Grace Dougherty, Queenstown, [Cobh, Co. Cork], Ireland, to her cousin, Neal Little, Milwaukee, 17 August 1918 (1919?)
Description
This letter purports to be written from Republican sympathiser Grace Dougherty to her cousin in America, including details of incidents during the Irish War of Independence. However, the letter contains factual errors such as claims of Black and Tans being present in Ireland during 1918 or 1919 (they didn't arrive from Great Britain to reinforce the RIC until 1920) and of an otherwise unattested Hughie Dougherty being hung in Derry for killing a policeman. Considering the mention of Black and Tan excesses, the letter likely was composed in later 1920 or 1921 before the July Truce. Likewise, the author's supposed home address of Queenstown (now Cobh) is also dubious. [Professor Kerby Miller notes that this 'letter' is most likely an example of Unionist propaganda of the time, as he was told by the letter's original collector, Professor E.R.R. Green in 1977/1978.]
Date
17/08/1918
Date Issued
27/03/2023
Resource Type
Text
Archival Record Id
p155/65/40
Publisher
University of Galway
Extent
1p
Topic
Dougherty Letter
Geographic
Cóbh (town),Cork (county),Ireland,Milwaukee (city),Milwaukee (county),Wisconsin,United States
Temporal
Twentieth century,Nineteen twenties
Genre
Transcript
Note
Transcript text by Duke University Libraries. Title and description by University of Galway.