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THE FINAL ORDER of surrender written by revolutionary leader Padraig Pearse during the Easter Rising on 30 April 1916 could be set to leave Ireland, as several American bidders have expressed interest ahead of an upcoming auction next month.
The document is set to be sold by public auction on 7 December at James Adam’s Irish art and historical document sale. It is currently on display at the GPO and was last sold in 2005.
Unconditional surrender
The letter calls for all volunteers to “lay down arms” in order to “prevent further slaughter of the civil population.”
An initial letter of surrender, written by Pearse and James Connolly, and relayed by Nurse Elizabeth O’Farrell to rebels fighting at various points in the city, is currently housed at the Imperial War Museum in London.
As several pockets of volunteers fought on, and when no additional copies of the original order could be reproduced, Pearse, who was being held at Arbour Hill Detention Barracks, was compelled to write another order of surrender.
The letter reads:
In order to prevent further slaughter of the civil population and in the hope of saving the lives of our followers, the members of the Provisional Government present at headquarters have decided on an unconditional surrender, and commandants or officers commanding districts will order their commands to lay down arms. PH Pearse, Dublin, 30th April 1916.
Pearse was executed at Kilmainham Jail by British forces just three days later on 3 May 1916.
American interest
The auctioneer, Stuart Cole, said that despite spending several months in contact with the National Library and the Department of Arts Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the letter had been deemed “too expensive” by figures from the Department.
He told TheJournal.ie that interest from potential bidders from the United States meant that the final surrender letter could soon leave the country.
Cole said: “In the 2005 auction, there was considerable American interest at the time. The person who was pipped to the post by the eventual winning bidder was American. There’s been similar interest this time round. One client has already asked for an export license for the letter. If the State does not wish to purchase the letter this request should not be denied.”
The letter could be set to leave Ireland, and that is an awful shame that two of the most important letters of surrender may not be in Ireland.
Cole added that, at the time that it was last sold in 2005, the owner wished for the document to remain in Ireland, and offered it to the National Library for €50,000. Their counter offer of €10,000 was turned down, and Pearse’s letter sold for €800,000 at auction.
Taxpayer’s Money
The Government believes that the letter, with a guide price of between €1 million and €1.5 million would not constitute an efficient use of taxpayer’s money.
A spokesperson from the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs told TheJournal.ie:
The Department consulted with a number of our national cultural institutions in relation to the sale of this Pearse letter and it was a shared view that the amount being sought for this one letter, in the order of €1.5m, would not be the best use of taxpayers’ money, especially considering the fact that our cultural institutions hold several other letters written by Pearse during and after the Rising.
Historical Significance
Writing in the auction brochure, Professor of Modern Irish History at UCD, Diarmaid Ferriter, said the document is of “immense historical significance”.
He writes: “Unlike the surrender order that was composed in Parkgate, it was handwritten and signed by Pearse alone. It was the last official letter Pearse wrote, three days before his execution by firing squad on the morning of 3 May 1916 and is therefore a vital part of the archive of the newly declared republic in 1916.”
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It tells us a lot about the culture and working of the seanad when the biggest story to come out of it last year was senators entitlement to free all ireland final tickets.
Still, those were media headlines – it’s the media’s whole job to entertain and advertise. Our Senate covers a lot of issues, have a look. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/yearlist?readform&chamber=seanad
@Adrian: In fairness I do not believe it was the biggest issue to be discussed there. The Independents have ad a significant on the legislative system where Ministers are no longer assured of their majority whipped vote. The point here is it could do so much more if the wil is there to reform it.
Senators my hole,these people for the most part are egotists with little or no regard for the public good! Parasites on the public expenditure who like nothing more than the sound of their own voices.And the hypocrisy of aodhan o riordan voting against it then taking the seat was an insult to the electorate.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: You are correct and the current Seanad has had a significant impact on recent legislation
@Dave cullen: Dave I think you should read the contributions made in the Seanad by recently elected Senators all of whom have had a significant impact.
@Senator G Craughwell: Not to many THUMPS UP across your comments senator .. ‘ I am not sure if you’ should ‘participate.’ ……… !
I would suspect that the majority of people don’t see the Seanad been an effective body. They can’t stop any legislations, they can only delay it passage. They can’t change legislation, they can only offer suggestion. They’re not effective at introducing new legislation into the Dail.
@Senator G Craughwell: The Seanad flagged CETA at a time when it was highly relevant but (deliberately?) being underdiscussed elsewhere in the Oireachtas. I voted to retain the Seanad in the referendum and my reasons were about the potential of the Seanad and not how it was being constituted by the Irish political parties. I absolutely did not trust FG (or Labour) in the motive for putting forward the referendum (the dishonest claim that it amounted to political reform and reduction in number of politicians and that the Seanad could not be reformed (Enda Kenny’s position stated by Varadkar on Vincent Browne’s TV3 show), I did not trust them to (if they had won) transparently dissolve the Seanad (e.g. not sneaking in something in the legislation with wider consequences. That said the Seanad desperately needs serious reform to be relevent and the possibility of that in the current party political environment is extremely unlikely.
@Senator G Craughwell: The Seanad us a pointless, undemocratic, waste of money. Aren’t you embarrassed to be surrounded by so many other failed politicians who can only get their snouts in the trough by the back door method of Seanad elections and their tiny electorate?
Well done for engaging with the journal Senator in a transparent and honest manner a pleasant change from other politicians. It’s such a shame that the reform needed by the house has not been taken place as promised when the motion was defeated. In your opinion what reforms are needed to have a fully functional second house and what is the first step to it taking place?
Don’t mind the red thumbs haters going to hate….
Amazing that people who supported the abolition of the senate are now the first ones to fill in the expenses sheets and collect salary.# snouts in trough.
@john g mcgrath: Yeah, one particular Labour senator Aodhan O Riordhain for example. Nauseating hypocrisy at his worst!
Curious to see what the author as a senator himself thinks of the hypocrisy of Aodhan O Riordhain? #thetwitfromtwitter
A bit like a real politician in a way senator.Answer the questions you want to. What if I ask you your favourite pizza topping??
The truth is nominations for the Seanad election should close on the same day as they do for the Dail. I am totally opposed to the use of the Seanad as a consolation prize for anyone. I hope this answers your query.
We should be allowed to vote again because we got it completely wrong the last time!
For once we agree on something.
Think this lay about store should be given the axe . The likes of Heather Humphreys and her free GAA tickets entitlement. The like of her and more should go on job seekers and learn how the real people of Ireland live.
Heather Humphreys is a member of the Dail not the Seanad.. that was Michelle Mulherin you are referring to, but she should be retired as should the rest of them, half the Dail and CC’s too
All anyone wanted was to vote against Ends. He hoodwinked the nation again. Seanad waste of taxpayers money full stop…
@Willy Malone: Just imagine how free the Government would be if there were no Seanad. Imagine how hard Ministers would have to work if they were not assured of a whipped majority. A reformed Seanad could do so much more.
@Willy Malone:
So because Kenny proposed abolition of the Seanad, it’s his fault it’s still there?
That’s some pretty twisted logic right there.
Maybe people could take some personal responsibility for how they voted, rather than whinging that Enda made them do it by proposing the opposite.
@Willy Malone: Enda hookwinked no one. The stupidity of the Irish population was laid bare. Kept the Seanad to give Enda a bloody nose.
@Gerard – the notion of the second house from an oversight and governance perspective. But sometimes you need to start again.
@Brinster: do you get time and a half os double time for working on a sunday?
Oh can we please stop with the crap. . As soon as someone has a difference of opinion they are accused of being a shill or a troll . It’s ridiculously immature!
@Bejasus Bejorrah:
How incredibly funny and original you are.
Not pathetic at all.
Thank you for your incredibly incisive retort…did you think that ip by yourself?
Did you see the SIPO reports where FG Fraperoom lackeys charged €93k for their services?
….. “I am confident that few, if any, voters would vote to keep the outdated and ineffective upper house we operate in today”
I BET THEY WOULD !…the Irish electorate are one of the must gullible easily led electorate in Europe..that’s why we have been plagued with the politics of FG & FF for ever and a day, and why we vote NO, YES, NO, YES again..and DONT KNOW….we are electorally stupid !
@CJ Stewart: Well now CJ that is just a bit harsh on the Irish electorate but I am not sure if you participate.
@Senator G Craughwell: well senator..since you are not sure..why open your mouth in the first place… ? ? ? ?
How about allowing citizens to vote for their senators? Like they do in other democratic countries. Im not a fan of the senate but we need it
@Michael Collins: The current Seanad reform Bill has this included in it.
@Michael Collins: that in the reform bill he mentions http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=33177
We have the veneer of Democracy. A lot more representation could be done if these institutions were modernised.
I voted to keep the Seanad, but it badly needs reform, PROPER reform.
The only thing the Seanad change’s is their paychecks.
Reform will never be on the agenda. Something that useless needs to be abolished.
In that case, you effectively voted for FF to reform the Seanad as they were the only major party to ‘promise’ such reform. SF, I have to say, rose in my estimation when they supported abolition as they recognised that reform was never going to happen.
Let have another vote on this lot…
The reason people voted against abolishing the Seanad was very simple, they feared handing TD’s total power, especially after bringing the country to the brink of bankruptcy (and other abuses) with the power they already had.
An Seanad allows nominee Seanators of the Taoiseach, such as Marie Louise, draw a good salary and to express sycophantic adoration of the Taoiseach.
It also gives a platform to eccentric and obsessed types to voice strong fumdamentalist Roman Catholic dogma.
I voted for retention and would do so again. Its true the Seanad is largely a talking shop. But as the Senator says, the govt no longer has a majority there and as such, if the Seanad puts its mind to it it can wield real influence through the delaying power.
have your say