Talk on recovered Civil War documents hidden in Mayo shed

What stories do they tell?

In 2021, workers restoring an old stone shed in the townland of Doontrusk, a few miles west of Newport, made a strange discovery—a glass jar full of old documents hidden in a wall.

Pat Chambers, owner of the shed, knew they had stumbled upon something important.

The trove of papers, all dating from the time of the Irish Civil War, includes letters from America, lists of the names of donors to the anti-treaty side, merchant receipts, accounting sheets and a notebook containing poems and song lyrics among other content.

The Newport Historical Society is hosting an event that examines these documents--who hid them, why they were hidden and what they reveal about that period of conflict in West Mayo 100 years ago.

The event will take place at 8 p.m. on Monday next, January 27, in the upstairs of the Grainne Uaille pub in Newport. Cover charge is €5

Speakers include Pat Chambers of Derrycooldrim, who discovered the documents, Sean Cadden and Mick Mulcrone, local historians who will discuss what the documents can tell us, and Deirdre McGuirk and John Reid of the Michael Davitt Museum, which preserved and now displays the documents.

Peter Mullowney will serve as master of ceremonies.

The papers found in Pat Chambers’ shed provide a rare window into the thoughts, feelings and struggles of those who supported the anti-treaty side of the Civil War both in West Mayo and across the Atlantic in Cleveland, Ohio, where many had been forced to emigrate.