1
"A buidhe le Dia na Bfeart go bfeiceam,
muna mbimid beo 'na dhiadh acht seachtmhain
Ghrainne Mhaol is míle gaisgidheach
Ag fogairt fáin as Ghallaibh!"
Pádraic Mac Piarais
2
Wishing Eamonn, Tommy & Rónán
a very Happy Xmas from Joe & Gerard Xmas 1915, May God send you a bright and
happy Christmas. Yes, up! and let your weapons be
Sharp steel and self-reliance !
Why waste your burning energy
In void and vain defiance,
And phrases fierce but fugitive ?
'Tis deeds, not words, that I weigh —
Your swords and guns alone can give
To Freedom's course a highway!
JAMES CLARENCE MANGAN.
This Christmas card is from the family papers of Éamonn Ceannt (1881-1916). Ceannt
was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising and a signatory of the Proclamation of
the Irish Republic. During the Rising he commanded the garrison in the South Dublin
Union. Following the surrender he was tried by court-martial and sentenced to death.
He was executed on 8 May 1916.
On the front of the Christmas card, there is a sketch of soldiers marching under an
Irish tricolour flag. Below this, there is a printed poem in Irish by Patrick Pearse.
Inside the card, there is a handwritten message wishing "a very happy Xmas" to Eamonn,
his son Rónán, and Fanny, who is Eamonn's wife Áine, christened Frances. There is
also a second printed poem, in English by James Clarence Mangan.