Letter from May Fay to James Finn 31 May 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from May Fay to James Finn 31 May 1916

1 I had to get my papers
signed I was near drawing
back altogether rather than
brave the Mullingar or priest
so now you see what
I sacrificed for you
I was ashamed of my life
I am sure he (the priest) was pitying
the news/man Togherstown
Ballinea
Mullingar My dearest James, I got your letter this morning I am sure you were
expecting a letter from me, but the post leaving advance time
& the men working by old time makes leaves the post gone
before they even quit, as you will see I had the letter written on Monday
& posted it in Mullingar yesterday. —We had a nice day in
town— better than today anyway I had my dress fitted it looks
very well I think & my hat also but I can tell you I was very sick
of the job of turning & twisting & standing all the time while being
fitted. We settled about a motor, booked one for me & one
for you he said any car he'd send would be all right
& he'll charge by the mile so he could not say what
either would come to. we could not let him know the hour
at the time but you can tell him Tuesday night when you
arrive in Mullingar I suppose 8.30 old time would be about
the hour would that suit you let us know & it will be alright
what time will we have to leave this at do you know? I think we
wont fast that morning I mean for Holy Communion the drive
would be very long for you we can go the Sunday before
instead like the woman going to Mass on Sat instead of Sunday 2 About the ring I asked you to send me the card
although a hole I would make my self in a card
would do just as well I suppose but about the ring
itself — I know I never could wear any but the two
rings on that one finger so whether it be large or
small I dont know which would be the best I think I will
leave it to your taste I liked your taste in the watch &
as well you have the advantage of having seen both the
ring & the finger I dare say unless you have great eye
& memory altogether you forget my finger is fat and short
I got my first present yesterday from Mrs Keelan
A silver tea pot I hope you will get something nice
for yourself. We did not see the Cork Examiner and Jennie always sends
it to us when there is anything on it she must not have
got it but I will ask her. I heard that Belfin was in
the G.P.O. & in uniform so he cannot get off to call
I have no more news so good bye I hope we wont have
weather like this for our wedding what ever about the honeymoon
best love from your own 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 though, like many in the Civil Service, James was obviously somewhat activated, learning Irish, probably Gaelic League, and as can be read in the letters after Easter, he knew many who more caught up in it. One can sense their shifting sympathies in the letters. May has not yet yet read the letters between Maxwell and h Bishop also mentions Bulfin

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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__5800.html)