The Fr. Francis A. Gleeson Papers have been digitized and posted online at the UDC Digital Archive. This is a collection of papers belonging to Fr. Gleeson relating to “his time as Catholic Military Chaplain to the 2nd Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers during World War I. The papers include diaries detailing life at the front and religious activities, Brigade Rolls listing mainly Roman Catholic soldiers, and correspondence from the families of men missing or killed in action.”
The material relating to “his time as Military Chaplain (1914-1919) includes diaries and Brigade Roll Books of soldiers from the Royal Munster Fusiliers and other regiments while serving in France. The diaries give an account of the horror of war in all its sufferings and privations while detailing the extraordinary importance of faith to the Irish men whose lives were daily sacrificed on the front line.”
The papers are an amazing trove of primary WWI paperwork. I spent some time reading through various letters, list and diaries and found it a bit emotionally overwhelming. The lists include names of men serving in battle, missing men, address lists of the next-of-kin of many soldiers, as no forth. If you have Irish Catholic ancestors or relatives that served in WWI, you will want to spend to researching on this site.
The following teaser is from The Independent Catholic News:
For the first time in its history, papers from the Dublin Diocesan Archive have been made digitally available for scholars, researchers and members of the public.
Experts in the Dublin Diocesan Archive and the Digital Library in University College Dublin have worked together for over a year and a half transcribing and digitising diaries and papers of Fr Francis Gleeson, a Dublin priest who ministered to soldiers in World War One.
The new digitised collection was officially launched on Monday evening (27th April) by the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin at a reception in Holy Cross Diocesan Centre, in Clonliffe.
The event was attended by members of Fr Gleeson’s family as well as the British and French Ambassadors to Ireland. Father Francis Gleeson, a priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin, was Chaplain to the Royal Munster Fusiliers as they faced battle on the Western Front.
Fr. Francis A. Gleeson Papers Description, abbreviations, and Archive Contents – with links. 30 items.
Registers (Lists) – 118 files.
Thanks to ResearchBuzz for the heads-up.
