Letter Card from May Fay to James Finn, 9 March 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter Card from May Fay to James Finn, 9 March 1916

1 Write to Mrs Seery – she
had a letter from your mother.
She said that Father Moran said
we would be six months
married before we’d know she
was in the house & she was
bound to be neglected
intentional or otherwise;
I think she feels a bit down
hearted some way & I hope that
feeling will not grow on
her or my account. Bye Bye now I hope
I have the watch in time
to swank before M Kelly
if that’s not silly but I would
not be that sort with anyone
only her. Your loving
“big girl” May

Togherstown
Ballinea
Mullingar 9th March, 1916 My dearest James, Very many thanks for your nice
letter of this morning. I was very pleased to see by
it you are keeping in such spirits. I am in the best
of form now I was at Mass Ash Wed. Mass only
because I’m keeping my loaded conscience for a Mullingar
priest if I can manage the point without anyone
knowing it. -About the watch I think it would be better
only send the one. I will rely on your taste I will be
very anxious to have it for Sunday, just today I had an
invitation for myself & Christy to spend Sunday eve
with Mary Kelly Castletown. I dare say the bridegroom
will be there & of course I will swank it before them as it
may be the last time I’ll ever see that party I did
not want to go at all but Mother said it would look
bad to fall black out people talk so much. We had a letter from Jennie today she was full of the weddings
that took place, the last day there were five going on all day
the last one in the evening the groom came galloping like the D-
(Jennie told me give you the hint) & all the cars after followed by a carriage 2 with the bride & brides made they came
back with the horse last, best man mounted
& the carriage first with bride & groom,
one man came running into Jack Healy
an hour before his marriage for a ring,
couldn’t get one to fit in the town,
that’s what would have happen with us
if we had rushed it, you would be
running to Fox’s & the forge’s workshop
trying to get me fitted. Christy was in bed
nearly all day yesterday, he is up today
and seems to feel much better. Mrs Seery
is very very anxious about Johnnie
a bit vexed with him too that he’s not more
anxious, he went to Ballymore Tuesday & did
not come back since to see if a letter had turned
up, she is afraid he got in with Dan Kiernan
or someone like that, the Cork affair looks very
bad. Mrs S got a fancy match box in Tommy’s
possession a present from his girl of course,
big oak with harps & shamrock on it. Mother was telling the lads today not to forget the
Novena for the speedy end of the war to St Patrick, Christy
said no such thing for when the war is over he
is beggared- I have no news now so I’ll
conclude with my best love & very best love to my dear James from his loving May

This is from a series of letters written between James Finn and his fiancée Mary (May) Fay. They became engaged in January 1916 and married in June. He lived in Dublin, she in Westmeath; he was 20 years older than her at 39 and had become acquainted with her during his regular visits to his relative Mrs Mary Seery, her neighbour. Throughout the series their relationship develops from the first somewhat tentative letters. They were not to be married long: in 1919 he fell ill with the great flu epidemic, it led to heart damage and he died in 1922 as she was expecting their fourth child. She held on to his letters as her reminder of him. Despite many offers and her difficult finances she never married again. She took in lodgers and trained (and practised) as a midwife, chiropodist, and public health nurse while raising her children. She proved to be an excellent entrepreneur, charmed bank managers into giving her loans (against the norm of the time) and bought properties one after another, many of which were broken up into flats. James Finn was a civil servant, working in the National Health Service Commission on Mount Street. Family history says that he was advising on the restructuring of the civil service as part of setting up the new government in 1922 and that eminent figures in that project were visiting him in his sick bed so that they could consult with him. Neither May nor James were politically active, although like many in the Civil Service, learned Irish. One can sense their shifting sympathies in the letters. This letter contains much about weddings,a novena is said for the end of the war but, her brother says when the war is over he is beggared.

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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__5566.html)