Autograph Letter Signed to "Deidre [Dolly Lynd, sister of essayist, Robert Lynd]. IN IRISH. about Irish affairs including the degrading death of Michael Collins. With original envelope on which Robert Lynd's daughter, Maire Gaster, gives backg.round.

6pp., 4to, good condition, IN IRISH, translation as follows: "(On top) Write to me soon! ||Deirdre, my dear friend – I was delighted to receive your letter. Thank you very much. Forgive me for not writing much earlier: we are all greatly upset here over the deaths of Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins – isn’t it terrible news! I cannot believe it is true – I don’t know what the country will do without them. It disgusts me to think of Michael Collinsand the way they killed him like a dog; a curse on them, may they choke, the dirty villains! He was a fine man; I saw the account your brother Roibeárd [Robert Lynd] wrote about him in the Daily News – did you see it? I feel proud that Richard Mulcahy will be taking his place; I think he is a good man: do you know him? But look, I get very angry when I think about it – I hope the other side is satisfied now. Do you know there is an Irish woman here and she is strongly on the side of De Valera; I don’t have to tell you she has not set a foot on the land of Ireland since she was a small girl and I suppose she is afraid that she will not be ‘Irish enough’ if she is on the side of the Free State – she’s another Erskine Childers, my dear. She told Máire O’Keefe that Harry Boland had been murdered – she heard it from some priest: did you hear anything about that? ‘And isn’t it a terrible thing that they didn’t have an inquest’. ‘Terrible altogether,’ said Máire’ ‘it’s strange that his own people did not ask for one. Cathal Brugha had one’. I was sorry about the death of Harry Boland all the same, he was a nice boy. But did you hear that they murdered him? I think it is only a rumour. About Paris I am sad to say and it grieves my heart to tell you that I don’t think that I will be able to come. I am in a rage about it, but what can I do? I have no money saved or anything; apart from this I would be able to come, and I would love it. Oh, why can’t I? Alas! It makes me angry! And to think that you and Lucie will be there without me. I would like to kill myself when I think of it. But listen I have a strong intention if I can to save some money; I would like to come home for a short while to Dublin anyway – maybe in the Autumn. You see, I could stay in London for a short while and sell pictures there, and then put in three weeks or so in Dublin. Wouldn’t this be nice ? I am working at present on a couple of book covers for Hodder and Stoughton and I hope to get more work from them – they give good money although I do not like the work much. But one must live! By the way ......... The Swiss who are a lot of contemptibles. I don’t think much of them – they are *** (unclear word), stupid, mean, frigid, misunderstanding [used by him as an adjective here], fat etc., etc., etc.! Of course I’d like a change if possible. But I must wait. There are many Irish here and we drink tea together nearly every day and we are continually talking of Ireland. We’re all Free-Staters .......[He finishes with] Sunday: Dublin Monday: Sevilla Wednesday: Howth Thursday: Taormina (?) ETC. ETC". Maire Gaster has written a note on the original envelope identifying the recipient and revealing Mac Liamoir's passion for her.