Dossier 6 - Letter from Gay White to Tom.

2 pp

Letter from Gay White , Lissiniskey, Nenagh dated 13 July 1922. The letter describes Gay experience during the Irish Civil War.

'My dear Tom,
Yours of the 10th to hand. I think since the 29th of June we have had no post here. Dreadful things have happened since I wrote you April 25th. I left Rathurbet April 30th & went to Ballygibbon. On May 15th a body of men took forcible possession of 30 acres of land there. They cut trees down, yet returned. We were left with 9 cows to milk, calves & all sorts of fowl, young & old to feed. Over 90 sheep & lambs to care, all the work of the house to do. Well we did it. The sheep were the great trouble, it was the time for them to be dipped, washed & shorn. They could not be dipped or washed but Betty, Lilla & David sheared all the sheep, but we lost a good many on account of the sheep not being dipped. They got full of maggots. It was dreadful. The cows were easily managed, we all milked them. I got quite good at it I did two night & morning. We just worked all day. On the night of June 14th we had dreadful raid starting about 2.30. The raiders smashed every window & the hall door first. We had collected in one room, they rushed into it. David & Betty were badly beaten by them with their clenched fists. Lilla was not so badly beaten & Poll only got one blow on her face, we were in a dark room most of the time, it was hell. I escaped without a blow. Over & over they held revolvers & shotguns at us & said they would shoot us. They did awful mischief in the house, breaking china & table glass, drank all whiskey & claret. They emptied every drawer out on the floor, Oh such a state - the dirty swine- they left the place in. They stole heaps of things, especially belongings, one thing was my dressing case.'