Personal Life
While Birrell's first phase as Chief Secretary was a clear success, the period from about 1912 onwards saw something of a decline in Birrell's career which was also mirrored in his domestic life. Birrell's wife Eleanor had been suffering from an inoperable brain tumour and this eventually caused her to lose her sanity. This affected Birrell deeply privately and publicly, but he did not tell his political colleagues.
The quality of his public work deteriorated and as one historian has noted the severe personal strain must have been a contributory factor in "...the uncharacteristic combination of excessive zeal and indecision which marked response to the Dublin industrial agitation of 1913". Only after Eleanor died in 1915 did Birrell begin to regain some of his old energy and effectiveness as a minister.
Read more about this topic: Augustine Birrell
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