Letter from Fr James Brennan SJ to Fr Thomas V Nolan SJ, 21 August 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Fr James Brennan SJ to Fr Thomas V Nolan SJ, 21 August 1916

1 Rathfarnham Castle Rathfarnham Co Dublin 21 .8.16 My dear Fr. Provincial P.C. In your first letter to me
about the departures for Jersey you said
the Juniors were to go in two batches. Does
this arrangement still hold good? It seems
to me to be the best. Eight fine young fellows,
of military age, travelling together would attract
attention in these anxious days. Some of the 2
Roehampton Juniors were presented with white feathers
in London. Then again, it would be difficult
for the Fathers in Farm St. to accommodate so many.
Mr Neary was better told me that they will
require permits to travel, and that he has
got his own already. I shall see about
this at once. If you think well of sending
them in two different sets, the first could start
on the 29th, as you have arranged, & the
second on the following Saturday. MrGrech
is at Stonyhurst. He found a letter from the Rector
of Stonyhurst waiting for him at Liverpool, saying that
he could not receive him 'till the 24th But the Rector of Liverpool
told him not to mind, & sent him on. Pardon me for troubling you
during your retreat. Very sincerely yours in Xto J Brennan S. J.

Letter from Fr James Brennan SJ (1854-1941), Rector of Rathfarnham Castle to his Father Provincial Thomas V Nolan SJ (1867-1941), 21 August 1916. The letter from Fr James Brennan SJ to his provincial concerns the travel plans for Juniors who had completed their academic studies and were to apply for permits to travel to Jersey, to start their philosophical studies. Brennan was worried about their travel plans and commented that ‘eight fine young fellows of military age, travelling together would attract attention in these anxious days…some of the Roehampton Juniors (British Jesuits) were presented with white feathers in London’. During the First World War, in order to shame men into enlisting in the British Army, women presented men not wearing military uniform with a white feather to signify cowardice. As a consequence, the Juniors travelled to Jersey in two groups.Rathfarnham Castle was bought by the Irish Jesuits in 1913 and used a house of studies for those Jesuits attending university. This decision was made following the change of regulations to the National University requiring students to attend lectures whereas previously they could be prepared for examinations elsewhere. The Jesuit Juniors as they were known would live at the Castle and cycle to lectures at University College Dublin, then located at Earlsfort Terrace in the centre of Dublin.

Open image in new tab

How to cite

Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__0806.html)