Letter from Henry Lemass, solicitor, to John Dillon, 23 May 1916.

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Letter from Henry Lemass, solicitor, to John Dillon, 23 May 1916.

1 HENRY LEMASS.
SOLICITOR
COMMISSIONER FOR OATHS TELEPHONE NO. 3323. PARLIAMENT CHAMBERS. 31 PARLIAMENT STREET. May 23 1916 John Dillon Esq. M.P. House of Commons, Westmister, London SW Dear Sir, I beg to confirm my wire today as follows:- 'Provost Marshal Richmond Barracks informed Mrs
' Skeffington today that Courtmartialwill be held tomorrow
'open to public at which we can attend but will not
'be allowed to intervene. We fear this Courtmartial
' may be construed as fulfilment of Prime Minister's
' promise to hold full Public Inquiry. Our view is
' no steps should be taken in absence of Counsel (Healy)
' and without our having reasonable opportunity of
' considering our attitude as asked for in letter to General
' Maxwell. Suggest you should see Prime Minister
' to ensure adjournment by wire from him until after 2 ' Healy's return here and the holding of promised Public
' Inquiry afterwards. Writing fully to House by this
' evenings post which read early tomorrow morning
' I have sent similar wire to Healy' I enclose a copy of my letter to General Maxwell
above referred to. Mrs. Skeffington would not consider a
Courtmartial even though open to the public a fulfilment of the
Prime Minister's pledge - especially if she could not tender evidence
or be allowed by her Counsel to cross-examine the Military
witnesses. If the Courtmartial is however only the preliminary
to a proper Inquiry of course no objection could be taken & it
might even prove of some value in enabling us to elucidate what 3 happened after the arrest of Skeffington as to which we are
absolutely in the dark at present. In any event she considers
even a Courtmartial of the officer responsible for her husband's
death should not be held on such short notice (I have
not yet received any intimation as to when or where same is to be
held) or whilst her Counsel is absent in England. Our
Junior Counsel Mr Philip White is also averse to doing
anything in Mr Helys absence. It may be that the
authorities have not yet decided to hold the Courtmartial
but in view of what the Provost Marshal told Mrs Skeffington
today Mr White suggested I should write you as I did in
case it might be an attempt to deny the full the Investigation
of the whole matter promised by Mr Asquith Yours faithfully Henry Lemass

A letter from Henry Lemass (1883-1946) to John Dillon (1851-1927). Lemass, who is acting for Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, is writing to Dillon confirming the contents of a wire which he has already sent him, as Dillon has been making representations on her behalf at Government level. The solicitor has been informed that the Court-Martial (of Bowen-Colthurst) is to take place on the day after, 24 May, and, although he hasn't been told when or where it is to take place. He fears that this court-martial, which carries no rights for his client, other than the right to attend, might be construed as fulfilling the Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith's promise of a Public Inquiry. Both solicitor and client are concerned that the Court-Martial is due to take place while Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington's Counsel, Mr. Healy, is absent in England. The solicitor has written to General Sir John Maxwell and encloses a copy. He is also writing directly to the House and has sent a similar wire to Mr. Healy.John Dillon was an Irish Party MP in the House of Commons. In a speech in the House on 11 May 1916 he strongly condemned the British handling of the Rising which had been put down “with so much blood and so much savagery”, and called for an immediate end to executions. Mr. Dillon assisted Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington in her plea for a public inquiry and in various correspondence relating to her husband's murder and raids on her home.

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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__1502.html)