Letter from Francis Sheehy Skeffington to Con Lehane, 8 February 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Francis Sheehy Skeffington to Con Lehane, 8 February 1916

1 11, Grosvenor Place,
Rathmines, Dublin.
8 - 11. - 16. Dear Lehane, Yours of Jan. 19th reached me here on Feb. 4th; curiously enough,
it bore no censorship mark, though all other letters coming from Am-
erica are marked Opened by Censor. Publication of the literat-
ure you are interested in is still delayed; some are anxious to con-
centrate upon the third pamphlet, while others think that it is now
too late to bring it out, and that it is better to wait till the
next publishing season. My own opinion is that it will continue
to be talked about and will not be published! All your friends here are in good form. there is still a
strike on the City of Dublin line. The seamen and firemen have
just secured a rise of 5/0 weekly by threatening to strike. The
Workers' Republic is flourishing. Recruiting is practically
dead; and Bonar Law has admitted in the House of Commons that the
reason why Conscription was not applied to Ireland was that it could
not be done without the use of force! I have got back my papers, - but not all of them, of course I should like to keep up an exchange of cards with you even when
there is nothing particular to say, just so as to keep in touch. If everything goes on as usual, I am thinking of going on
another American trip next November. Any tips you could give me with
regard to lecturing would be very welcome. Yours
F Sheehy Skeffington

Letter from Francis Sheehy Skeffington (1878-1916) to Con Lehane (1877-1919). Skeffington writes in response to Lehane's letter of 10 January, noting that Lehane's letter was not opened by the censor unlike most American postage. Sheehy Skeffington notes a delay in the publication of material of interest to Lehane, but believes that such stories will remain in the public consciousness for some time regardless. Sheehy Skeffington describes conditions in Dublin city regarding public sector strikes, and closes with a request for tips on lecturing ahead of his planned trip to America in November 1916. Francis Sheehy Skeffington, journalist, was a prominent feminist, activist and co-founder of the Irish Women's Franchise league in 1908. In 1912, he and his wife, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington (1877-1946), founded the suffragist newspaper The Irish Citizen. A staunch pacifist and nationalist, Sheehy Skeffington opposed Irish involvement in the Great War. During the Easter Rising, he attempted to organise a civilian defence force to prevent looting and saved the life of a British officer under fire. Arrested on the evening of Tuesday 25 April 1916, Sheehy Skeffington and two other civilians were shot by firing squad on the morning of Wednesday 26 April.

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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__3915.html)