May 1916
Although the fighting appears to be over, there is still some sniping on 1 May. About
twenty soldiers have been posted at the crossroads near their house, making a barricade.
Mary offers them some food and given the weather is wet, lights a fire in the laundry so
they can dry their clothes and blankets.
On 4 May Mary ventures into town, observing bullet holes in the windows and mirror of
the Royal College of Surgeons. Inspecting the damage,
she reveals that Sackville Street is much worse than
she expects: "From O'Connell Bridge to Cathedral Lane past Earl
Street is utterly destroyed being only a heap of smouldering rubbish with a few
facades standing to mark where some of the more important buildings stood. The G.P.O. is only a skeleton front, the interior being
completely gone…"
Marie and Richie
arrive home on 6 May. There is a unexplained gap in the diary between Monday 8 May and Tuesday 23
May.
Finally Mary writes that the girls have been planning a tennis party but it is raining so they
have to call it off until Saturday. The diary finishes at this point. The Martins don't find out Charlie is dead until July of that year.
(No Reference Available)
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
The headquarters of Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland facing St Stephen's Green. Occupied by Irish rebels who took cover from St Stephen's Green. Sackville St
Main street of Dublin, now O'Connell Street. It was completely destroyed in the fighting in the Easter Rising. O' Connell Bridge
O'Connell Bridge, a bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin and leading to Sackville Street (now O'Connell St.) from Trinity College. Cathedral Lane
Street just off Sackville Street, now O'Connell Street in Dublin. North Earl Street
Street just off Sackville Street (now O'Connell St.) A barricade was thrown up here by the Irish rebels during the Easter Rising. It was the scene of heavy fighting as well as heavy looting by the civilian populace. The street was badly damaged during the fighting. General Post Office
General Post Office of Dublin and headquarters of the Irish rebels during the Easter Rising. Padraic Pearse, commander of the rebels read out a proclamation of independence on the steps of the building. The G.P.O was the scene of heavy fighting and was eventually abandoned by the rebels as fire raged uncontrollably. Marie Helena Martin
Born 25 April 1892 and died 27 January 1975. Marie Helena was Mary Martin's daughter and worked in Malta and France as a VAD nurse during the First World War. In 1937 she founded the religious order Medical Missionaries of Mary. Richard Lewis Martin
Born 14 October 1902, Richard Lewis, known in the family as Richie, was Mary Martin's son. He attended Downside, English public school near Bath, during this period. | 
