ent000948-243

March 15,1957 Mr. Arthur Konvit* 120 Vest 42nd St., Hew York, H.Y. Dear Mr. Konvltz* A few moments ego, I received the enclosed copy of a letter written te you by my Irish friend,(!) Mr. A1 Freeman with whom I had a long con- versation, the contents of which have unintentionally been confused* I would like, therefore, to give you the correct version of the letter, as Mr. Freeman intended* To begin with, I cane to the Diocese of Reno twenty four years age, a desert Diocese, practically three and a half tines as large as all Ire- land# with only fifteen priests and a bishop. Since I came to Las Vegas almost four years ago, we have built a grammar school, high school, Youth Center, (open to the public), acquired two buildings now being temporari- ly ?╜??ed as a convent and a rectory. We are how confronted with a problem of liquidating the present debt of $200,000, building a new convent, add- ing two classrooms to ths grammar school, and expanding the Youth Center and Day Camp, I read in the March issue of The Catholic Digest about Mayor Briscoe of Dublin comihg to Hew fork to lead the St. Patrick Day parade and to tour the felted States. I gave the Catholic Digest to Mr. Freeman, and both of us decided that it would be a wonderful thing for the city of Lae Vegas, if Mayor Briscos could find time to spend a few days with us. Should the Honorable Mayor see fit to do so, I believe that we eo Id plan on a hun- dred dollar a plate dinner in his honor, half of the proceeds to go to the Jewish Community Center and the other half to our building program* For Mayor Briscoe's information, I had the rifle In my hand that Sean Bus- sell used when he was in charge of the GP0 in the rebellion of 1916. I, myself, was a Captain in the Irish R publican Army and fought Bar Irish freedom from 1916 on. Patrick Russell, who is married to my sister, is a brother of Sean Russell's. His Honor, the Mayor of Dublin, DeValera and Sean Russell, fought side by side for a free Ireland, not a partitioned country*