Letter from Sir Henry Augustus Robinson to Thomas Nally, 2 April 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Sir Henry Augustus Robinson to Thomas Nally, 2 April 1916

1 TELEPHONE 13 FOXROCK LISNACARRIG,
FOXROCK,
Co.DUBLIN. 2. Apr 1916 My dear Sir I have read your
play & think it is
the most powerful &
romantic thing I
have ever read. It
held me spell bound. I wonder if the
Abbey people have
any woman in their
company capable of
doing justice to the
role of Sibly Cottle—
It would need
a Maire O'Neill. My wife 2
remembers Biddy
Holian the last of
the witches race, &
she had a bad
name — an inheritance
I suppose from Judy. Old Sir Harry
Lynch Blosses evil
reputation was
is a tradition in
the family even
now and my
wife tells me that
when her fathers
generation suffered
from gout or other
ailment or misfortune &
they always regarded it
as a visitation for
the sins of Sir Harry. There is one little
mistake you made
which is a pity in
a story which is
otherwise historically
accurate. You made th
Lord Oranmore the
person who is arranging
the marriage with
Altamounts daughter. Now the Oranmore
peerage was only
created in 1836 3
and Sir Harry's
period was nearly
100 years earlier. The play will
create a great
sensation if
properly staged. The
dialogues are so
natural that I can
almost hear the people
speaking. Wishing you
every luck with it
& with many thanks
for your courtesy in
letting me see it. I remain
Yours truly H A Robinson I omitted to mention that
my wife doesn't see any
reason why any of her
family shd object to the
play. I will register it &
send it back tomorrow

Henry Robinson writes to Thomas Nally stating that he has read his play, the Spancel of Death, remarking that it is 'powerful' and 'held me spell bound'. He points out an historical inaccuracy in the play but concludes that the play will be a great success if staged. The Spancel of Death was due to open on easter Tuesday at the Abbey theater. It was postponed due to the Easter Rising. Sir Henry Augustus Robinson (1857–1927) was an Irish public servant. He was primarily responsible for the drafting and implementation of the local government act of 1898, and shortly before the bill became law was appointed vice-president of the Local Government Board.

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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__3030.html)