In March 1922, the Keeper of Marsh’s Library wrote to ‘Michael Collins Esq.’, Minister of Finance in the new Irish Provisional Government.
The Keeper wished to confirm that ‘the new Irish Government will not be less generous than the old one’, and that the library would continue to receive an annual grant of £26 2s 8d.
The library received this masterfully non-committal letter in reply.
Within a few months, Collins was dead: a victim of the Civil War which engulfed the new state.
Citation:
A Letter from Michael Collins, TD.,
Marsh's Library Exhibits: ‘Changed Utterly?’
curated by Elaine Doyle and Jason McElligott,
accessed April 25, 2024,
https://www.marshlibrary.ie/digi/exhibits/show/irishrevolution/item/638