Francis Sheehy-Skeffington was born in County Cavan in 1878 and reared in County Down. He studied modern languages at UCD and found work as a freelance journalist. A feminist, nationalist and pacifist, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington was arrested by the British military and subsequently shot with two civilians on the orders of Captain Bowen-Colthurst on April 26 1916.
Hanna Sheehy was born in Cork and received a B.A. in Modern Languages and later a M.A. in 1903. When she married Francis Skeffington in 1903, the couple adopted each others surname and had one son, Owen Sheehy-Skeffington. Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington organised the Irish Women's Franchise League. Her political activities saw her appointment to the Executive of the new Fianna Fáil party. Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington died of heart failure in 1946. She and Francis are buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.
Archival History ↴
The Sheehy Skeffington Papers were donated to the National Library of Ireland by Mrs Andrée Sheehy Skeffington, daughter-in-law of Hanna and Francis Sheehy Skeffington.
The collection contains the correspondence of Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington (including correspondence with James Joyce) and other family correspondence. Also included are writings of Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington and Francis Sheehy-Skeffington as well as news cuttings and material pertaining to the inquiry in to the shooting of Francis Sheehy-Skeffington in 1916.
Appraisal Destruction ↴
Permanent Retention
Arrangement ↴
The collection is arranged as follows: A: Correspondence of Hanna Sheehy Skeffington (1903-1946); B: correspondence of Francis Sheehy Skeffington (1903-1916); C: Correspondence of Owen Sheehy Skeffington, other members of the Sheehy and Skeffington families, and others; D: Writings of Hanna Sheehy Skeffington; E: Writings of Francis Sheehy Skeffington; F: Papers relating to the public inquiry into the shooting of Francis Sheehy Skeffington; G: Newscuttings, printed material and ephemera.
Conditions of Access & Use
Access Conditions
Access with a valid National Library of Ireland reader's ticket.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Reproduction rights owned by the National Library of Ireland.
Additional Sheehy-Skeffington material can be located in Collection List No. 82.
Descriptive Control Area
Archivist Note
Éilis Ní Dhuibhne, Fiona Hughes
Rules/Conventions
NLI guidelines based on ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000, and Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
