Letter from Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington to John Dillon, 4 November 1917.

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington to John Dillon, 4 November 1917.

1 4 Mar. 1916 43 Moyne Rd Ranelagh Dear Mr. Dillon, I note Mr. Asquith's reply to Mr. O'Brien
re publication of evidence of report when latter
asked question on your behalf. I suppose you will
press the matter, as the evidence & various
documents bearing on the case should have
the fullest publicity. I know the matter is safe
in your hands. The evidence will be valuable for debate. You asked me to inform you re property papers
taken from my house by Capt. Colthurst & his party.
About one-third of the papers & other documents
have been returned since, but much of the
property ( 2 large trunks, attache case, portfolios,
stock of household linen etc) have never been
returned : I understand the Royal Irish Rifles
took with them to Victoria Barracks, Belfast
much passable books from houses raided &
it is probable that the authorities have never
thought of searching there. My solicitor put in a claim for compensation
for such of my goods as could be estimated 2 in terms of money: the sum was Â£49 odd. I
received last week order for Â£44 - I suppose
the assessor feels it his duty not to award
the full claim. Mine was a perfectly honest
estimate & was, if anything, un der stated. Quantities of private letters of my own, letters
from my husband to me before our marriage,
manuscripts of his, including articles for press, poems &
an unfinished play on which he had been working
for a couple of years) & various other documents
of literary value, several educational books
(scraps, pictures, etc) of my own, necessary for my work & now difficult
to replace owing to war conditions, have not been
restored, as well as many private relics &
souvenirs of my husband which were very
precious to me have never been returned: on
such things no money value can be put
& it would mean a great deal to me if they
could be traced & restored. Lieutenant Morris
stated in his evidence at inquiry that Capt.
Colthurst has passed round to him & other
officers a number of papers found in my
house - apparently as curiosities. Of course, I do not consider any questions re property
as anything but trivial, compared with the bigger
question & merely forward these details at your request. I shall be glad to know when it is likely that the
report will be debated. Yours Sincerely, H.S. Skeffington Sheehy 3 John Dillon Esq M.P. 2 North St George St Dublin 4 Blank back of envelope

A letter written by Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington (1877-1946) to John Dillon (1851-1927). Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington wants Dillon to press for publication of the evidence. She says that about a third of the property uplifted in the raids on her home by Bowen-Colthurst’s men has been returned and she lists, as best she can, what is still missing. Her solicitor has put in a claim for compensation and there has been a payment which was less than the claim. She comments that all of this is trivial compared with ‘the bigger question’ and asks when the report is likely to be debated (in the House).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 and it wasn't until almost two weeks later that the full detail emerged. John Dillon was an Irish Party M.P. in the House of Commons. Dillon issued 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__1510.html)