Letter from Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington to John Dillon, c. October 1916.

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Letter from Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington to John Dillon, c. October 1916.

1 Wrote
22 Oct 1916 43 Moyne Rd Ranelagh Dear Mr Dillon, I should be glad to
know whether the question
of the inquiry is likely to be the
subject of comment in the
House of Commons &, if so, what
form the debate is likely to
take? As was to be anticipated
it seems to me largely a white-
washing report, still such as
it is, it is valuable for its
pictures on martial law.
It does not however fasten the
blame on the real culprits,
the military authorities in
Dublin Castle. So far, although we have re
2 peatedly inquired no further steps
have been taken to return to me
the property raided in my house.
I had hoped that the inquiry
would force them to disgorge at
least my personal belongings
or attempt to trace their where-
abouts. Sir Francis Vane states categorically
that when he interviewed
Price after the murder to try to
get Colthurst arrested he replied
'Some of us think anyhow that
it was a good thing that Sheehy
Skeffington was put out of the
way.' That is significant. Another significant fact is that
when I went away recently for
a brief holiday, on doctor's advice
leaving no address to have conversations
forwarded, the detectives 3 besieged my landlady, worrying her
with all kinds of questions &
threatening her with serious
penalties for not knowing my
address, so that she was afraid
her house would be raided &
was timid about receiving me
back. I should be obliged if
you could ask a question or
make some inquiry into the
matter so that some check
may be put on the activities
of these gentlemen at the castle.
For myself I do not mind how
much they watch, but I do not
wish my friends or landlady
to be annoyed. Last week my mother was gravely
ill & was being removed in an
ambulance when detectives
appeared & actually peered into 4 her face as she was being removed
apparently under the impression
that it was I ! These things
would be laughable & unbelievable
in any other country but ours. The officer who made these
inquiries is Sergeant McGahey
who is in charge of the 'aliens'
department & a constable Devine
of the 'G' Division he also
distinguished himself. If the government wishes me
to report as an 'alien' enemy
I should prefer to know definitely
The grievance in this case seems to
have been that I left no address
but I have frequently done this
when I did not wish to be worried
with correspondence. My landlady
states that in no other case has
she had inquiries made when 5 other lodgers went on holiday. I hope I am not worrying you
unduly in this matter â€” trivial
in themselves, but apparently part of
a policy. I feel that you will help
me if anyone can. Yours Sincerely Hanna Sheehy Skeffington 6 John Dillon Esq M.P 2 North Gt. George St. House of Commons Dublin London 7 Blank envelope

A letter from Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington (1877-1946) to John Dillon (1851-1927) . Sheehy-Skeffington wonders if the report of the inquiry will be a 'white-washing' exercise but says that either way it is valuable 'for its strictures on Martial Law' but the real culprits, the military authorities in Dublin Castle will not be blamed. She reports that none of the property taken in raids on her home has been returned. She also outlines what appears to be harassment of her landlady, Mrs. Schmutz while Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington was away on holiday. Detectives had called on a number of occasions demanding information as to Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington's whereabouts and threatening the landlady with penalties. She also reports an incident with detectives which arose when her mother was being removed by ambulance. She asks Mr.Dillon to make representations on her behalf so that these activities can be curtailed and wants to know if the Government wishes her to report as an 'alien' (one of the detectives is based in the Aliens Department).Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, suffragette, nationalist, language teacher, was the widow of Francis Sheehy-Skeffington (who was summarily executed on 26 April 1916). She was active during the Rising, bringing food to the Volunteers in the G.P.O. and the College of Surgeons. Four days passed before she found out what had happened to her husband, Francis (1878-1916), and it wasn't until almost two weeks later that the full details of his execution emerged. John Dillon was an Irish Party M.P. 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 Mrs.Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington in her plea for a public inquiry and in various correspondence relating to the incident 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__1505.html)