1 P88/24(1) P.S. Collins address
is the same as
yours except his
has 748 St. Mary's House,
St. Vincent's Hospital
Dublin 24th June 1916. My dear Jim - I made various attempts since
Easter to find out your whereabouts
but till late last week got no definite
information. I hope you are better
of the neuralgia you complained of
Easter Saturday when I met you in
O'Connell St.? Probably the excitement
since charmed it away. I met Delaney
(sick Thrush) today & he gave me your
address. I did not care to ask any
of the other chaps. I expect you are
kept pretty well up in the latest news.
In any case things are fearfully
quiet at present - O'Mahony & Walsh
got through last week - O'Mahony is
to the Kalki one of these days but
I think Walsh is going down to
Ballina to take up his brother's practice
the latter died rather suddenly about
2 a month ago. Leo Blake is gone
out to Verdun or somewhere in France
I dare say you heard Caulon got the
medal in Surgery & O'Mahony in
Medicine - Michael Smith was working
hard for it but I think he funked it
at the end as he feared Caulon would
do him out - At present Smith is General
Surgeon to the Leeson St Homes - He nearly
lives there attending & dressing Johnnie
patient. Courtney is still in and,
of course, as important as ever, if not
more so. Andy Ryan is house physician
& as far as I can observe he is knocking
Courtney out altogether. Purcell, Lawlor,
Cassidy & a few more chaps are in at
present - very quiet & good.
I am writing this in bed as I am
on night duty in 94 Leeson St - I am
finished with the wards Hospital now.
We had our final exam - I got 1st in
Medical Nursing & 2nd in Surgical —
got 1st in Surgical -
got 1st in Surgical - 3 Dr. Meenan is off duty since Easter
practically - McGuinness is giving his
classes - I was talking to him today
he says he is going away for a few
months. Poor devil he looks rotten - The
heart was terrified out of him Easter
week. His house was under fire from
the Shelbourne for two or three days in
fact his windows were well pierced.
Needless to remark it was
Browne that was meant to be hit -
but we will pass over the merits of the
men behind the guns as good shoots. By the way there is a friend of mine
a prisoner of war named Michael
Collins. He gave me rather a surprise
when he wrote to me from Prison - I
cannot find his note now but as far
as I remember he must be with you.
Look him up if you do not already
know him he is a jolly decent sort. I
think I told you about him last year.
He knew your sisters in London. 4 I hope you are tolerably comfortable
there - will you drop me a line
& say how you are & give me all
news of yourself - I wish you were
a bit nearer home so that we
could see you - If it is your rotten
luck to be in till Aug or Sept I will
probably see you. Bye bye and I am glad
to know you are alive, as somehow
for weeks after no one seemed to
know what happened to you. I will look forward to a line
from you soon - Goodbye very best
wishes from
Yours V. sincerely
May Gray