SacredSpace102fm : 13th March 2016 - "The End of All Things Earthly" edited by David Bracken

12 Mar 2016

13th March 2016 - "The End of All Things Earthly" edited by David Bracken - 5th Sunday of Lent

On this weeks programme we are joined by David Bracken, Limerick Diocesan Archivist to talk about a new book "The End of All Things Earthly". We have a short reflection on this weeks gospel as well as some other odds and ends.

You can listen to the full podcast of this weeks programme HERE.

"The End of All Things Earthly" edited by David Bracken

On this weeks programme we are joined by David Bracken who works as the Limerick Diocesan Archivist to talk about the publication of a new book about the faith profiles of the 1916 leaders.

Bishop Brendan Leahy launched the new book in Dublin and his talk at the launch is available here.

The official launch in Limerick takes place on Tuesday 15th March in Mary Immaculate College at 6.30pm if people are interested and want to attend.

The title of the book comes from the last letter of John Mallin to his wife from Kilmainhan Gaol written the night before his execution,

"My darling Wife Pulse of my heart, this is the end of all things earthly; sentense of Death has been passed, and a quarter to four tomorrow the sentense will be carried out by shooting and so must Irishmen pay for trying to make Ireland a free nation, Gods will be done.....My heart strings are torne to pieces when I think of you and them of our manly James, happy go lucky John, Shy warm Una dadys Girl and oh little Joseph my little man my little man Wife dear Wife I cannot keep the tears back when I think of him he will rest in my arms no more, to think I have to leave you to battle through the world with them without my help, what will you do my own darling …

Edited by Limerick Diocesan archivist David Bracken, ‘The End of All Things Earthly’ has contributions from 18 academics on this aspect of the leaders’ lives and also includes personal letters and testimonies of the leaders, as well as rarely seen photographs and transcripts. Commenting ahead of the book launch, Bishop Leahy said, “The question of how faith and armed rebellion can be compatible has exercised much conversation from the time of the rising to, indeed, the present day. However, the book does not seek to adjudicate on this but, instead, merely give a sense of what faith meant to the Leaders.

“The Rising Leaders clearly had varying degrees of faith. But what is striking is the closeness with God in the final moments before execution, including for those with little Catholic faith prior to this. It’s a piece of work we are very proud of and indebted to all involved, including our own David Bracken for his effort in pulling this together, and, of course, all contributors.”

Featuring contributions from a selection of Irish academics and historians, the book comprises seventeen concise, yet richly detailed, essays that provide a fascinating insight into the faith profiles of the leaders of the Easter Rising.

The essays trace pivotal movements: from the horrors witnessed by Roger Casement in colonial Africa and South America; to the radicalisation of Patrick Pearse, whose writing reflected his Catholic upbringing; to the quiet prison cells in the sober aftermath of the Rising, where the likes of Con Colbert and Joseph Plunkett found consolation in their faith. The personal letters and testimonies of the leaders contained in the book provide a window into the minds of these revolutionaries as they faced their deaths.

Including rarely seen photographs and transcripts, The End of All Things Earthly, offers a poignant perspective on the events of 1916, and explores the spirituality that shaped those who gave their lives to Ireland’s independence.

Contributors to the book include:

Damien Burke, Assistant Archivist at the Irish Jesuit Archives.

Bernie Deasy, Archivist at the Delaney Archive, which cares for the archival collections of the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, the Patrician Brothers, Brigidine Sisters and Carlow College.

Noelle Dowling, Archivist at Dublin Diocesan Archives

Roddy Hegarty, Director of the Cardinal Tomán Ó Fiaich Memorial Library and Archive

Brian Kirby, Archivist at the Irish Capuchin Provincial Archives.

You can listen to the interview with David excerpted from the main programme podcast HERE.

Artist’s impression by Walter Paget of the situation in the GPO late on the Friday of Easter Week after shell fire set the roof ablaze.

Articles and reflections about the elements of faith and the role of the church during the Rising. Many of these links are taken from the Irish Catholic whose writer Grey Daly is publishing a new book bringing them altogether for people which will be published in the coming weeks.

The Catholic Church and the Easter Rising
A divided hierarchy - The Church’s attitude to the Rising was far more complex than newspaper reports suggested at the time.

In the name of God…

The dead generations
Dublin diocese under siege of bullets and flames during the Rising

The reawakening of a nation

Ministers of mercy - Fr Bryan Shortall tells Greg Daly about the Capuchin experience during the Rising
Jesuit to receive Freedom of Dublin in Hong Kong - 102-year-old Fr Joseph Mallin SJ is the last surviving child of an executed leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Good ends would not justify immoral means - The choice to use force in 1916 must be subjected to severe reappraisal, writes John Bruton
Pick your favourite 1916 Easter Rising poem - Irish Independent - Some magnificent poetry has emerged from the Easter Rising, from participants, onlookers and others writing over the century since 1916. Dr Lucy Collins of University College Dublin has written about ten key poems inspired by the Easter Rising. Read all 10 poems and Dr Collins commentary at the link above.

Gospel - John 8:1-11

"While Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”

Reflections on this weeks gospel:

Forgiveness means freedom