BIRRELL & WIMBORNE

Birrell (Augustine), More Obiter Dicta, London, 1924, signed and inscribed by the author, tan cloth boards.

Together with:

Ivor Churchill Guest, Lord Wimbornes signature,...

BIRRELL & WIMBORNE

Birrell (Augustine), More Obiter Dicta, London, 1924, signed and inscribed by the author, tan cloth boards.

Together with:

Ivor Churchill Guest, Lord Wimbornes signature, on card, 9 x 11cm

(2)

 

Augustine Birrell was Chief Secretary for Ireland at the time of the Rising. He was criticised for his inability to predict or prevent the rebellion, and resigned office shortly after.

Known at the time as an author and essayist, this collection of his work is dedicated and signed by him, dated 1925. Although he gained some pity for having to resign, one commentator said:

"I cannot for the life of me see what claims Birrell has to sympathy. The dead and wounded and the very stones of Dublin cry out against him."

 

Lord Wimborne was one of the last Lords Lieutenant of Ireland, serving in that position at the time of the Easter Rising. When the German arms ship Aud was scuttled and Sir Roger Casement had been arrested, Wimborne urged the Under-Secretary for Ireland, Matthew Nathan, to order the arrest of a large number of rebel leaders. Nathan was unwilling to do so without the authorisation of the Chief Secretary, Augustine Birrell, who was in London. Birrell's absence at that time was one of the factors that ensured his resignation after the Rising. Wimborne's position survived the fallout from the rebellion.

 

 

 

 

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