Duffin, November 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to her sister Ruth, 3 November 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to her aunt, 18 November 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria Duffin, 26 November 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to her aunt, 1915