Letter from Paddy Holahan to Fr Albert, Church Street, 10 July 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Paddy Holahan to Fr Albert, Church Street, 10 July 1916

1 Patrick Holahan 975 Irish Prisoner Hut 2 Upper Camp Frongoch Bala North Wales 19 July 1916 Dear Father Albert, I have just got this
small piece of paper and I am using it for to
thank you for not forgeting me. All the Boys
that you know are all here now with the
exception of Liam Stanes and Rennie Neary
who are in the lower camp. We are all in the
best of health and spirits and all hope
to be soon home again in Dear old Dublin.
Dear Father it is not so handy getting
to the sacraments here as it was in
the prison as we only have one priest
and he can only hear our confession on 2 Sunday and then we have to wait till
the following Sunday. Will you please
call on my mother and see that she
is alright as I got a letter saying that
she was sick and you know that the
brother and I are her only support. I was glad to hear that you were with
Heuston when he died as I was very
fond of him. It is delightfull to see
all our leaders being converted to the
catholic faith. We say the rosary every
night in our huts in Irish and we also
say the litany. Good Bye for the present. I Remain,
your obed servant Patrick Holahan 3 Rev. Father Albert Franciscan Capuchin Friary Church Street Dublin 4 OPENED BY
CENSOR.

Paddy Holahan was interned in Frongoch following his involvement in the fighting in the Four Courts area. He writes this letter to Fr Albert, a Capuchin priest based in Church Street. Holahan describes the difficulty in receiving 'the Sacraments' in Frongoch prison as they have only one priest. Holahan also mentions Fr Albert's presence at Seán Heuston's (1891-1916) execution, writing that it is 'delightful to see our leaders converted to the Catholic faith.'The Capuchin priests were very involved with na Fianna Éireann and Irish Volunteers before, during and after 1916. They cared for the wounded and administered the last rights to the leaders of the Rising in Kilmainham jail during Easter Week.

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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__0695.html)