Letter from Mrs. E.N. Gilbert to Nancy O'Rahilly, 30 August 1916.

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Mrs. E.N. Gilbert to Nancy O'Rahilly, 30 August 1916.

1 August 30th 1916 825 N.20th St. Phila Dear, dear Nannie Had it been the
will of our dear Lord, I surely
would have rejoiced in your having
a daughter, but it is glorious to
be the mother of a man and
you must grow every day
more and more proud of your 2
five splendid sons. I cannot express
the love and sorrow for you that
are filling my heart, yet I know
that you will be sustained and
comforted and the words that
you can say to your boys of their
heroic father will be all sufficient
aid to you in leading them up
to a manhood worthy of his
memory and fame. Dr. and Mr. Gilbert
want to be remembered and I'll pray
that some time even in this life we may
see you. Mrs. E. N. Gilbert

A letter to Nancy O'Rahilly (1875-1961). The writer, Mrs. E.N. Gilbert, refers to the birth of Mrs. O'Rahilly's son. She writes that it is 'glorious to be the mother of a man' - even though, it seems, the writer's preference would have been a daughter. She urges Mrs. O'Rahilly to tell her boys all about their heroic father, Michael (1875-1916), and this will help bring them to a heroic manhood worthy of his memory and fame.Nancy O'Rahilly was a member of the Provisional Council of Cumann na mBan at the founding in 1914 and the wife of Michael Joseph O'Rahilly, self-described as 'The' O'Rahilly. The O'Rahilly fought in the Easter Rising and was shot in Parnell/Moore Street on 28 April 1916 and died some time later. Nancy was pregnant at the time of her husband's death – the child was born three months later.

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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__1486.html)