Two letters (one handwritten and one a typescript copy) from Canon John Waters, Holy Cross College, Clonliffe, Dublin, to Mrs Mary Barry describing his administration of the final blessings to Barry, and the moments before he went to the scaffold. 'His courage all the time was superhuman and rested I am sure on his simple goodness and innocence of conscience' (1 November 1920); also details the simple burial ceremony within the prison and describes the grave as being '... made in a little laurel plantation in the left by the entrance gates and not far from the gate into the women's prison a quiet spot not likely to be desecrated or walked on and still near enough to the highway to remind us of him to say a prayer as we pass'. (3 November 1920).
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Files of news-cuttings from Irish, British and continental papers reporting on the last minute appeals for clemency, the execution, and the violent response throughout Ireland which saw seven Royal Irish Constabulary members killed in the wake of Barry's death, and the burial of Terence MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork (31 October 1920).
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Fourteen letters from relatives, friends and members of the public in Ireland and abroad to Mrs Barry and Michael Barry (Barry's brother) offering their sympathy and support; includes several letters from cousins in America and South America such as Fr John Doyle writing from Manila : '...But while your cross is a crushing one I cannot help feeling that it is a glorious one and I confess I felt proud of Kevin when I read the account of his quiet fearless bravery and sincere piety in facing death' (28 December 1920).
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Photograph by the Topical Press Agency, London, possibly of the funeral of Arthur Griffith passing along O'Connell Street from O'Connell Bridge; a horse drawn hearse is flanked by members of the Irish Free State Army and is followed by members of the clergy and by other horse drawn vehicles; a large number of people line the street.
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Handwritten paraphrase copies of cipher messages between the War Office and General Maxwell, 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 'It will have to be done in all cases if done in one and Mrs. Pearse has already been refused by me–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'.
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