CURIOUS CASE OF THE MAYO LIBRARIAN - Pat Walsh

The office of Mayo County Librarian was hardly a crucial post. It was little more than a routine appointment, yet it escalated into a conflict that had national consequences. It set Church against State, County Council against Government Department and even members of the same political party against each other. In July 1930 Miss Letitia Dunbar Harrison, a graduate of Trinity College, was appointed to the post of Mayo County Librarian. Her appointment set in motion a chain of events that resulted in a full scale political crisis. Mayo priests and politicians attempted to have her removed, and organised an effective boycott of the Library Service.