Courtney McGrailIt is “an extraordinary slice of Maynooth and indeed of the Great War”, said the President of St Patrick’s College, Msgr Hugh Connolly at the ‘Maynooth College 1914-1918’ exhibition to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War.
As part of Heritage Week and in order to honour the centenary of World War I, the college library has organised an exhibition to showcase letters and other memorabilia donated by friends and family of those who fought in the war.
It is “a window to tease out some of the great relationships of the Great War”, Msgr Connolly said speaking of the exhibition, explaining that the Russell Library where the exhibition will reside until early 2015 is “a virtually unknown treasure trove”.
The Russell Library is indeed a treasure trove with its high ceilings, fine paintings, portraits and rustic bookshelves loaded with beautifully worn old leather-bound books.
The cases and stand-up posters of the exhibition are incorporated into the room in such a way as it blends in to the mise-en-scène without distracting from the overall beauty of the room.
There are six cases covering four themes in the exhibition which are: Life at Maynooth College 1914-1918, meeting the need for army chaplains, Maynooth College and the threat of conscription and a German professor at Maynooth.
Connection
The exhibition showcases St Patrick’s College’s connection to the “extraordinary event” said Msgr Connolly and the college itself had four chaplains serving in WWI. Fr Stephen Clarke died at 29 while giving the last rites to troops in no-man’s land. Fr Donal O’Sullivan was hit by a shell while administering to the wounded and died aged 26. Fr Matthew Vincent Prendergast was also ordained at Maynooth College in 1908 and died in November 1918.
The final chaplain was Fr Francis Gleeson who served in the Royal Munster Fusiliers. He received the Victoria Cross for his bravery and was described in a newspaper as “a credit to the country he hails from”.
At least 200,000 Irish people fought in the First World War and it is estimated that between 35,000 and 37,000 lost their lives, with between 70,000 and 90,000 wounded, explained Dr David Murphy of the Department of History at NUI Maynooth, during a tour of the exhibition.
Following the Lockout and the build-up to Home Rule, many of those men were volunteers who, for political and economic motives, donned a uniform to be shot at – for what “we see as madness today” said Dr Murphy.
Realities
The exhibition in the Russell Library paints a picture of the realities of war and in particular, the Irish involvement and the courage of the chaplains who “made the ultimate sacrifice and died while carrying out their work”, said librarian Barbara McCormack.
In battles where the land ran red with the blood of slaughtered men, these chaplains risked their lives to support and provide spiritual guidance to the troops. Now entering a decade of centenaries including the Easter Rising and the Civil War, “events like this hopefully, will drive the research forward”, said Dr Murphy.