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Portland Prison, May 15th 1916 Extract from letter of Harry O'Hanrahan to his
mother & sisters 'The Sunday Esq in which we surrendered, we
marched to Richmond Barracks & the... & ourselves
were trying to keep in a bunch, this we did
until the detectives came about 2.00 &
picked out about 14 including the 2 Cosgraves,
T Mac Donagh, Kent ourselves & you know
the results since we were picked out on
Monday' We had 7 or 8 girls at Jacobs including
Máire Walker, they were brides - - they were
very good to poor Miceál & myself'
'Now in other area ... ask you not to fret about
me. I am & will be alright. I have God & as far
from Miceál is he not better off. When we started
we were all prepared to go under & had confession
in Jacob's on the Tuesday & Wednesday wqs that were
there. We had the Priests very often. We had only one casualty there.
This is a letter from Henry O'Hanrahan (d. 1927) to his mother Mary O'Hanrahan (née
Williams) and his sisters Eily, Aine and Máire. The letter was written from Portland
prison in England and in the extract, Henry describes the rebel surrender, praises
the women in his garrison and assures his mother than he is 'alright', noting that
his brother is 'better off' and that they had priests in regularly in Jacob's.O'Hanrahan
was a brother of Michael O'Hanrahan (1877-1916), nationalist and journalist. Michael
served as quarter master general of the second battalion of the Irish Volunteers from
1915 and in 1916 was third in command, after Thomas MacDonagh and John MacBride, of
the rebel garrison at Jacob's biscuit factory. He was executed on 4 May 1916. Henry
O'Hanrahan fought under his brother during the Easter Rising was was sentenced to
penal servitude for life but was released in 1917.