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Éamon de Valera Papers :
British documents relating to 1916


UCD Digital Library and UCD Archives are delighted to present the historically significant collection, Éamon de Valera Papers : British documents relating to 1916.

This is a collection of British documents and letters relating to the Easter Rising, 1916, and includes intelligence reports, despatches, and correspondence between Irish Command [Major-General L.B. Friend, (Lieutenant)-General Sir John Maxwell, and (Lieutenant)-General Sir Bryan Mahon], Home Forces, the War Office, M.I.5.G., and the Royal Irish Constabulary.

The collection covers the immediate aftermath of the Easter Rising, the executions of the leaders, and the general political situation in Ireland at the time. There are many noteworthy documents, including:

  • Intelligence report, dated 22nd March 1916 and marked 'Secret', stating that "Information has been received from an absolutely reliable source to the effect that ... the rising should be timed for the 22nd April".

  • Cipher messages, dated May 9th, 1916 and marked 'Secret', sent to Prime Minister Asquith in London, from General Maxwell in Dublin, regarding the executions of the leaders between 9th and 11th of May. Maxwell notes "We hope to deter by these examples and make the intriguers realise that we will not tolerate murder of loyal subjects, or any acts against the safety of the Realm".

  • Copies of cipher messages between the War Office and General Maxwell, also marked 'Secret', concerning Mrs. Pearse's request to be given her two sons' bodies for burial in consecrated ground. Maxwell refuses on the grounds that "These graves will be turned by Irish sentimentality into the shrines of martyrs and there will be a constant irritant in the country caused by annual procession etc. to them".

This collection represents a single file within the wider Papers of Éamon de Valera collection held in UCD Archives, and is made available under the terms of the UCD-OFM Partnership.

View the collection at https://doi.org/10.7925/drs1.ucdlib_53984.

 

The UCD Digital Library is an institutionally supported, preservation-oriented digital repository that holds a freely available, globally accessible, heterogeneous collection of resources from UCD's cultural heritage repositories and an increasing number of data assets captured or produced by UCD research activities. It is accessible at https://digital.ucd.ie.