Muriel & MacDonagh (Part 2)
Sydney and Muriel Gifford. National Gallery of Ireland. Early 1910s.
As this is the calendar anniversary of the 1916 Rising I thought it would be a good day to continue my story about the love story between Muriel and MacDonagh, if you missed Part 1 of this tale I accidentally discovered last month that they once lived as newly weds in this very apartment on Upper Baggot Street.
In this second installment I want to share with what I discovered about their time in Baggot Street from reading their letters in the National Library of Ireland. There is something a little uncanny and moving about reading handwritten words especially in the digital age we live in. It was very special to see their letters – the turn of phrase they had, the flourish of their pens or pencils, the watermarked vellum they wrote on, the time and date of postage (sometimes a couple of times a day) and the stamp of the Kings head on every letter, along with the loving words exchanged between each other. It made me hope even more that the art of letter and (love letter) writing will continue.
Now back to the story, in my previous post Muriel and Thomas MacDonagh moved into 32 Upper Baggot Street in early 1912. Before they moved in Muriel wrote to Thomas that her Mother had come to ‘inspect’ the flat. Here’s what Muriel wrote to Thomas about the visit.
To: Thomas MacDonagh Esq,
Grange House Lodge,
Rathfarnham,
Co. Dublin
From: Muriel Gifford
8 Temple Villas,
Palmerston Road,
30th November 1911
My Own Darling,
Well darling, I brought my Mother round today to see the flat and she was quite charmed with the rooms – it was dark by the time we got there so I borrowed a taper (candle) from the man and we poked around as well as we could. I think I brought her round in more than one sense…[…].
With all my love darling,
Millions of Kisses,
Yours Forever,
Muriel
I found another description of the time from Lucille Redmond (Thomas and Muriel’s grand-daughter) about their days as newly weds. She wrote here that they had dinner parties, decorated their house with posters of Votes for Women and that apparently Thomas was a great man for doing the housework, this description could very well be Baggot Street!
” We have a family snapshot of a cosy newlyweds’ dinner party, the dog sitting up on someone’s knee, and over the mantelpiece a banner embroidered “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” and a “Votes for Women” poster. Now he was lecturing in English literature at UCD. His second book of criticism, Literature in Ireland, would soon be published. He and Muriel, married four years, were buying a nice house in Ranelagh. My mother, Barbara, was a year old, and her brother Donagh was three. My great-aunts Nellie and Kay used to tell me at Christmas dinner (invariably, the conversation started “Katy, do you remember the Christmas we were in jail?”) that Tomás actually did his share of the housework – yes, I know, it’s hard to believe, but they swore it was true!” © Lucille Redmond
This description gives a really lively view of their lives and their tremendously modern outlook, it also reflects the fun and joy that can be found in their letters, like this one.
To: Thomas MacDonagh Esq,
Grange House Lodge,
Rathfarnham,
Co. Dublin
From: Muriel Gifford
8 Temple Villas,
Palmerston Road,
3rd October 1911
My Darling,
…Please never think that I am posing when I cannot agree with you in thinking I am beautiful I know that I am not though thank God that you do think so and I hope you always will – but you see dearest I have never been taught to regard myself as even tolerably passable looking and as for my hair I have always regarded the colour to be something to be rather ashamed of – but that couldn’t be changed. That is the best or worst of being one of a large family, you get all the conceit knocked out of you.
…I have been reading your Song of me over and over again – it is beautiful and my darling – I wish I am worthy of it – it will always be my most precious possession – outside of you – the first Song you have written to me.
Goodbye, my darling,
Kisses on your lips,
Yours to the end of the world,
Muriel
The above letter Muriel talks of how she doesn’t think she is beautiful is really sweet and very untrue if you see images above and more here. Thomas replies with love and adoration and retaliation that she is indeed beautiful.
The letters discontinue as they married and moved in together in January 1912, this is until Muriel has their first child Donagh and has to stay in hospital and in her family home to recuperate after giving birth. Thomas writes her beautiful letters every day to say how patient she is, what a wonderful new mother she is and that his prayers will be answered and she will be home soon.
To: Muriel MacDonagh
Rotunda Hospital,
Dublin
From: Thomas MacDonagh
32 Upper Baggot Street,
30th November 1912,
My beloved,
I hope to heaven that this time my prayer that you are going to rest well tonight is going to be answered. My poor darling, you are beautifully patient and good…
Ever darling, yours,
Mac Donagh
And, so I leave you with one last missive from Thomas to his darling wife, the good news is that at this time she did recover and return to Baggot Street and they had 4 more years as a tremendously happy family together before the events of the Rising overshadowed all of their worlds. I will be back soon with Part 3, very soon.
To: Muriel MacDonagh
Rotunda Hospital,
Dublin
From: Thomas MacDonagh
32 Upper Baggot Street,
1st December 1912
Goodnight, My darling love,
I am counting the hours till I have you here again.
With all my heart, my darling,
Yours,
MacDonagh
Thomas MacDonagh bare foot on the beach with bow-tie in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. National Gallery of Ireland.
P.S.
And if this has made you long for the art of the hand-written love letter, check out this cool site I just discovered Letters of Note, a blog which showcases the amazing letters that have been exchanged between great historic and literary figures. There is also an amazing event Letters Live which was borne from the blog where fab folk read the letters of the great and the good. My favourite Is this one with Tom Hiddleston reading a love letter All this I did Without You from Gerald Durrell to his wife Lee McGeorge, it’s worth watching!