April Document of the Month

(NAI, PLIC/1/1537)

The April Document of the Month is an application for compensation to the Property Losses (Ireland) Committee from Lizzie Walsh, a chamber maid in the Metropole Hotel in Sackville Street, which was completely destroyed following the 1916 Rising.

The application includes a statement by Miss Walsh containing a description and valuation of all the personal possessions she has lost. It also includes a series of correspondence in which she pleads with the Committee and the Chief Secretary to take into account the precarious situation she has found herself in through no fault of her own. Following the destruction of the hotel, she has been unable to secure further employment and as a consequence has found herself in dire financial straits. She contends the compensation allowed to her is inadequate to meet even her most basic needs and her inability to purchase aprons is preventing her from obtaining employment.

In reply to a letter from Joseph Brennan, Chief Secretary’s Office, the Committee state her case has been investigated thoroughly and they ‘consider that Lizzie Walsh has been fully compensated and they have informed her twice that they cannot re-open her case’.

To view the entire file please see PLIC/1/1537.

To view transcriptions of the correspondence please see transcriptions.

The file is one of a series of compensation claims made to the Property Losses (Ireland) Committee, which was established in June 1916 to assess claims for damages to buildings and for the loss of personal property following the 1916 Rising. The series (PLIC/1) contains 6,567 files that have been digitised by the National Archives as part of the programme of events to commemorate the 1916 Rising. The project was launched in the National Archives on 20 April 2016 by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and is available to view at centenaries.nationalarchives.ie.