Letters by opera singer on 1916 rising return to Dublin

A first-hand civilian account of the 1916 Rising has been returned to Dublin almost a century after being written by a visiting English opera singer.

Elsie McDermid’s 26-page letter to her mother featured on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow just five weeks ago, prompting Dublin city library service to contact her nephew who had brought it to be valued.

Colin McDermid has made a digital copy available to be part of the Dublin City Public Library and Archive’s Proclaiming the Republic exhibition in the first half of 2016, but it is also planned to make it available online.