A collection of letters written by Patrick Pearse are given to the State.
A collection of letters written by Patrick Pearse between 1914 and 1916 are presented to State. They will be put on public view in the Pearse Museum at St Enda's Park, Rathfarnham, County Dublin.
The bulk of the letters were written to the parents of Eoghan Cronin, an American student attending St Enda's School where Patrick Pearse was headmaster.
The collection is donated by Eugene Cronin of Connecticut, a nephew of Eoghan Cronin. He feels St Enda's is the rightful home for the letters and is proud of his family’s part in Irish history.
I hope that a lot of Irish people can benefit from this collection of letters that we have.
Curator of the Pearse Museum Pat Cooke explains Pearse visited America in 1913 to raise funds for the school and for the Republican movement. The letters show that even though Patrick Pearse was heavily involved in the political movement, he did not allow this to distract him from his role as a school master.
He was writing cheques on Easter Saturday night. This is one of the things I find extraordinary about Pearse.
The letters were tracked down with the help of historian David Nolan and Séamus Cullimore Teachta Dála (TD). They are accepted on behalf of the State by Minister of State for the Arts Tom Kitt.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 22 June 1992. The reporter is Fionnuala Sweeney.
