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Padraig Cundun, Deerfield, near Utica, Oneida County, New York, to Thomas O Brien, Ballypherode, Baile Maceda parish, County Cork, 15 October 1849
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Collection Cundun Letters
Title Padraig Cundun, Deerfield, near Utica, Oneida County, New York, to Thomas O Brien, Ballypherode, Baile Maceda parish, County Cork, 15 October 1849
Description More poetic laments over Ireland's miserable condition during the Great Famine, coupled with prose descriptions of American plenty and equality, and Irish immigrant "success stories. Cundun notes that many old settlers, of his generation, were selling their farms and going West for more and better land; Cundun says that he would do so, himself, but he's now too old. Some of the most interesting parts of this letter (although difficult to understand) concern Irish priests' attitudes to the Irish language. Cundun defends the Catholic clergy against criticism by O Briain and others at home, who claimed that the priests were suppressing Irish because it "spoke of justice for the poor." Cundun denounced such critics and defended the priests. However, the critics may have responded to the priests' censorship of books donated to the poor by Protestant proselytizers or schoolmasters. many literate east Cork Irishspeakers, ironically including Cundun before his emigration, had been employed as schoolmasters by the Irish Society, a Protestant organization . Alternatively, the anti-clerical critics may have been disillusioned by the priests' opposition to the Young Ireland rebellions of 1848-49, which (perhaps surprisingly) Cundun never mentions. [Letter transcript shows the original text in Irish, alongside an English translation.]
Date 15/10/1849
Date Issued 27/03/2023
Resource Type Text
Archival Record Id p155/25/2
Publisher University of Galway
Extent 9pp
Topic Cundun Letters
Geographic Ballypherode (townland),Cork (county),Ireland,Deerfield (town),Oneida (county),New York (state),United States
Temporal Nineteenth century,Eighteen forties
Genre Transcript
Note Translation from Irish language to English by Dr. Bruce D. Boling (collaborator of Professor Kerby Miller). Irish language version of the letter included alongside the translated text. Transcript text, title and description by Professor Kerby Miller. Letter transcribed from: O'Foghludha R. (1932). Padraig phiarais cun'dun 1777-1856. Oifig diolta foillseachain rialtais.
Creator / Author Name Padraig Cundun