Descriptive List of the Personal Archive of Diarmaid L. Fawsitt
Content and Structure
References/Copyright Notice: Biographical details adapted and added to by Brian McGee and Julitta Clancy based on the entry by Patrick Long in the Dictionary of Irish Biography (Sept 2021 version). (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3318/dib.003024.v1), published by the Royal Irish Academy. Reproduced under the public licence, Creative Commons CC BY Attribution Non- Commercial 4.0 International license. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ legalcode) Additional References: Documents in Irish Foreign Policy series (www.difp.ie), ‘The Anglo-Irish Treaty’ (http:// research.dho.ie/1921treaty.pdf); several Bureau of Military History statements, such as http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0079.pdf. Also books, ‘Rising from the Ashes’ T MacCarthy, (Cork City Libraries, 2010) ; Cadogan and Falvey (eds), A Biographical Dictionary of Cork (Dublin, 2006). ARCHIVAL HISTORY Papers kept by the family of Judge Sean and Patience Fawsitt at Manch and Laurelmount, Dunmanway, Co. Cork. Some of the papers accompanied the move to Laurelmount in the mid-1980s while the remainder, stored in the farmhouse loft at Manch, were re- discovered in 2018. The reunited papers were sorted and arranged by Julitta Clancy, archivist and grand-daughter of Diarmaid Fawsitt, prior to their donation to Cork City and County Archives in 2019 by the custodian, Alice Fawsitt, SC, on behalf of the family.
Pages from Fawsitt’s pocket and daily diaries (ref. PR81/1/7)
certificates appointing Fawsitt to the role of first Irish consul to the United States in New York (ref. PR81/1/2/A/01). This is a document of national importance, signed by Eamon de Valera and Arthur Griffith, issued in three languages (Irish, French, and English) and clearly designed to enhance de Valera’s diplomatic mission in America. The records from this period contain important sets of pro-Irish material, created in an effort to draw awareness to Irish suffering under British rule and raise funds in the United States for Dail Eireann. The contents include typed copies of speeches and lectures delivered by Fawsitt to various Irish-American lobby groups. Also present are examples of speeches by Fawsitt, de Valera and Boland to mass gatherings, including at Boston in September 1920 (ref. PR81/1/2/E/03). These documents demonstrate Fawsitt’s extensive knowledge of the Irish economy and they express his views on the need to develop Irish industry and grow American trade. Views on home rule and the British empire are also well documented in this part of the collection. The records trace Diarmaid Fawsitt and Eamon de Valera’s movements around the United States on the remarkable tour undertaken by Irish republicans from the east to the west coast of the states and also their return east with Archbishop Mannix. A small volume of material presents evidence of the fundraising activities of the Irish consul in New York, including accounts of sums received for the Irish White Cross fund, Tralee Relief Fund, Cork Relief Fund and the Irish Refugee Fund (ref. PR81/1/2/F).
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE SCOPE AND CONTENT/INTRODUCTION
Section I of the Fawsitt archive comprises records created or received by Diarmaid L. Fawsitt relating to his public and working life from 1904 to 1966. The records span a wide historical period from the early days in Cork around 1904 to his Dail Eireann posting as Irish consul in New York in 1919 and through his civil service and legal career in the 1920s and onwards. The most complete set of records are Fawsitt’s pocket and daily diaries (ref. PR81/1/7), spanning the entire period from 1920 to 1966, except 1926. The content in the diaries is typically brief however the appointments recorded are an invaluable source for Fawsitt’s critical involvement in the diplomatic fight for Irish independence. The diaries allow for historical research into the movements of Fawsitt but also other key players in the republican movement including Eamon de Valera, Harry Boland, James O’Mara, and to a lesser extent Michael Collins. The collection also includes significant historical records documenting two diplomatic areas of vital concern to the foundation of the Irish state. The first is a series of papers from Fawsitt’s diplomatic period in New York. These records include the original set of
XVI
XVII
Powered by FlippingBook