Letter from John Brosnan to Mabel FitzGerald, 25 May 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from John Brosnan to Mabel FitzGerald, 25 May 1916

1 Castlegregory 25/5/16 Dear Madam, Your letter to
hand; Thanking you again
for your kindness we had
the pleasure of seeing your
dear husband's photo last
night in the independent
it is really too sad to think
he is under the prison lock.
how in the world are you
able to take courage; such
as you express in my letter;
we had a letter from my
son this morning also; he
says their gaol treatment is
just the same as their week
in Tralee, and that is bad 2
enough; the acquitted prisoners
tell us just the same it is
well; they can have mass &
the sacraments; I am writing
by next mail; to a friend
in Dublin whom my son
is acquainted with and if he
is not too late; it would
be a blessing to have a
visit from him, his name
& address is William McEarly
c/o Thos McCarthy
23 Upper Beechwood Ave
Renelagh
Dublin
Thanking you again I remain
yours very sincerely John Brosnan Mrs Desmond Fitzgerald

This letter is from John Brosnan to Mabel FitzGerald (née Washington McConnell) (1884-1958), wife of politician and intellectual Desmond FitzGerald (1888-1947). Mabel was particularly active in attempting to secure the release of her husband, who had not taken an active part in the actual fighting. Brosnan expresses sympathy for Mabel and her husband and describes conditions in the prisons as related to him by others.Mabel was a former governess in London. She later vigorously canvassed her former acquaintances in London's liberal circles for support for Francis Sheehy Skeffington (1878 -1916) during his hunger strike in 1915. Both Mabel and Desmond would serve in the GPO garrison during Easter Week.

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__1357.html)