Fonsie Mealy's RARE BOOKS & COLLECTIBLES December 7th & 8th, 2021

105 Fonsie Mealy’s Est. 1934 720. [O’Casey (Sean)] Thomas Ashe .... by Sean O’Cathasaigh 8vo D. (Fergus O’Connor) n.d. [1917] Broadside, printed with black lined border one side only, approx. 8¼” x 5¾”, tipped onto block card. Sole Edition. A poem in six stanzas each of five lines, commencing ‘The Children of Eireann are listening again...’ Ex. Rare. Ayling & Durkan A3. (1) * Thomas Ashe was a personal friend of Sean O’Casey. This is his third publication. €180 - €220 721. Republican Photographs: Four Courts - A good group of 12 original photographs of Dublin during The Troubles showing the Four Courts after the bombardment, Morans Hotel, Barrys Hotel, Barricades, Orange Hall, Parnell Sq., O’Connell St., after the fires, etc., some rare views, some probably not available elsewhere, from a private source. Each approx. 3” x 4”. As photos, w.a.f. (12) €200 - €300 722. Proceedings of The First Dail Dail Eireann : Dail Eireann. Tuairisc Infhedidh meach ar Sheiseon an Mheithimh, 17adh - 19adh (Session June 17 - 19, 1919). Printed text in Irish followed by English version, reporting the Dail business and debates in detail, including appointment of Arthur Griffith as Acting President in the Absence of the President, Eamon de Valera. Business included a resolution of thanks to American Congress, Acting -Presidents’ Address, Departmental Reports, Ministerial proposals etc. 8vo 16pp, orig. ptd. wrappers, somewhat browned. An exceptionally rare item. (1) €300 - €400 723. The First Dail Eireann With Card Signed by Eoin Mac Neill Irish Dail Eireann An Chead Tionol, 21 January 1919, The verbatim record of the first day’s proceedings of the First Dail, text in Irish, French and English, including the Declaration of Independence and the Message to the Free Nations of the World, with errata recording that Michael Collins and Harry were not present (they were in fact in England, organising De Valera’s escape from prison) 32pp., orig. grey wrappers, decor. in green and gold. A very clean copy. Together with an Admission Card for the event signed by Eoin Mac Neill, and also a postcard of the event. As a lot. (3) * A most historic document. €350 - €450 720 721 MacSwiney (Terence) A long and interesting ALS to Fred Cronin, 27.5.[19]06, 12 pp (three folded sheets), with associated envelope, discussing his plans to publish his first collection of poetry, The Music of Freedom (1907), for which he had obtained costings from Guys (of Cork) and Gills. The estimate for 1,000 copies in cloth gilt came to £33, to be paid in advance, which he confesses ‘has staggered me not a little’, and Guy’s representative also raised queries about the content. ‘Moore asked me .. did it not advocate armed resistance? I said it depended on the moral he drew from it! He laughed. He then raised the question of trouble with - what do you think? - the Church! I said there would be no trouble with the Church, as long as I believed in the Church I would write nothing against it. He said of course .. But things are peculiar in Ireland, and there was - the Peasant! He actually brought up the suppression of the ‘Peasant’! I told him some of those who disapproved most strongly of that suppression were priests, which seemed to surprise him ..’ Also mentions other projects, the Craobh, the Celtic [Literary Society], etc. [Note: Cronin is addressed here as ‘Conchubhar’, the name he used when writing in Irish]. MacSwiney’s collection, The Music Of Freedom, was published in 1907 under his own imprint, The Risen Gaedheal Press, printed by Guys of Cork, under the pen-name ‘Cuireadir’ (‘Sower of seed’). He got his chosen Irish Vellum paper and cloth gilt binding, with the United Irish harp on front cover, but it is very unlikely that 1,000 copies were issued, as the book is rare; about 300 is more likely. A copy is included with this lot. ‘For victory Is not in life alone, but in the strength That masters life to serve a noble purpose. And they have won their fight most gloriously, Who flung their lives with passionate resolve Against tyrannous empire; who in falling Did fire a million sleeping breasts to life ..’ [p. 67] Provenance: Cronin Collection. €1600 - €2200 716. Concerning the Publication of His First Book