Through War and Rebellion: Cork 1912-1918

Transcription

1
Cork City & County Archives: Through War and Rebellion: Cork 1912-1918
Schools Pack 1912-18, 1916 Wakefield Prison Letter
©CCCA 2015
2
Year: 1916: Year: 1916: PR6/11 Letter from Seamus (Jim) Fitzgerald imprisoned at Wakefield
Prison to his mother at Cobh (June 1916).
Background
After the 1916 Rebellion more than 3,500 Irish Volunteers were arrested throughout Ireland and
interned in British prisons under the Defence of the Realm Act. As they were clogging up the English
prison system it was decided to intern many of them in an old distillery which had been used to hold
German prisoners of war at Frongoch in North Wales. By 28th August most had been released with
slightly less than 600 remaining. The leaders of the rebellion, such as Eoin MacNeill and Eamon
DeValera) were kept separately in Reading and Dartmoor prisons before being eventually moved to
Lewes prison. The remaining Irish internees were released in December 1916 after the Chief Medical
Officer had inspected Frongoch and declared it unsafe. The leaders of the War of Independence
(including Michael Collins) always described Frongoch as the ‘University of the Revolution’.
The Document
This is a letter from James (Seamus) Fitzgerald to his mother in Cobh, County Cork. He is writing from
Wakefield Prison where most of the Cork internees had been taken, and from which many are about
to be transferred to Frongoch, described as a ‘concentration camp’ (a term deriving from the Boer
War). He mentions the loss of Patrick, his brother, who was lost at sea. He also speaks of his and the
prisoners’ reliance on supplies and parcels from family and friends.
Fitzgerald, like many prominent Irish Volunteers, was arrested in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising,
but, despite mobilising, had not been active in it. His papers include several prison letters and
accounts of his military service and internment. He was elected Sinn Fein TD for East Cork in 1921.
Instructions:
1. Read through the document.
2. Highlight the names of people, sentences, or words you do not understand.
3. Highlight any words you cannot read.
4. Fill in the recording sheet supplied and attach it to the document.
5. Optional: The Bureau of Military History recorded the stories of veterans of the War of
Independence. These are available online from the National Archives of Ireland. This one from
Colonel Lawless goes into great detail about Frongoch. Read through it and pick out three incidents
which show how the prisoners dealt with the prison regime. If you were the British what would you
have done.
6. Store the completed work as directed by your teacher.
7. Outline how you would arrange to visit the Archives to view the original document
3
Envelopes of prison letters in PR6 Seamus Fitzgerald papers
4
Ref: PR6/11 Letter, S Fitzgerald, Wakefield Prison, to his mother, 10 Jun 1916. Collection: PR6 Seamus Fitzgerald Papers
5
6
7
Further research and sources
CORK CITY AND COUNTY ARCHIVES CATALOGUE
The item is from collection PR6 Seamus Fitzgerald Papers (link from catalogue to descriptive list):
http://catalogue.corkarchives.ie/Details/archive/110000335
Collection U421 relates to Sean Hayes, a West Cork man who fought in the GPO in 1916 and was
interned in Frongoch, and later served as military governor of Newbridge Prison during the Civil War:
http://catalogue.corkarchives.ie/Details/archive/110000856
The Archives holds several small collections of letters from Terence MacSwiney during his time in
English prisons. Use ‘Terence MacSwiney’ as a search term on: www.catalogue.corkarchives.ie
CORK CITY AND COUNTY ARCHIVES WEBSITE
Pauline Henley’s correspondence with MacSwiney and his family is listed here:
http://www.corkarchives.ie/media/U207web.pdf
Other listed MacSwiney prison letters:
http://www.corkarchives.ie/media/SM806web.pdf
http://www.corkarchives.ie/media/SM759web.pdf
ELSEWHERE AND ONLINE
History Ireland Countdown to 2016: Sport in Frongoch
http://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/countdown-to-2016-sport-infrongoch/
Brief article about how the prisoners kept themselves entertained at Frongoch
The Proclamation 1916 The Roll of Honour
http://the1916proclamation.ie/the-roll-honour/
Full list of all the participants on the Irish side in the Easter Rising
Hansard UK Parliamentary Sittings 1916
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/sittings/1916/
This Project is made possible through the support of the Heritage Council Grants Programme 2015

Through War and Rebellion: Cork 1912-1918

Transcription

Similar documents

Untitled - Amorim Cork Composites

lugdine park - Sherry FitzGerald

Why did Cap n` Cork sWitCh to a family

Nomacorc smart+ is the next generation of Nomacorc smart, a

irish Examiner 16th Jul 2012