Letter from Cecil Harmsworth to Augustine Birrell, 31 March 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Cecil Harmsworth to Augustine Birrell, 31 March 1916

1 28, Montagu Square.W. 31st March
1916 My dear Mr Birrell Sir J.R. O'Connell
tells me that he is a
candidate for a vacant
office of Chief Crown
Solicitor for Ireland. I
have known Sir JR O'Connell
since we were undergraduates
together in Trinity College
Dublin & everything I know
of him is in his favour. I am very reluctant
to "butt in" in a 2 situation that knowing
something of the difficulties
that surround our Crown
appointment under a questionable reading
government, I can well
believe to be extremely
embarrassing, & I discharge
a moral bound duty
in testifying so in Sir JR
O'Connell's questionable reading qual-
ifications for the post Believe me
yours very sincerly Celine Harmsworth

This letter was written by Cecil Harmsworth (1869-1948) and addressed Augustine Birrell (1850-1933). Birrell was appointed chief secretary in January 1907. In 1916 he resigned as he willingly accepted the political responsibility for the outbreak of the Rising in 1916. Harmsworth as well as being a British politician was also the 1st Baron of Harmsworth. In this letter Hamrworth recommends John Robert O'Connell (1868-1943) for the vacant position of chief crown solicitor. Harmsworth mentions that they studied together as undergraduates at Trinity College Dublin and that everything he knows of him is in his favour.

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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__1788.html)