| Description | The Sheehy Skeffington Collection is a vast collection of papers originally belonging to Hanna and Francis Sheehy Skeffington, and to other members of the Sheehy Skeffington family. It has been donated to the National Library of Ireland by Andree Sheehy Skeffington, and has been acquired over several decades. Some of the material was indexed in the 1980s and earlier, some in 1997-1999, and some material acquired in 1998-1999 remains unsorted. The Collection includes a great deal of manuscript material relating to the history of the women's movement in Ireland, especially relating to the Irish Women's Franchise League and to the newspaper 'The Irish Citizen', to other liberal and progressive political movements ( for example, pacifism and the anti-war movement, the anti-vivisection movement, etc.), Irish nationalist politics, and Irish politics generally. Most of the material dates from the end of the nineteenth century to c1946, when Hanna Sheehy Skeffington died.
From a logistical point of view, the collection can be separated into three parts:
1. Material catalogued in Hayes' 'Manuscript Sources for the History of Irish Civilisation' and on the card index of the manuscript reading room
2. Material which has been indexed recently and is accessible by means of a Special List, available online (see link below) in the manuscript reading room
3. Material acquired since 1996, unsorted.
As far as the content is concerned, these three sections include essentially the same sort of material. While it is hoped that the indexes will be eventually be collated, at the moment the researched must consult three indexes in order to access all the available material.
The three parts of the collection are, briefly, as follows:
1 Catalogued material
Several hundred items, ranging in the numbered series from cMs21,194 to Ms24,144, have been indexed and are readily accessible in the manuscript's reading room, on the card index and in Hayes.
2. Special List: Ms33,603-33,636
This part of the Sheehy Skeffington collection has been recently catalogued, it covers the period 1900-1946. It consists of 33 boxes of manuscripts and ephemera. These include 206 folders of letters, numbering approximately 7,000 letters, mainly to Hanna Sheehy Skeffington; 75 folders of Hanna Sheehy Skeffington's essays, articles, stories and other writings; 15 folders of ephemera relating to the women's movement (Irish Women's Franchise League, 'The Irish Citizen', etc.),; and 10 folders of newsclippings and other printed ephemera, relating to the women's movement and Irish politics.
The material is organised as follows:
(A) Ms33,603-33,609 correspondence of Hanna Sheehy Skeffington (1903-1946)
(B) Ms33,610-33,612 correspondence of Francis Sheehy Skeffington (1903-1916)
(C) Ms33,613-33,614 other correspondence (c1900-1950)
(D) Ms33,615-33,621 essays, articles and literary work by Hanna Sheehy Skeffington
(E) Ms 33,622 articles by Hanna Sheehy Skeffington relating to the women's movement
(F) Ms33,623 articles by Hanna Sheehy Skeffington relating to general political matters
(G) Ms33,624-33,626 articles, essays and writings of Francis Sheehy Skeffington
(H) Ms33,627 papers relating to the public inquiry into the death of Francis Sheehy Skeffington
(I) Ms33,628-33,636 newscuttings and printed ephemera, mainly relating to the women's movement and to general Irish political affairs (c1900-1946)
Researchers wishing to see this material are asked to consult the Special List, which is available online (see link below) and in the manuscript's reading room.
3 Unsorted Manuscripts
In addition to the listed material, the National Library has recently acquired a large collection of additional Sheehy Skeffington material, some of which relates to Hanna and Francis Sheehy Skeffington. This is, as yet, unsorted, and is not yet available for consultation. |
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