Collection: John Monagan - Dan Breen Collection | Georgetown University Archival Resources

Scope and Contents

This collection contains correspondence between Irish freedom fighter Dan Breen and John S. Monagan, Congressman from Connecticut, offering considerable insight into Breen’s later political and social thinking as well as recollections of the struggle for Irish independence from Great Britain. It further includes a few photographs as well as reminiscences and diary entries by Monagan regarding meeting Breen in 1948.

Dates

1948-1970, 1994

Conditions Governing Access

Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of the materials being used, establishing who the copyright owner is, locating the copyright owner, and obtaining permission for intended use.

Biographical Notes

John Stephen Monagan (1911-2005) was born in Waterbury, and received his early education at Driggs, St. Mary's, and Crosby high schools there. He received his Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College in 1933 and later attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1937. In 1938 he was admitted to the Connecticut bar and commenced the practice of law in his home town of Waterbury the same year. Monagan held numerous commercial and political positions including president of the Waterbury Board of Alderman (1940-1943); mayor of Waterbury (1943-1948); member of the board of directors of the Waterbury Savings Bank; and delegate at the Democratic National Conventions (1944, 1948, 1960, 1964, 1968).

He was also a congressman in the US House of Representatives (D-Conn., 1959-1973). After an unsuccessful campaign for reelection in 1972, he resumed the practice of law. Monagan also published various works including Horace: Priest of the Poor (1985) and The Grand Panjandrum: Mellow Year of Justice Holmes (1988). Monagan married Rosemary Brady in 1949 with whom he had five children: Charles, Michael, Parthy, Laura, and Susan.

Dan Breen was an Irish revolutionary and politician associated with the Irish independence movement in the early twentieth century. Born in Grange, Donohill, County Tipperary, he left school to work as a railway employee before becoming involved in nationalist and republican organizations including the Irish Republication Army (IRA) and Irish Volunteers. Breen was a central figure in the Soloheadbeg ambush on 21 January 1919, an attack on Royal Irish Constabulary officers that is generally regarded as the first engagement of the Irish War of Independence. Throughout the conflict, Breen was active in the 3rd Tipperary Brigade of the IRA, participating in numerous armed operations. He opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and sided with the anti-Treaty forces during the Irish Civil War (1922–1923). Following the conflict, Breen remained politically active and was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1932. He represented various constituencies until his retirement from politics in 1965.