S. Lester's Diary (1935-1941) consists of two bound volumes.
Vol. I contains a typescript copy of pages 1-753 and a copy of an article on S. Lester published in "UN Special", July 1959;
Vol. II contains photocopies of pages 754-978 (including annexes and an index to the diary).
The collection of Lester papers (including some pages from the diary, private and official correspondence, reports, many press cuttings,relating particularly to the Danzig period when he was targeted by the Nazi press, etc.) covers essentially the period 1929-1946, but also includes some post-retirement material running up to 1959, as well as some photos and family letters.
Lester, Sean 1888-1959 Irish journalist, diplomat and last Secretary-General of the League of Nations Sean Lester was born on 27 September 1888 in County Antrim, Ireland, where his father was a shopkeeper. The family subsequently moved to Belfast and it is here, that after some years in the Methodist College, S. Lester ended his formal education. During a first period when he worked in a number of minor jobs, Lester discovered the cause of Irish independence. He joined the Gaelic League, an inspirational cultural organisation, and also the Dungarnon clubs, a young revolutionary group that sought to unite protestant and catholic Irish and to achieve independence for the country. Lester was also sworn into the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a small and secret organisation, and became a member of the Irish Volunteers. In 1909 Lester went into journalism, starting in small provincial newspapers, and finally in the national paper, The Freeman's Journal. Shortly after Ireland's independence was recognised, h