Lost memoir tells how James Connolly returned to his faith before execution [View all]

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A manuscript which lay undiscovered for years details the dramatic events in Dublin in 1916, writes Tim Kendall

Tim Kendall – 26 May 2013

A manuscript found in an old filing box of documents in England has revealed that in the hours before he was executed in Dublin in 1916, the Citizens' Army leader James Connolly returned to his Catholic faith.

The manuscript with the title Daring All things – My Story was the unpublished autobiography of British Army chaplain George Kendall OBE and gives a first-hand account of the capture of the rebel leaders.

Kendall, my grandfather, was chaplain to the 59th division of the British Army who were sent to Dublin to help put down the Rising. He describes in his memoir, completed in 1961, shortly before his death, the capture and execution of rebel leader James Connolly.

"I saw James Connolly twice whilst he was in hospital, the second time being on the eve of his execution.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/lost-memoir-tells-how-james-connolly-returned-to-his-faith-before-execution-29297110.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Connolly