File 18 - Correspondence file re Christopher J. Brady, Printer of the 1916 Proclamation

10 items; Manuscript, typescript and photographic print

Correspondence file relating to Christopher J. Brady who along with Michael J. Molloy and Liam Ó Briain, compositors, were responsible for printing the 1916 Proclamation. The Proclamation was composed in Liberty Hall, the headquarters of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union. Liberty Hall was also the location of the printing press, an antiquated Wharfdale Double Crown, used to print Connolly’s ‘The Worker’s Republic’ newspaper. Brady used this press to print the Proclamation on Sunday, 23 April 1916. The file includes a photographic print of Christopher J. Brady and letters mainly regarding requests that he authenticate original copies of the Proclamation. One of the letters (17 June 1934) is from Nellie Gifford-Donnelly to Brady requesting that he and Michael J. Molloy and Liam Ó Briain visit Dr. Kathleen Lynn to authenticate and sign a copy of the 1916 Proclamation in her possession. Both Gifford-Donnelly and Kathleen Lynn were committed nationalists and feminists who had participated in the Rising. Gifford-Donnelly was later instrumental in securing historical documents and objects associated with the Easter Rising. The Proclamation signed by Brady is now on display in the National Museum of Ireland.

The file also includes a typescript copy of his statement to the Bureau of Military of History (WS 705) re his role in printing the Proclamation. This can be accessed at https://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/bureau-of-military-history-1913-1921/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0705.pdf