The Eoin MacNeill Collection

Repository: UCC Library Archives Service

Title	The Eoin MacNeill Collection
Archive Reference	IE BL/PC/EMN
Web Link to this Entry	https://iar.ie/archive/eoin-macneill-collection
Creation Dates	1916
Extent Medium	1 item

Administrative History ↴

Eoin (John) MacNeill (1867-1945) was a Gaelic scholar and Nationalist politician born 15 May 1867 in Glenarm, Co. Antrim and died 15 October 1945 in Dublin. He was a key figure in the Gaelic revival, a co-founder of the Gaelic League along with Douglas Hyde to preserve Irish language and culture. In 1913 he established the Irish Volunteers and served as their Chief-of-Staff. He held this position during the Easter Rising (1916) though had no role in it or the planning of it. MacNeill helped countermand the Easter Monday rising by placing a newspaper advertisement advising Volunteers not to take part, thus reducing the number of rebel combatants actively taking part. He was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment but was released in 1917. He was later elected to the First Dáil as a member of Sinn Féin. His political career spanned 1918-27, serving as Minister for Education (1922-25). He failed to be re-elected in 1927 and he returned to academia, including roles such as the Chair of the Irish Manuscripts Commission, President of the Irish Historical Society, the RSAI and the RIA. He retired in 1941. MacNeill married Agnes Moore in 1898 and they had four sons and four daughters.
Archival History ↴

The Eoin MacNeill Collection was donated to UCC Library in January 2016
Immediate Source Acquisition ↴

Donation

Scope & Content: Eoin (John) MacNeill (1867-1945), Gaelic scholar and Nationalist politician ↴

Mss (handwritten) cover letter dated 19 April 1916, signed by Eoin MacNeill to Mrs. McKean, on the military plan (not included here) for the suppression and disarming of the Volunteers (in the context of an Irish rebellion) prepared by the British Government that had come into the possession of MacNeill. In the letter he notes specifics e.g. “Archbp. Walsh to be imprisoned in his own house”. MacNeill insists that the plan, that was to become known later as The Castle Document, must be circulated as widely as possible throughout the country as the [British] “Government will not allow this to be published”. It is written on headed notepaper of Ógláic nh hÉireann / The Irish Volunteers.
Appraisal Destruction ↴

Permanent Retention
Arrangement ↴

1 item – no arrangement applicable

Access Conditions	Available by appointment with the Archives Service to holders of UCC Readers tickets.
Conditions Governing Reproduction	Where UCC holds the copyright, users can bring their own cameras (no flash photography is permitted), smartphones, or tablets to take images of material, as permitted under Copyright Law, for purposes of private study, at no cost. A “Reprographic Application” form must be completed for each item copied. Staff can explain this process on the day of your visit. Consent of UCC Library is required for any other use, including publication (printed or online).
Creation Dates	1916
Extent Medium	1 item
Material Language Script	English
Finding Aids	Descriptive list available at UCC Library Archival Collections Online Archive Web Link →

There are no Allied Materials

Archivist Note	Emer Twomey
Rules/Conventions	ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottowa: International Council on Archives, 2000.
Date of Descriptions	42461