This article is from page 18 of the 2009-12-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
A TELEGRAM sent by Eamon de Valera to his wife following his election as MP for Clare has been restored and put on display at Clare Museum in Ennis.
The document, which confirms the former Taoiseach and President’s 1917 by-election victory over Patrick Lynch of the Irish Party, is being ex- hibited along with the first Minute book of Clare County Council re- corded in April 1899. The exhibits form part of a joint conservation initiative between Clare County Ar- chives and Clare Museum.
Commenting on the newly restored telegram, Museum Curator, John Rattigan said that its simple message belies the importance of deValera’s victory.
“It signifies a move away from constitutional to physical force na- tionalism and the beginning of a political career that would last until de Valera’s retirement as President in 1973. In the months after his elec- tion victory, De Valera was named President of both Sinn Fein and the Irish Volunteers.”
Mr Rattigan said that prior to its res- toration, the telegram was in a state of disintegration and was in an unfit state to be exhibited or handled.
‘The printed carbon copy on wood pulp paper had become brittle, dis- coloured and acidic,’ he added.
The telegram is displayed along-
side a comprehensive account of the councils first meeting, which was held in Ennis on April 22, 1899 when Michael A Scanlon was elected as the council’s first chairman. According to County Archivist, Rene Franklin it is clear from the minute book that those present re- garded the new council as a stepping stone to national independence. “This nationalist fervour was the spirit behind a series of motions re-
corded in the minutes and preserved now in the Clare County Archives,” she explained
At the inagural meeting, Thomas Blackall proposed the following motion: “while accepting the Local Government Act [1898] as a tardy in- stalment of justice, and while we are determined to work for the benefit of all classes in our country, we hereby declare that we will never relax our efforts in the National cause until we
see a native Parliament in College Gnio ee
All of the council’s minute books are preserved and available for public viewing by contacting Clare County Archives at archives@clarecoco.ie or 065 6846414.