THE 
 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 
 OF IRELAND, 
 
 1920. 
 
THE 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 OF IRELAND, 1920. 
 
 BY 
 
 "I.O." 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 E. P. BUTTON & CO. 
 

 192ICL 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Those who set out to find in these pages a 
 sensational account of the happenings in Ireland 
 during the past year, a vigorous if picturesque 
 description of the rights and wrongs of people or 
 administration, will be disappointed. Sensational, 
 unfortunately, many of the incidents described 
 herein undoubtedly are ; but of eulogy, condem- 
 nation, support, I have endeavoured to steer 
 clear. Such comment as I have allowed myself 
 to make is solely for the purpose of emphasizing 
 an important point, of making- clear a moral of 
 consequence. I do not pretend to have written a 
 history ; my endeavour throughout has been to 
 place before both general reader and historian 
 such material, authentic and ungarbled, as will 
 enable them to form trustworthy opinions. 
 
 I am glad to be able to take this oppor- 
 tunity of tendering my sincere gratitude to all 
 those who have helped me in my task, and to 
 those of whose labour and research I have so 
 copiously availed myself. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Page 
 
 From the Outbreak of the War, to 
 
 the Easter RebelHon, 1916 - 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 From the RebelUon to the end of 1919 43 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The First Six Months of 1920 - 69 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Latter Half of 1920 - - 96 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Same (continued) - - 129 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Forces of the Republic - 162 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Arming of the Republic - 186 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Campaign of Outrage - - 210 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Troops and the Railway Situation 238 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Royal Irish Constabulary - 269 
 
CONTENTS (continued). 
 
 CHAPTER XI. Page 
 
 The Question of Reprisals - - 299 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Question of Ulster - - 326 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Ireland and America - - 354 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Policy of the Government - 385 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 The Government of Ireland Act, 1920 432 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 Mulcahy's Memoranda - - 442 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 The Treatment of Prisoners - 448 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 
 The Organization of Sinn Fein - 453 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Although the object of this book is, as its title 
 indicates, to give some account of the state of 
 Ireland during the year 1920, and of the 
 problems that confronted the Administration of 
 the country during that period, it is necessary to 
 examine briefly the course of events which led 
 up. to the situation then existing. For this 
 purpose there is no need to go back earlier than 
 the outbreak of war in 1914, for this event 
 occurred at a very critical period in Irish affairs, 
 and may be said to mark the end of one phase 
 of the Irish question and the beginning of 
 the next. The declaration of war came at 
 a time when the Ulster Volunteers and 
 the National Volunteers were confronting one 
 another, prepared to fight upon the question of 
 Home Rule. Both sides had prepared for the 
 conflict by importing arms and distributing 
 them to their followers. Gun-running on behalf 
 of the Ulster Volunteers took place on a large 
 scale on April 24th and 25th, 1914, at Larne 
 and other ports in Ulster. Similar operations 
 
 B 
 
2 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 were carried out by the National Volunteers at 
 Howth, on July 26th, and at Kilkool, County 
 Wexford, on August 1st. It seemed as though 
 nothing could restrain the opposing forces from 
 flying at one anothers' throats, as soon as their 
 leaders had secured the necessary munitions for 
 the purpose. 
 
 About the time of the outbreak of war the 
 Ulster Volunteer Force was about 85,000 strong, 
 and was believed to have in its possession some 
 53,000 rifles. Towards the end of September, 
 1914, the strength of the National Volunteers 
 was about 181,000, but on 10th December of the 
 same year it was estimated that the rifles in 
 their possession only numbered some 9,000, 
 with very little ammunition. 
 
 The war affected these two forces very 
 differently. On the outbreak of the European 
 War at the beginning of August there was a 
 notable relaxation of the political tension in 
 Ulster, and a considerable suspension of active 
 military preparations on the part of the Ulster 
 Volunteers; though before the month was past 
 about 1,400 rifles and a large quantity of 
 ammunition were landed at Belfast for their use. 
 
 All classes displayed a strong patriotic and 
 anti-German feeling, and joined, irrespective of 
 creed and politics, in giving a hearty send-off 
 to reservists and recruits when leaving to join 
 the Army. Nevertheless considerable unrest 
 prevailed alike in the Unionist and Nationalist 
 ranks as to the action which the Government 
 would take with regard to the Home Rule Bill. 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 3 
 
 The anniversary of the Relief of Derry, on the 
 12th of August, passed off without disturbance, 
 picquets of both Volunteer Forces being posted to 
 assist in preserving order. 
 
 During September the Ulster Volunteers 
 continued to drill, but less enthusiasm was 
 shown, a large number of the officers and 
 instructors who were reservists having joined 
 their regiments and gone to the war. 
 
 The signing of the Home Rule Bill on 
 the 8th September also passed off without any 
 disturbance, but there was a very bitter feeling 
 on the part of the Unionists against the 
 Government and against His Majesty for 
 signing it. This was shov^m by the disrespect 
 with which His Majesty's picture was greeted at 
 cinema houses, and by the action of members of 
 the congregation at several Protestant churches 
 in walking out during Divine Service when the 
 National Anthem was being sung. 
 
 The Ulster Unionist Council met on three 
 occasions during this month. 
 
 On Sunday, the 27th September, there was a 
 large turn-out of Ulster Volunteers at the various 
 churches and halls in Belfast and elsewhere, it 
 being the anniversary of '* Covenant Day," and 
 on the following day a large public meeting was 
 held in the Ulster Hall' at which speeches were 
 delivered by Sir Edward Carson, M.P., Mr. 
 Bonar Law, M.P., and others. On the return 
 of the speakers from the meeting 5,000 armed 
 Ulster Volunteers lined the streets. 
 
 During the remaining months of the year the 
 
4 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 movement in opposition to Home Rule became 
 gradually less acute, but this should be attributed 
 to the War and not to any abatement of their 
 opposition to Home Rule on the part of the 
 northern Unionists. At the same time whilst 
 open displays in the way of parades became less 
 frequent, the organisation was well maintained. 
 
 Before the outbreak of the War the Ulster 
 Volunteer Force was, as we have said, nearly 
 85,000 strong. Up to the end of September 
 about 12,000 had joined the Army either as 
 reservists or on enlistment. To fill up the 
 vacancies thus created recruiting for the Force 
 was re-opened. 
 
 On the outbreak of the War Mr. Redmond 
 undertook in Parliament, on behalf of the Irish 
 Volunteers, that they, in union with the Ulster 
 Volunteers, would defend the shores of Ireland 
 from the enemy. His announcement was accepted 
 with approval not only by the vast bulk of the 
 Irish Nationalists but also by many prominent 
 Unionists, who had nothing in common with his 
 political views. On 16th of September, Mr. 
 Redmond issued a Manifesto calling upon the 
 people of Ireland to take their part in the great 
 national crisis, and asking that Irish recruits 
 for the Expeditionary Force should be kept 
 together in an Irish Brigade under the command 
 of Irish Officers. Later on at the meeting in 
 the Mansion House, Dublin, on the 25th 
 September, which was addressed by the Prime 
 Minister, Mr. Redmond spoke strongly in favour 
 of recruiting. 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 5 
 
 Although there was no outward manifestation 
 of dis-union in the new Committee of the 
 Volunteers, there can be little doubt that the 
 members of the original Provisional Committee 
 who belonged to anti-British Associations not 
 only dissented from Mr, Redmond's pronounce- 
 ment on the War and in support of recruiting, 
 but were determined to thwart his efforts in every 
 way. On the eve of the meeting at the Mansion 
 House in furtherance of recruiting, a manifesto 
 was issued, signed by the members of the original 
 Provisional Committee, as follows : — 
 
 " Ten months ago a Provisional Committee 
 commenced the Irish Volunteer movement with 
 the sole purpose of securing and defending the 
 rights and liberties of the Irish people. The 
 movement on these lines, though thwarted and 
 opposed for a time, obtained the support of the 
 Irish nation. When the Volunteer movement 
 had become the main factor in the national 
 position, Mr. Redmond decided to acknowledge 
 it, and to endeavour to bring it under his control. 
 
 *' Three months ago he put forward the claim 
 to send twenty -five nominees to the Provisional 
 Committee of the Irish Volunteers. He 
 threatened, if the claim was not conceded, to 
 proceed to the dismemberment of the Irish 
 Volunteer organisation. 
 
 "It is clear that this proposal to throw the 
 country into turmoil and to destroy the chances 
 of a Home Rule measure in the near future must 
 have been forced upon Mr. Redmond. Already 
 
6 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ignoring the Irish Volunteers as a factor in the 
 national position, Mr. Redmond had consented 
 to a dismemberment of Ireland which could be 
 made permanent by the same agencies that forced 
 him to accept it as temporary. He was now 
 prepared to risk another disruption, and the 
 WTeck of the cause entrusted to him. 
 
 " The Provisional Committee, while recognis- 
 ing that the responsibility in that case would be 
 entirely Mr. Redmond's, decided to risk the 
 lesser evil, and to admit his nominees to sit and 
 act on the Committee. The Committee made no 
 representations as to the persons to be nominated, 
 and when the nominations were received, the 
 Committee raised no question as to how far Mr. 
 Redmond had fulfilled his public undertaking to 
 nominate ' representative men from different 
 parts of the country.' Mr. Redmond's nominees 
 were admitted purely and simply as his nominees, 
 and without co-option. 
 
 " Mr. Redmond, addressing a body of Irish 
 Volunteers on last Sunday, has now announced 
 for the Irish Volunteers a policy and programme 
 fundamentally at variance with their own 
 published and accepted aims and pledges, but 
 with which his nominees are, of course, 
 identified. He has declared it to be the duty of 
 the Irish Volunteers to take foreign service under 
 a Government which is not Irish. He has 
 made this announcement without consulting the 
 Provisional Committee, the Volunteers them- 
 selves, or the people of Ireland to whose service 
 alone they are devoted. 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 7 
 
 " Having thus disregarded the Irish 
 Volunteers and their solemn engagement, Mr. 
 Redmond is no longer entitled, through his 
 nominees, to any place in the administration and 
 guidance of the Irish Volunteer organisation. 
 Those who, by virtue of Mr. Redmond's 
 nomination, have heretofore been admitted to 
 act on the Provisional Committee, accordingly 
 cease henceforth to belong to that body, and from 
 this date until the holding of an Irish Volunteer 
 Convention the Provisional Committee consists 
 of those only v^^hom it comprised before the 
 admission of Mr. Redmond's nominees. 
 
 " At the next meeting of the Provisional 
 Committee we shall propose : — 
 
 1. To call a convention of Irish 
 Volunteers for Wednesday, 25th November, 
 1914, the anniversary of the inaugural 
 meeting of the Irish Volunteers in Dublin. 
 
 2. To re-affirm without qualification the 
 Manifesto proposed and adopted at the 
 inaugural meeting. 
 
 3. To oppose any diminution of the 
 measure of Irish self-government which 
 now exists as a Statute on paper, and which 
 would not now have reached that stage but 
 for the Irish Volunteers. 
 
 4. To repudiate any undertaking, by 
 whomsoever given, to consent to the 
 legislative dismemberment of Ireland; and 
 to protest against the attitude of the present 
 Government, who, under the pretence that 
 ' Ulster cannot be coerced, ' avow themselves 
 
8 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 prepared to coerce the Nationalists of Ulster. 
 
 5. To declare that Ireland cannot, with 
 honour or safety, take part in foreign 
 quarrels otherwise than through the free 
 action of a National Government of her 
 own ; and to repudiate the claim of any man 
 to offer up the blood and lives of the sons of 
 Irishmen and Irishwomen to the service 
 of the British Empire, while no National 
 Government which could speak and act for 
 the people of Ireland is allowed to exist. 
 
 6. To demand that the present system 
 of governing Ireland through Dublin Castle 
 and the British military power, a system 
 responsible for the recent outrages in 
 Dublin, be abolished without delay, and 
 that a National Government be forthwith 
 established in its place." 
 
 This Manifesto was published in the issue of 
 The Irish Volunteer* of 3rd October, 1914, the 
 organ of the disloyal section, under the following 
 heading : — 
 
 A STRAIGHT ISSUE. 
 
 FOR IRELAND OR THE BRITISH EMPIRE? 
 WORK ENOUGH IN IRELAND. 
 
 And it was openly acknowledged that the 
 Manifesto was issued because an attempt was 
 
 * A monthly journal, the oflBcial organ of the Irish 
 Volunteers. It subsequently became An T'Oglac. 
 
INTRODUCTORY, 9 
 
 being made to identify the Volunteers with the 
 recruiting meeting held in the Mansion House on 
 September 25th. 
 
 In a strongly worded leading article of this 
 issue, the people of Ireland are reminded of 
 *' the traditions of centuries of fighting against 
 England," and are called upon to refrain from 
 joining the Army or from being " led to the 
 foreigner that English trade may flourish and 
 England's arms dominate the world." 
 
 A Convention of the Irish Volunteers was held 
 in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on Sunday, 25th 
 October, which was attended by a number of 
 delegates of dubious character from various parts 
 of the country. Mr. John McNeill presided, 
 and, in the course of a lengthened address, 
 referred to Mr. Redmond's attitude on the 
 question of Irishmen joining the Army for 
 service with the Allies. He then proposed the 
 following Declaration of Policy for the Irish 
 Volunteers, which was in due course adopted : — 
 
 "DECLARATION OF POLICY. 
 
 1. To maintain the right and duty of the 
 Irish Nation henceforward to provide for its own 
 defence by means of a permanent armed and 
 trained Volunteer Force. 
 
 2. To unite the people of Ireland on the basis 
 •of Irish Nationality and a common national 
 interest ; to maintain the integrity of the nation, 
 cand to resist with all our strength any measures 
 
10 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 tending to bring about or perpetuate disunion or 
 the partition of our country. 
 
 3. To resist any attempt to force the men 
 of Ireland into military service under any 
 Government until a free National Government 
 of Ireland is empowered by the Irish people 
 themselves to deal with it. 
 
 4. To secure the abolition of the system of 
 governing Ireland through Dublin Castle and the 
 British Military power, and the establishment 
 of a National Government in its place." 
 
 Apart from the question of recruiting for 
 the Imperial Army, the columns of The Irish 
 Volunteer contained from week to week, articles 
 and letters of an extremely disloyal and seditious 
 character in which national independence and 
 complete separation from the Empire were put 
 forward as the ultimate aim not only of the 
 Irish Volunteers but of their supporters and 
 sympathisers on whose behalf the writers claimed 
 to have a right to speak. The following is an 
 extract from an article in the issue of the 10th 
 October, headed, 
 
 ' ' Who are the Cowards ? ' ' 
 
 *' Ireland's national individuality, Ireland's 
 national Soul, demands that Ireland should take 
 no part, either through its leaders or through its 
 masses, in promoting this iniquitous war. 
 England, the Bully of the Nations, is in a 
 difficulty. It is our duty to our ancestors, who 
 risked and lost their lives to free Ireland from 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 11 
 
 England, it is our duty to ourselves, who live 
 under the heel of the mass of the same 
 hypocritical powder, it is our duty, above all, to 
 those who will come after us in the inheritance 
 of this land, to declare Ireland's neutrality; to 
 refuse, in the words of the Volunteers' Mani- 
 festo, any foreign service under a Grovernment 
 which is not Irish, and to decline all part in 
 foreign quarrels for which the Irish people have 
 no responsibility." 
 
 The result of the dissensions in the National 
 Volunteers was to split the force into three 
 distinct sections, namely. National Volunteers 
 following Mr. John Redmond, National Volun- 
 teers following Mr. John McNeill, and the Irish 
 Volunteers under the influence of Sinn Fein. 
 From the latter developed the present Irish 
 Republican Army. 
 
 Figures of the relative strengths of these 
 forces at various times, from the cleavage up to 
 the Easter Week Rebellion (1916) are as follows : 
 
 
 
 National 
 
 National 
 
 Irish 
 
 
 
 Volunteers 
 
 Volunteers Volunteers 
 
 
 
 (Redmond) 
 
 (McNeill) 
 
 
 1914, 
 
 Oct. 7th 
 
 . 178,649 . 
 
 .. 7,443 . 
 
 . 2,150 
 
 1914, 
 
 Dec. 16th 
 
 . 152,090 . 
 
 . 11,247 . 
 
 . 2,100 
 
 1915, 
 
 Mar. 31st . 
 
 . 135,760 . 
 
 .. 9,062 . 
 
 . 2,180 
 
 1915, 
 
 June 30th . 
 
 . 122,472 . 
 
 . 5,612 . 
 
 . 5,685 
 
 1915, 
 
 Sept. 27th . 
 
 117,360 . 
 
 .. 5,492 . 
 
 . 6,022 
 
 1915, 
 
 Dec. 27tli . 
 
 . 112,446 . 
 
 .. 5,112 . 
 
 . 8,362 
 
 1916, 
 
 mi 
 
 April 17th . 
 
 . 104,984 . 
 
 .. 4,457 . 
 
 T -It 
 
 . 10,606 
 
 The figures of recruiting in Ireland for the 
 British Army during 1915 are interesting. They 
 
12 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 are here classified by Provinces, showing the 
 sources whence the recruits came : 
 
 
 National 
 
 Ulster 
 
 Not known 
 
 
 
 Volunteers. 
 
 VolunteerB. 
 
 to be 
 
 Volunteers. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Ulster 
 
 . 3,471 
 
 8,139 
 
 12,304 
 
 23,914 
 
 Leinster 
 
 . 3,814 
 
 27 
 
 12,333 
 
 16,174 
 
 Munster 
 
 . 2,G02 
 
 4 
 
 6,274 
 
 8,880 
 
 Connaught .. 
 
 907 
 
 33 
 
 1,233 
 
 2,173 
 
 Totals 
 
 10,794 
 
 8,203 
 
 32,144 
 
 51,141 
 
 In a handbook of the Constitution and Rules 
 published by order of the Council of Sinn Fein 
 in October, 1908, the object of Sinn Fein 
 is stated to be " The establishment of the 
 Independence of Ireland." The rules exclude 
 members of the Army and Navy from member- 
 ship. One of its aims is " The withdrawal of 
 all voluntary support to the British Armed 
 Forces," and branches are urged *' to do their 
 utmost by every legitimate means to keep young 
 men from joining the British Army and Navy or 
 Police forces." The class of persons w^ho 
 became Sinn Feiners were such as held 
 extreme views and disbelieved in the efficacy of 
 Parliamentary agitation. 
 
 A campaign against recruiting for the British 
 Forces had been commenced ; but the society made 
 no progress and had fallen into insignificance 
 when the Irish Volunteers were formed in 
 November, 1913. Some of the former exponents 
 of Sinn Fein became prominent in the Irish 
 Volunteers, and members of the Irish Republican 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 13 
 
 Brotherhood and extremists in the Gaelic Athletic 
 Association were attracted to it by the 
 opportunities it afforded for drilling and being 
 openly trained in arms. About the middle of 
 1914 the movement was captured by the Irish 
 Parliamentary Party, to counteract the hostile 
 attitude of the Ulster Volunteers towards Home 
 Rule. The outbreak of the War, however, 
 caused a split in the force. The majority who 
 sided with Mr. Redmond's policy of supporting 
 the Empire became henceforward the National 
 Volunteers, while the minority still designated 
 the Irish Volunteers pursued the Sinn Fein policy 
 under the leadership of Mr. John McNeill. The 
 minority included the more militant and extreme 
 members, many of whom were already coiipected 
 with other disloyal and revolutionary societies. 
 The old cry " England's difficulty — Ireland's 
 opportunity " was then revived. Organisers 
 were soon at work forming new branches all over 
 the country, promising an abundant supply 
 of arms from America; and simultaneously a 
 determined campaign was started to prevent men 
 joining the Army. As soon as certain newspapers 
 began to advocate compulsory service, the 
 Sinn Fein press published seditious articles in 
 opposition to it, and the Irish Volunteers pledged 
 themselves to resist any form of conscription by 
 force. By this means members of the farming 
 class and others not hitherto in sympathy with 
 the objects of the Irish Volunteers were induced 
 to join that body with a view to avoiding 
 military service. 
 
14 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 The stronghold of the Irish Volunteers was in 
 Dublin, where, at the beginning of 1915, they 
 had a membership of 2,100. Furthermore, in 
 Dublin the Irish Volunteers associated them- 
 selves with Larkin's labour organisation. In the 
 provinces Mr. McNeill's followers numbered 
 about 9,000, but the greater part of these 
 were still nominally attached to the National 
 Volunteers. 
 
 About this time (Spring 1915) all the activities 
 of the extreme societies in Ireland were merged 
 in the Irish Volunteers, which was an 
 openly seditious and revolutionary organisation. 
 Although small in numbers compared with the 
 more constitutional body which acknowledged 
 the leadership of Mr. John Redmond, and having 
 among its leaders practically no one of any 
 influence, yet by its activity and revolutionary 
 propaganda it soon gained an importance which 
 its numbers did not warrant. 
 
 As showing the trend of the Irish Volunteers 
 it may be mentioned that at a meeting of the 
 Council of that body held on 30th May, 1915, 
 Mr. McNeill in the chair, a resolution of the 
 Irish Volunteers declaring themselves in favour 
 of an immediate insurrection was proposed by 
 Bulmer Hobson and only defeated by the casting 
 vote of Mr. McNeill. 
 
 At a meeting of the Executive Council of the 
 Irish Volunteers held in Dublin on the 4th July, 
 1915, instructions were issued to County Boards 
 directing them to assist organisers in forming 
 new branches, and to resist the Registration Act 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 15 
 
 • 
 should any attempt be made to enforce it in 
 Ireland. At this meeting a simi of 3,000 dollars 
 recently received from America was distributed, 
 of which £40 was sent to Limerick. 
 
 During the winter months the Irish Volunteers 
 were daily improving their organisation. Some 
 drill was practised here and there, but their 
 activities were mainly directed to promoting 
 sedition and hindering recruiting for the 
 Army. As already stated forcible resistance to 
 conscription was also part of their programme. 
 The prospect of compulsory service was generally 
 resented, and the action taken by the Irish 
 Volunteers in the matter naturally appealed to 
 the farming classes and others, who determined 
 to turn a deaf ear to every call upon them to 
 enlist. 
 
 In October it ' was reported that the Irish 
 Volunteers had planned a ' * rising ' ' in the event 
 of conscription being introduced into Ireland, 
 and this was perhaps the one project in which 
 they would find many Redmondites in agreement 
 w4th them. 
 
 In February, 1916, there were 165 branches of 
 the Irish Volunteers in the provinces with n 
 membership of 7,615, which, with its members 
 in Dublin, brought up the total membership to 
 close on 10,000. The increase in membership 
 during the month was small, due, no doubt, to 
 the fact that conscription was no longer 
 imminent, since Ireland had been excluded from 
 the scope of the Military Service Bill. In 
 addition to the farming classes, a great many 
 
16 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 National Volunteers had joined the Sinn Fein 
 corps in order to fortify themselves with an 
 excuse for not joining the Army. The bait was 
 a good one, but on the omission of Ireland from 
 the scope of the Bill it was no longer effective. 
 
 Up to the fourth week of April, 1916, nothing 
 unusual occurred to cause anxiety as to the 
 general peace of Ireland except the continued 
 disloyal and dangerous activity of the Sinn Fein 
 movement. The Irish Volunteers showed no 
 slackening in carrying on military exercises and 
 evolutions. On Sunday the 9th of April, how- 
 ever, the Irish Volunteers in Dublin assembled in 
 Rutland Square to the number of about 13,000, 
 and marched through the City with the recruits 
 who had joined during the previous week. On 
 the same day the police seized a motor-car in 
 College Green and found that it contained a 
 quantity of shot-guns, revolvers, ammunition, 
 etc., which were being conveyed to Wexford. 
 Two men in the car, who were identified as Sinn 
 Fein Volunteers from Ferns, were afterwards 
 sentenced to three months' imprisonment. Easter 
 parades were ordered throughout the country, 
 and this mobilisation was arranged to coincide 
 with the expected arrival of Sir Roger Casement 
 and a ship laden with arms from Germany. 
 
 Early in the morning of Good Friday, April 
 21st, a Kerry peasant walking along the seashore 
 at Banna, not far from Fenit, came upon an 
 empty collapsible boat, and noticed the footprints 
 of three men leading to the sandhills. Later on 
 he reported the matter to the police, who 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 17 
 
 discovered buried in the sand some revolvers and 
 a quantity of ammunition. Subsequently a tall 
 man was observed near a ruin, who, when covered 
 by a rifle, told the constable not to shoot, and 
 surrendered. He gave an English name and 
 address, but on being taken to the Tralee Police 
 Barracks it was noticed that he resembled Sir 
 R. Casement's portrait. Meanwhile his two 
 companions in the boat had walked to Tralee 
 and interviewed the local leaders of the Irish 
 Volunteers. One of these men, who called 
 himself Mulcahy, returned in a motor-car with 
 two Volunteers in search of Sir R. Casement and 
 was arrested by the police; the other made his 
 escape. On April the 22nd Casement, who 
 refused to give his true name, was sent to 
 Dublin Detention Barracks, and thence direct to 
 London,! and on that (Saturday) evening Mr. 
 John McNeill, President of the Irish Volunteer 
 Council, issued orders countermanding the 
 Easter Parades. 
 
 On Easter-Sunday night, April the 23rd, the 
 prisoner Mulcahy made a voluntary statement to 
 the District Inspector at Tralee. He told him 
 that the prisoner who had gone to Dublin was 
 really Sir R. Casement, that the name of the 
 third man who landed with them at Banna was 
 Robert Monteith, and that his own name was 
 Daniel Julian Bailey, a private in the Royal 
 Irish Rifles. He stated that he was taken 
 
 t He was tried on June 26th on a charge of high treason, 
 was sentenced to death on June 29th, and hanged at Fentonville 
 Prison, London, on August 3rd. 
 
18 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 prisoner by the Germans early in the war and 
 that he subsequently joined the so-called Irish 
 Brigade at the instigation of Sir R. Casement. 
 He further deposed that he, Casement and 
 Monteith left Wilhelmshaven in a submarine 
 together with a German ship full of arms and 
 ammunition bound for the Kerry coast to arm the 
 Irish Volunteers, that there was to be a rebellion, 
 and that the plans included an attack upon 
 Dublin Castle. 
 
 In view of the facts that the ship with arms on 
 board had been discovered and sunk,* that Sir R. 
 Casement was a prisoner, and that Mr. McNeill 
 had cancelled the Volunteer mobilisation, a 
 " rising " seemed unlikely. Owing, however, it 
 is said to some information which reached them 
 on Sunday night, the leaders of the movement, 
 fearing that their Headquarters in which they 
 had large stores of explosives and arms would be 
 raided by the Military and they themselves 
 arrested, decided to overrule Mr. McNeill and 
 launch the rebellion. It was heralded on the 
 morning of the outbreak by the publication of the 
 following proclamation : — 
 
 * She was named Aude, and was sunk off the south coast 
 f Ireland. 
 
POBLACHT NA H'EIREANN. 
 
 THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 IRISH REPUBLIC. 
 To THE People of Ireland. 
 
 *' Irishmen and Irishwomen. — In the name of 
 God and of the dead generations from which she 
 receives her old tradition of nation-hood, Ireland, 
 through us, summons her children to her flag and 
 strikes for her freedom. 
 
 '* Having organised and trained her manhood 
 through her secret revolutionary organisation, the 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood, and through her 
 open military organisations, the Irish Volunteers 
 and the Irish Citizen Army, having patiently 
 perfected her discipline, having resolutely waited 
 for the right moment to reveal itself, she now 
 seizes that moment, and supported by her exiled 
 children in America and by gallant Allies in 
 Europe, but relying in the first on her own 
 strength, she strikes in full confidence of victory. 
 
 " We declare the right of the people of 
 Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to 
 the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to 
 be sovereign and indefeasible. The long 
 usurpation of that right by a foreign people and 
 government has not extinguished the right, nor 
 
20 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 can it ever be extinguished except by the 
 destruction of the Irish people. In every 
 generation the Irish people have asserted their 
 right to national freedom and sovereignty. Six 
 times during the past three hundred years they 
 have asserted it in arms. Standing on that 
 fundamental right and again asserting it in 
 arms, in the face of the world, we hereby 
 proclaim the Irish Republic as a Sovereign 
 Independent State, and we pledge our lives and 
 the lives of our comrades-in-arms to the cause of 
 freedom, of its welfare, and of its exaltation 
 among the nations. 
 
 ' ' The Irish Republic is entitled to, and hereby 
 claims, the allegiance of every Irishman and 
 Irishwoman. The Republic guarantees religious 
 and civil liberty, equal rights and equal 
 opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its 
 resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity 
 of the whole nation and of all its parts, 
 cherishing all the children of the nation equally, 
 and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered 
 by an alien government, which have divided a 
 minority from a majority in the past. 
 
 " Until our arms have brought the opportune 
 moment for the establishment of a permanent 
 National Government, representative of the 
 whole people of Ireland and elected by the 
 suffrages of all her men and women, the 
 Provisional Government hereby constituted will 
 administer the civil and military affairs in trust 
 for the people. 
 
 " We place the cause of the Irish Republic 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 21 
 
 under the protection of the Most High God, 
 Whose blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we 
 pray that no one who serves that cause will 
 dishonour it by cowardice, inhiunanity or rapine. 
 In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by 
 its valour and discipline and by the readiness of 
 its children to sacrifice themselves for the common 
 good, prove itself worthy of the august destiny 
 to which it is called. 
 
 ** Signed on behalf of the Provisional 
 Government, 
 
 Thomas J. Clarke. 
 Sean MacDiarmada. Thomas MacDonagh. 
 P. H. Pearse. Eamonn Ceannt. 
 
 James Connolly. Joseph Plunkett." ' 
 
 On Easter Monday, 24th April 1916, at noon, 
 the storm burst in Dublin, and for the following 
 six days the City and the suburbs were the scene 
 of grave loss of life and destruction of property. 
 The revolution was organised by the Irish (Sinn 
 Fein) Volunteers, and it was carried out by them 
 with the assistance of the Citizen Army, 
 Hibernian Rifles, and other similar bodies. 
 
 Twelve o'clock in the day was the hour fixed 
 for the beginning of the operations, and at that 
 time or shortly afterwards bodies of armed Sinn 
 Peiners quietly entered the buildings to which 
 they had been assigned, turned out the occupants 
 and took possession. Anyone who resisted was 
 promptly shot. In this way the principal 
 buildings in the City were captured, and the 
 
22 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 rebels at once set about erecting barricades, and 
 taking precautions against attack. 
 
 The General Post Office in Sackville Street 
 proved to be the central fortress of the rebels. It 
 was here that P. H. Pearse, " the Commandant- 
 in-Chief of the Army of the Republic and 
 President of the Provisional Government," 
 established his Headquarters and issued his 
 orders. All corner houses commanding the 
 approaches were garrisoned with snipers, who 
 were hidden behind sandbags. Kelly's, the 
 gunsmith's, at the corner of Batchelor's Walk, 
 and Hopkin's jewellery shop at the corner of 
 Eden Quay, were held in this way in great 
 strength. Other houses on each side of Lower 
 Sackville Street, and in particular those at the 
 four corners of Abbey Street, were garrisoned in 
 like manner. Then the work of provisioning the 
 various garrisons having the Post Office as their 
 centre was actively proceeded with, every variety 
 of foodstuffs being commandeered at the point of 
 the bayonet. All the telegraph wires were cut, 
 thus isolating the City from the rest of the 
 country. The failure of the Volunteers to seize 
 the Telephone Exchange in Crown Alley proved 
 a great advantage to the military in dealing with 
 the insurgents. 
 
 The proceedings at St. Stephen's Green Park 
 were somewhat similar, At mid-day small 
 groups of Sinn Fein Volunteers were standing 
 about the entrance gates, and at a given signal 
 they quietly walked inside, closed the gates, 
 posted armed guards at them, and then set about 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 23 
 
 clearing all civilians out of the Park. In half- 
 an-hour the Park was cleared of all non- 
 combatants. The next move of the rebels was 
 to take possession of a number of houses 
 commanding the approaches, and amongst the 
 places occupied were the Royal College of 
 Surgeons at the corner of York Street, and 
 Little's public-house at the corner of Cuffe Street. 
 The houses at the other approaches were not so 
 advantageously situated, but numerous snipefs 
 were placed in them. 
 
 Dublin Castle, the Headquarters of the Irish 
 Executive, was attacked by a handful of Volun- 
 teers, and had any force of Sinn Feiners joined 
 in the attack the Castle would almost certainly 
 have been captured, as there were only a few 
 soldiers on duty. A policeman on duty at the 
 Upper Castle Yard was shot in cold blood, but 
 the small garrison came to the rescue and the 
 invaders were driven off. Other bodies of rebels 
 succeeded in taking possession of buildings over- 
 looking the approaches to the Upper Castle 
 Yard. In this way the ofiBces of the " Daily 
 Express " and " Evening Mail " were entered, 
 and the staff turned out at the point of the 
 bayonet. The City Hall, the rear of which 
 commands the offices of the Chief Secretary's 
 Department, the Prisons Board and other 
 Government Offices, was also filled with snipers. 
 
 Simultaneously with these incidents, attempts 
 were made to occupy the railway termini in the 
 City. Westland Row Station and Harcourt 
 Street Station were early in the possession of the 
 
24 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 rebels, and the rails on the Kingstown line were 
 torn up at Lansdown Road. The Harcourt Street 
 Station was found unsuitable for defence, and 
 was abandoned at three o'clock in the afternoon. 
 Abortive attempts were made to secure Amiens 
 Street Terminus, Kingsbridge Terminus, and 
 Broadstone Terminus. Where they did not 
 succeed in occupying the stations the rebels either 
 attempted to blow up railway bridges or cut the 
 lines, and nearly all the train communication 
 with the City was stopped for a week. 
 
 All the points in the City which were 
 considered of strategical importance having been 
 occupied by the rebels, their plans were further 
 developed by the taking possession of positions 
 controlling the approaches from military 
 barracks. The Four Courts were early in their 
 hands, and men were posted all over the building 
 to attack troops which might approach along the 
 quays from the direction of Phoenix Park. The 
 Four Courts Hotel, which adjoins the Courts, 
 was garrisoned. On the bridges over the railway 
 on the North Circular Road and Cabra Road 
 strong barricades were erected. Liberty Hall 
 was strongly held by the rebels, but the Custom 
 House was left unmolested. Across the river, 
 on the South side, Boland's Mill was fortified in 
 every possible manner, and constituted a 
 stronghold of great strategical importance. 
 Round by Northumberland Road, Pembroke 
 Road, and Lansdovm Road, private houses were 
 occupied and garrisoned to resist the approach 
 of reinforcements for the military from the 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 25 
 
 Kingstown direction. Portobello Bridge, which 
 commands the approach to the City from the 
 military barracks at that place, was the scene of 
 a short but severe i&ght shortly after mid-day on 
 Monday. The rebels had taken possession of 
 Davy's public-house, which is close to the bridge 
 and faces the barracks. Their presence was 
 disclosed at an early stage by an attempt to 
 capture an officer who happened to be passing 
 over the bridge. He fortunately escaped, and 
 gave the alarm. A small number of soldiers was 
 turned out at once, but they were unable to dis- 
 lodge the rebels. Strong reinforcements were 
 sent out, and after a short and sharp fight the 
 public-house was captured by the military, who 
 remained in possession afterwards. 
 
 At more remote places in the southern suburbs 
 rebels had taken up positions of defence, but 
 strong cavalry patrols hunted them from point 
 to point and finally dispersed them, though not 
 until many of the soldiers had been wounded. 
 The South Dublin Union in James's Street and 
 a distillery in Marrowbone Lane were two other 
 strong points in the Sinn Fein plan. The 
 workhouse was attacked by the Military on 
 Monday, and after a stiff fight, during which 
 many casualties occurred on both sides, the 
 remnant of the rebel garrison was driven into one 
 part of the premises, where they maintained their 
 struggle until Sunday. 
 
 Jacob's Biscuit Factory in Bishop Street, 
 though it- does not occupy a strategical position 
 of any importance, was filled with foodstuffs of 
 
26 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 various descriptions, and probably in this respect 
 it was deemed necessary to instal in it a large 
 garrison, so as to make certain that supplies 
 would be available for the rebels in other places. 
 If this, was the idea it never had the slightest 
 chance of succeeding, as the factory was 
 surrounded early in the week by a military 
 cordon. 
 
 The foregoing are the outlines of the position 
 on the eyening of the first day of the rebellion. 
 Several instances of non-combatants being shot 
 by Sinn Feiners took place during the day in 
 various parts of the City. The most shocking 
 was the shooting down of several members of the 
 Veteran Corps on Haddington Road. A large 
 muster of this Corps had gone out on a route 
 march to Ticknock, and when they were 
 returning in the afternoon to their Headquarters 
 at Beggar's Bush Barracks they were ambushed 
 in Haddington Road by a body of Sinn Feiners, 
 who poured volleys of rifle shots into the ranks 
 of the defenceless Veterans. Five were fatally, 
 and many others seriously, wounded. The rest 
 of the Veterans got to their Barracks where they 
 had to remain until the following week. 
 
 On learning that several of his men had been 
 shot by the rebels the Chief Commissioner of 
 the Dublin Metropolitan Police ordered the 
 withdrawal from the streets of the entire 
 uniformed force within an hour or two of the 
 outbreak. The " underworld " of the City 
 quickly realised its opportunity, and first tackled 
 the shops in Lower Sackville Street. The windows 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 27 
 
 were smashed and hordes of people crowded into 
 the shops, returning with bundles of wearing 
 apparel of all descriptions. Noblett's at the 
 corner of Earl Street, and Lemon's in Lower 
 Sackville Street, were tit-bits for the younger 
 section of the roughs, who made merry with boxes 
 of chocolates, sweets, etc., all the afternoon. 
 The toyshops were also centres of great activity, 
 and then having exhausted Lower Sackville 
 Street, the crowd swept round into Earl Street 
 and Henry Street, where they found < an 
 abundance and variety that suited every taste. 
 
 On Easter Monday a Proclamation was issued 
 by the Lord Lieutenant enjoining all loyal 
 citizens to abstain from acts of violence, and on 
 the following day, 25th April, Martial Law was 
 proclaimed in the City and County of Dublin. 
 On the 26th the whole of Ireland was placed 
 under the same regime. 
 
 The country generally remained quiet, and in 
 only four counties — Dublin, Louth, Galway East 
 and West Ridings, and Wexford — did the 
 Volunteers rise up in arms. In a few others 
 destructive acts were committed, obviously 
 intended to further the rising. For example, 
 on the night of Easter Sunday in Queen's County 
 a portion of the railway line between Mary- 
 borough and Abbeyleix was pulled up by a band 
 of men, some of whom were armed, whilst in 
 Longford the telegraph wires were cut in several 
 places. In Kildare telegraph wires were also 
 cut, and a party of 14 armed Irish Volunteers 
 marched to Dublin, the leader threatening to 
 
28 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 shoot a police patrol if it followed them. 
 
 In Louth a party of Irish Volunteers marched 
 from Dundalk to Slane and on the way took 
 possession of 20 rifles the property of the 
 National Volunteers at Ardee. On their return 
 (April 24th), at Lurgan Green, near Dundalk, 
 they were informed by a messenger that the 
 Irish Republic had been proclaimed in Dublin. 
 They at once arrested two of the Royal Irish 
 Constabulary who had been keeping them under 
 observation, and began commandeering motor- 
 cars, then, after firing at and wounding a farmer 
 who refused to stop, they proceeded to the village 
 of Castlebellingham. Here they obliged Lieut. 
 Dunville, Grenadier Guards, to give up his 
 motor, placed him and Constable Magee against 
 some railings, and shot at them both, the latter 
 being mortally wounded. They then made off in 
 the direction of Drogheda and thence to Slane. 
 
 On April 25th, in the West Riding of Galway, 
 a strong party of Irish Volunteers assembled 
 under arms and tore up the railway line between 
 Galway and Oranmore, cutting telegraph wires 
 and posts, and injuring the bridge at Oranmore. 
 Barricades were erected on the road at Claren- 
 bridge and motor-cars were commandeered. 
 Five police were captured singly in the 
 neighbourhood, and the rebels opened fire on the 
 police barracks at Clarenbridge and Oranmore. 
 Having summoned the police at Clarenbridge to 
 surrender and give up their arms, and being met 
 with a refusal, the rebels withdrew from Claren- 
 bridge and joined forces with the party attacking 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 29 
 
 Oranmore. About 200 were attacking the 
 barracks when a relief party of police arrived on 
 the scene from Galway in motor-cars and put 
 them to flight. These two barracks are in the 
 vicinity of the sea, and the rebels expected a 
 German landing. 
 
 On the following day, April 26th, a party of 
 23 R.I.C. under the District Inspector, with 10 
 military, left Galway at 4-15 a.m. to reconnoitre, 
 and encountered a force of about 80 rebels at 
 Cammore Cross Roads. In the brief engagement 
 that ensued the R.I.C. had one man killed. The 
 rebels then retreated, whilst the combined party 
 of police and soldiers took up a strong position 
 outside Galway to oppose Sinn Feiners advancing 
 to attack the City. The rebels took possession of 
 a rocky hill, but from this they were speedily 
 routed by gun-fire from a warship in the Bay. 
 
 Next day the East and West Galway rebels 
 joined forces at Moyode Castle. Desertions, 
 however, began to thin their ranks, and hearing 
 next day that a large force of military and R.I.C. 
 had arrived at Loughrea, a few miles distant, 
 they moved to Lime Park, dispersing as they 
 went along. When a party of police reached 
 Moyode on the 29th they found that the rebels 
 had vacated it, abandoning five police prisoners 
 and a quantity of provisions which they had 
 looted. 
 
 The same day, April 27th, in County Dublin 
 a party of rebel Volunteers from Swords and 
 Donabate (who had previously overpowered and 
 captured the small R.I.C. garrisons at those 
 
30 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 places) raided Garristown Police Barracks, but 
 the police had been already withdrawn, taking 
 their arms with them. The rebels then marched 
 on Howth, intending to cut the English 
 cable, but finding themselves opposed by twenty 
 military and eight police, and seeing two gun- 
 boats on their way from Kingstown to Skerries 
 with troops, they turned west and, next day 
 (28th April), attacked the police barracks at 
 Ashbourne, County Meath. County Inspector 
 Gray and District Inspector Smith with fifty- 
 four R.I.C. men drove out from Navan in motor- 
 cars to engage them. It was estimated at the 
 time that the rebels numbered 400. The police 
 fought for five hours, when, having lost one 
 officer and six men killed, and their County 
 Inspector and 14 men wounded, being surrounded 
 and having expended practically all their 
 ammunition, they surrendered. The survivors 
 were disarmed and then released. The rebel 
 force remained in the locality for a couple of 
 days, gradually melting away, and on the 30th 
 the thirty-two who still held together surrendered 
 to the military. 
 
 In Wexford the Irish Volunteers at 
 Enniscorthy took possession of the town at 
 4 a.m. on April 27th. They cut the telegraph 
 wires, commandeered provisions and motor-cars, 
 and besieged the Police Barracks and the Post 
 Office. As, however, the police were well 
 supplied with ammunition, they were able to 
 defend their barracks, the Post Office, and the 
 Bank of Ireland, and to hold the rebels at bay 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 31 
 
 for five days until relieved by troops. On May 
 1st these rebels surrendered to the military. 
 
 In West Cork, at Ballinadee, on April 30th, 
 a party of Irish Volunteers held up Sergeant 
 Crean, R.I.C., on the road, searched him, and 
 threatened to shoot him if seen near them again. 
 On the same night the telegraph wires were cut 
 between Clonakilty and the War Signal Station 
 at Galley Head, but this appears to have been 
 the only exploit of the rebels in this district. 
 
 These were the principal events in the 
 provinces between April 23rd and May 1st, 
 1916. There were a number of minor incidents, 
 such as the cutting of wires, obstructing and 
 pulling up rails, commandeering vehicles and 
 food ; but with the surrender of the Enniscorthy 
 rebels on May 1st the rebellion in the provinces 
 may be said to have come to an end. 
 
 To return, however, to the situation at Dublin. 
 On Easter Monday, 24th April, at 12-15 p.m., 
 a telephone message was received by the Military 
 Authorities from the Dublin Metropolitan 
 Police announcing that Dublin Castle was being 
 -attacked by armed Sinn Feiners. The Military 
 Authorities at once ordered all available troops 
 from Portobello, Richmond and Royal Barracks 
 to proceed to the Castle, and the 6th Reserve 
 Cavalry Regiment towards Sackville Street. 
 
 The fighting strength of the troops available 
 in Dublin at the moment was : — 6th Reserve 
 Cavalry Regiment : 35 officers, 851 other ranks; 
 3rd Royal Irish Regiment : 18 officers, 385 other 
 ranks ; 10th Royal Dublin Fusiliers : 37 officers, 
 
32 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 430 other ranks ; 3rd Royal Irish Rifles : 21 
 officers, 650 other ranks. 
 
 Of these troops an inlying picquet of 400 men^ 
 which for some diays had been held in readiness, 
 proceeded at once, and the remainder followed 
 shortly afterwards. 
 
 At 12-30 p.m. a telephone message was sent to 
 the General Officer commanding at Curragh to 
 mobilise the mobile column, which had been 
 devised to meet any emergency, and to despatch 
 it dismounted to Dublin by trains which were 
 being sent from Kingsbridge. This column, 
 under the command of Colonel Portal, consisted 
 of 1,600 officers and other ranks from the 3rd 
 Reserve Cavalry Brigade. 
 
 Almost immediately after the despatch of this 
 message telephone communication in Dublin 
 became very interrupted. 
 
 As the occupation of the General Post Office 
 by the Sinn Feiners prevented the use of the 
 telegraph, a message reporting the situation in 
 Dublin was sent at 1-10 p.m. to the naval centre 
 at Kingstown, asking that information of the 
 rising might be transmitted by wireless through 
 the Admiralty to the War Office. This was done. 
 
 The first objectives undertaken by the troops- 
 were to recover possession of the Magazine in 
 Phoenix Park, where the rebels had set fire to a 
 quantity of ammunition; to relieve the Castle; 
 and to strengthen the guards at the Viceregal 
 Lodge and other points of importance. The 
 Magazine was quickly re-occupied, but the troops- 
 moving on the Castle were held up by the rebels. 
 
INTEODUCTOEY. 33 
 
 who had occupied the surrounding houses and 
 had barricaded the streets with carts and other 
 material. 
 
 Between 1-40 p.m. and 2 p.m. 50 men of the 
 3rd Eoyal Irish Eifles, and 130 men of the 10th 
 Eoyal Dublin Fusiliers, reached the Castle by 
 the Ship Street entrance. At 4-45 p.m. the first 
 train from the Curragh arrived at Kingsbridge 
 Station, and by 5-20 the whole Cavalry colunm, 
 1,600 strong, had arrived, one train being sent 
 on from Kingsbridge to North Wall by the loop 
 line to guard the docks. 
 
 During the day the following troops were 
 ordered to Dublin : — 
 
 A battery of four 18-pounders, E.F.A., 
 from the Eeserve Artillery Brigade at 
 Athlone. 
 
 The 4th Dublin Fusiliers from Temple- 
 more. 
 
 A composite battalion from Belfast. 
 An additional 1,000 men from the 
 Curragh. 
 
 During the afternoon and evening small parties 
 of troops were engaged with the rebels. The 
 3rd Eoyal Irish Eegiment on its way to the Castle 
 was held up by the rebels in the South Dublin 
 Union, which they had attacked and partially 
 occupied. A detachment of two officers and 50 
 men from the 6th Eeserve Cavalry Eegiment, 
 which was conveying some ammunition from the 
 North Wall, was surrounded in Charles Street, 
 but succeeded in parking its convoy and defended 
 
 D 
 
34 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 this with great gallantry for 3^ days, when it 
 was relieved; during this defence the officer in 
 command was killed and the remaining officer 
 wounded. 
 
 The rebels in Saint Stephen's Green were 
 attacked, and picquets with machine-guns were 
 established in the United Service Club and the 
 Shelbourne Hotel with a view to dominating the 
 Square and its exits. 
 
 At 9-35 p.m. Colonel Kennard, Officer Com- 
 manding Troops, Dublin, reached the Castle with 
 another party of 86 men of the 3rd Royal Irish 
 Regiment. 
 
 The defence of the docks at North Wall was 
 undertaken by Major H. F. Somerville, com- 
 manding a detachment from the School of 
 Musketry, Dollymount, reinforced by 330 officers 
 and men of the 9th Reserve Cavalry Regiment. 
 The occupation of the Custom House, which 
 dominated Liberty Hall, was carried out at 
 night, and was of great assistance in later 
 operations against Liberty Hall. 
 
 The situation at midnight on Monday, the 
 24th, was that the Military held the Magazine, 
 Phoenix Park, the Castle, and the Ship Street 
 entrance to it, the Royal Hospital, all barracks, 
 the Kingsbridge, Amiens Street and North 
 Wall Railway Stations, the Dublin Telephone 
 Exchange in Crown Alley, the Electric Power 
 Station at Pigeon House Fort, Trinity College, 
 Mount] oy Prison, and Kingstown Harbour. 
 The Sinn Feiners held Sackville Street and blocks 
 of buildings on each side of this, including 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 35 
 
 Liberty Hall, with their Headquarters at the 
 General Post Office, the Four Courts, Jacob's 
 Biscuit Factory, South Dublin Union, St. 
 Stephen's Green, all the approaches to the Castle 
 except Ship Street entrance, and many houses 
 all over the Citj^, especially about Ballsbridge 
 and Beggar's Bush. 
 
 On April 25th Brigadier-General W. H. M. 
 Lowe, Commanding the Reserve Cavalry Brigade 
 at the Curragh, arrived at Kingsbridge Station 
 at 3-45 a.m. with the leading troops from the 
 25th (Irish) Reserve Infantry Brigade, and 
 assumed command of the forces in the Dublin 
 area. These forces were, roughly, 2,300 men of 
 the Dublin garrison, the Curragh mobile column 
 of 1,500 dismounted cavalrymen, and 840 men 
 of the 25th Irish Reserve Infantry Brigade. 
 
 In order to relieve and get into communication 
 with the Castle, Colonel Portal, commanding 
 the Curragh Mobile Column, was ordered to 
 establish a line of posts from Kingsbridge Station 
 to Trinity College via the Castle. This was 
 completed by 12 noon on the 25th April, and with 
 very little loss. It divided the rebel forces in 
 two, gave a safe line of advance for troops 
 extending operations to the north or south, and 
 permitted communication by despatch-rider with 
 some of the commands. The only means of 
 communication previous to this had been by 
 telephone, which was unquestionably being 
 tapped. The Dublin University Officers' Train- 
 ing Corps held the College Building until the 
 troops arrived, thus separating the rebel centre 
 
36 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 round the General Post Office from that round 
 Stephen's Green, and also preventing the rebels 
 from entering the Bank of Ireland, which is 
 directly opposite to and commanded by the 
 College buildings. 
 
 During the day the 4th RoyM Dublin Fusiliers 
 from Templemore, a composite Ulster Battalion 
 from Belfast, and a battery of four 18-pounders 
 from the Reserve Artillery Brigade at Athlone 
 arrived, and this enabled a cordon to be 
 established round the northern part of the City 
 from Parkgate, along the North Circular Road, 
 to North Wall. Broadstone Railway Station was 
 cleared of rebels, and a barricade near Phibs- 
 borough was destroyed by artillery fire. 
 
 As a heavy fire on the Castle was being kept 
 up by the rebels located in the Corporation Build- 
 ings, " Daily Express " office, and several 
 houses opposite the City Hall, it was decided to 
 attack these buildings. The assault on the 
 ' ' Daily Express ' ' office was successfully carried 
 out under very heavy fire by a detachment of the 
 5th Royal Dublin Fusiliers. 
 
 The main forces of the rebels having now been 
 located in and around Sackville Street, the Four 
 Courts, and adjoining buildings, it was decided 
 to try to enclose that area north of the Liffey by 
 a cordon of troops, so as to localise as far as 
 possible the efforts of the rebels. Towards 
 evening the 178th Infantry Brigade began to 
 arrive at Kingstown, and in accordance with 
 orders received the brigade left Kingstown by 
 road in two columns : the left column, consisting 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 37 
 
 of the 5th and 6th Battalions Sherwood 
 ForesterSj by the Stillorgan-Dpnnybrook Road 
 and South Circular Road to the Royal 
 Hospital, where it arrived without opposition; 
 the right column, consisting of the 7th and 
 8th Battalions Sherwood Foresters, by the 
 main tram route through Ballsbridge and 
 directed on Merrion Square and Trinity 
 College. This column, with the 7th Battalion 
 leading, was held up at the northern corner 
 of Haddington Road and Northumberland Road, 
 which was strongly held by rebels, but with 
 the assistance of bombing parties the rebels were 
 driven back. At 3-25 p.m. the 7th Battalion 
 Sherwood Foresters met great opposition from 
 the rebels holding the schools and other houses 
 on the north side of the road close to the bridge 
 at Lower Mount Street, and two officers were 
 killed and seven wounded. At about 5-30 p.m. 
 orders were received that the advance to Trinity 
 College was to be pushed forward at all costs. 
 At about 8 p.m., therefore, after careful 
 arrangements, the whole column, accompanied 
 by bombing parties, attacked the schools and 
 houses where the cHief opposition lay. The 
 battalions, charging in successive waves, carried 
 all before them, but suffered severe casualties in 
 doing so. Four officers were killed, 14 wounded, 
 and of other ranks 216 were killed and wounded. 
 In view of the opposition met with it was not 
 considered advisable to push on to Trinity 
 College that night; so at 11 p.m. the 5th South 
 Staffordshire regiment reinforced this column, 
 
38 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 and by occupying the positions gained allowed 
 the two battalions of the Sherwood Foresters to 
 be concentrated at Ballsbridge. 
 
 Meanwhile severe fighting had taken place in 
 the Sackville Street quarter. At 8 a.m. Liberty 
 Hall, the former headquarters of the Citizen 
 Army, was attacked by field guns from the 
 South bank of the River Liffey and by a gun from 
 the patrol ship Helga, with the result that 
 considerable progress was made. During the 
 night of the 26-27th April several fires broke out 
 in this quarter and threatened to become 
 dangerous as the fire brigade could not get to 
 work owing to its being fired upon by the rebels. 
 Throughout the day further troops of the I76th 
 Brigade arrived in the Dublin area. 
 On April 27th the 
 
 5th Leinsters, 
 
 2 /6th Sherwood Foresters, 
 
 3rd Royal Irish Regiment, 
 
 The Ulster composite battalion, 
 under the command of Colonel Portal, began and 
 completed by 5 p.m. the forming of a cordon 
 round the rebels in the Sackville Street area, 
 which operation was carried out with small loss. 
 About 12-45 p.m. Linen Hall Barracks, which 
 were occupied by the Army Pay Office, were 
 reported to have been set on fire by the rebels 
 and were destroyed. 
 
 By nightfall the I77th Infantry Brigade had 
 arrived at Kingstown, where it remained for the 
 night. 
 
 About 2 a.m. on the 28th April Sir John 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 39 
 
 Maxwell arrived at North Wall, and after a 
 conference with Major-General Friend and 
 Brigadier-General Lowe the latter was instructed 
 to close in on Sackville Street from East and 
 West, and to carry out a house-to-house search 
 in areas gained. The 2 /4th Lincolns then formed 
 a cordon along the Grand Canal, so enclosing the 
 southern part of the City and forming a complete 
 cordon round Dublin. 
 
 During the afternoon the 2 /5th and 2 /6th 
 Reserve Cavalry Regiments, which had been 
 escorting ammunition and rifles from North Wall 
 and had been held up in Charles Street, were 
 relieved by armoured motor lorries. These had 
 been roughly armoured with boiler plates by the 
 Inchicore Railway Works and placed at the 
 disposal of the Military by Messrs. Guinness. 
 
 Throughout the night the process of driving 
 out the rebels in and around Sackville Street 
 continued, though these operations were greatly 
 hampered by the fires in this area and by the fact 
 that some of the burning houses contained rebel 
 stores of explosives which every now and again 
 blew up. In other parts of the City the troops 
 had a trying time dealing with the numerous 
 snipers, who became very troublesome during the 
 hours of darkness. 
 
 Owing to the considerable opposition at 
 barricades, especially in North King Street, it 
 was not until 9 a.m. on 29th April that the Four 
 Courts area was completely surrounded. 
 
 Throughout the morning the squeezing out of 
 the surrounded areas was vigorously proceeded 
 
40 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 with, the infantry being greatly assisted by a 
 battery of Field Artillery; the guns being used 
 against the buildings held by the rebels with such 
 good effect that a Red Cross Nurse brought in a 
 message from the rebel leader, P. H. Pearse, 
 asking for terms. A reply was sent that only 
 unconditional surrender would be accepted. 
 At 2 p.m. Pearse surrendered himself 
 unconditionally, and was brought before Sir 
 John Maxwell, when he wrote and signed 
 notices ordering the various ' ' Commandoes ' ' to 
 surrender unconditionally. During the evening 
 the greater part of the rebels in the Sackville 
 Street and Four Courts area surrendered. 
 
 Early on the 30th April two Franciscan monks 
 informed Sir John Maxwell that the rebel leader, 
 MacDonagh, declining to accept Pearse 's orders, 
 wished to negotiate. He was informed that only 
 unconditional surrender would be accepted, and 
 at 3 p.m., when all preparations for an attack 
 on Jacob's Biscuit Factory, which he held, had 
 been made, MacDonagh and his band of rebels 
 surrendered unconditionally. These surrenders 
 practically ended the rebellion in the City of 
 Dublin. 
 
 Throughout the night of 30th April — 1st 
 May isolated rebels continued to snipe the troops, 
 but during the 1st May these were gradually 
 cleared out, and in conjunction with the police a 
 systematic house-to-house search for rebels and 
 arms was continued. 
 
 As soon as the rebellion in Dublin had been 
 crushed, mobile columns, each consisting of from 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 41 
 
 one to two companies of Infantry, a squadron of 
 cavalry, one 18-pounder gun and an armoured 
 car were sent to the disturbed parts of Ireland. 
 Each column was allotted a definite area which, 
 in close co-operation with the local police, was 
 gone through, and dangerous Sinn Feiners and 
 men who were known to have taken an active part 
 in the rising were arrested; in addition many 
 arms belonging to Sinn Feiners were surrendered 
 or seized. 
 
 The total casualties arising out of this 
 rebellion were as follows : — 
 
 Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 Military Officers ... 17 
 
 46 
 
 63 
 
 ,, other ranks 99 
 
 322 
 
 9 430 
 
 R.I.C. Officers ... 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 ,, other ranks 11 
 
 22 
 
 83 
 
 D.M.P 3 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 Civilians and 
 
 
 
 Insurgents ... 318 
 
 2,217 
 
 2,535 
 
 Totals: 450 2,614 9 3,073 
 
 On the recommendation of the Property Losses 
 {Ireland) Committee, ex gratia rebuilding grants 
 were awarded in 212 cases — adjoining houses in 
 one street and in the same occupancy being 
 treated as a single case — in respect of premises 
 totally or in great part destroyed in Dublin 
 during the rebellion. The total amount of these 
 grants was £742,926, representing the value of 
 the buildings at the time of destruction. 
 
42 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 In addition, ex gratia grants, amounting to a 
 total of more than one million pounds sterling, 
 were paid, on the recommendation of the 
 Committee, in respect of the stock, fittings, etc., 
 of these premises, other chattel losses, and minor 
 damage to various buildings. 
 
 It is only fair to add that these sums came out 
 of the pocket of the British tax-payer. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 FROM THE REBELLION TO THE END OF 1919. 
 
 We may confine our record of conditions in 
 Ireland from the rebellion in 1916 to the end of 
 the year 1919 to an examination of the 
 growth of Republican spirit and its influence 
 upon British interests, especially during the 
 continuance of the War. For this purpose it will 
 be better to quote from the yearly reports of the 
 various districts than to attempt an historical 
 development of the period, if only upon the 
 grounds of limitation of space. Furthermore, it 
 is perhaps too early to deal historically and in 
 correct perspective with the many events that led 
 up, during this period, to the state of Ireland 
 during 1920. Some idea of the tendencies at 
 work in the country may be gleaned from the 
 extracts from the official reports upon the state 
 of various districts which are quoted below. 
 
 We may begin with reports for that part of the 
 year 1916 which followed the rebellion. Here 
 is one from Dublin : 
 
44 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 " Of political societies in County Dublin the 
 Unite'd Irish League has lost a good deal of its 
 influence, and its meetings are few and far 
 between. The National Volunteers, who have a 
 nominal membership of 1,289, are a waning force 
 and many of them would break away and join 
 the Sinn Feiners if they saw it was to their 
 advantage to do so ; the Irish Volunteers, though 
 their membership is small, have much influence 
 with the labouring classes and shop-boys, and 
 through their relations with the rebels attract 
 the sympathies of the disloyal. . . . After 
 the rebellion the Sinn Fein movement attracted 
 many new adherents, including some of the 
 3^ounger Roman Catholic clergy. Recruiting is 
 bad." 
 
 Here are some reports from other counties, 
 which also deal with the state of recruitment : 
 
 " The main result of the rebellion, so far as 
 County Kildare was concerned, was a stoppage 
 of recruiting. The Roman Catholic clergy were 
 not in sympathy with the rebellion, and thought 
 it politically stupid. In some cases they openly 
 condemned it. . . . Before the rebellion 
 recruiting was very fair, and in some districts 
 decidedly creditable; after the rebellion it was 
 distinctly bad." 
 
 " Prior to the rebellion recruiting in County 
 Kilkenny was satisfactory, but since then the 
 number of recruits has diminished to about eight 
 or ten a month." 
 
 " During the early part of the year the Sinn 
 Fein party in King's County became active. The 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 45 
 
 Sinn Feiners at Tullamore were very truculent, 
 and, on 19th March, held a ' Flag Day ' to raise 
 money for the purpose of buying arms to resist 
 conscription. On the following day a number of 
 Sinn Feiners began jibing and jeering at soldiers 
 returning from the Front. ' ' 
 
 The prosperous state of the country from the 
 agricultural point of view at this time, owing to 
 war conditions, is shown by the following : 
 
 " In the East Riding of County Cork, as 
 showing the prosperity among the farming 
 classes, it may be mentioned that the deposits in 
 a certain bank, which has its head office in Cork 
 and is largely a farmers' bank, increased by the 
 sum of one and a half millions during the year." 
 
 " Recruiting for the army in County Kerry 
 was very bad during the year, only 158 recruits 
 having been obtained out of a population of 
 317,000." 
 
 *' The feeling of the people generally in the 
 East Riding of County Galway was one of 
 intense indignation at the action of the rebels, 
 particularly as it was felt that the rebellion was 
 organised in Germany. The consequence of the 
 rebellion was, however, to turn most of the people 
 into Sinn Feiners, or at least into Sinn Fein 
 sympathisers. This state of affairs was brought 
 about by two causes : the speeches delivered by 
 Mr. John Dillon in the House of Commons, and 
 the action of the Government in trying to effect a 
 Home Rule settlement immediately after the 
 rebellion, thereby convincing the majority of the 
 people that constitutional agitation was no use 
 
46 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 and that the Sinn Fein policy of physical force is 
 the only means of remedying alleged grievances. 
 
 These extracts from the official reports for the 
 year 1916 are typical of those received from 
 every county in Ireland, and show how the 
 evidence of life in the Republican movement, 
 demonstrated by the fact that the rebellion had 
 been possible, impressed the people of Ireland 
 and strengthened their disinclination to serve in 
 the British Army in support of a cause of which 
 they never understood the rights and wrongs. 
 
 The reports for 1917 demonstrate the 
 logical sequence of this, and show how fear of 
 conscription was seized upon by the Republican 
 organisers to secure supporters for their cause. 
 
 " On the 19th of July the Countess Markievicz 
 was presented with the freedom of the City of 
 Kilkenny. She was accompanied by a number of 
 Sinn Fein leaders, and advantage was taken of 
 the occasion to deliver a number of violent and 
 disloyal speeches. The death of the sitting 
 member for the city gave rise to another test of 
 strength between the Sinn Fein and Nationalist 
 parties. W. T. Cosgrave, a released rebel 
 prisoner, was selected to represent the former, 
 and John Magennis, an ex-Mayor of the city, the 
 latter. The compaign was carried on with great 
 vigour during the latter half of July and early 
 part of August. De Valera and other Sinn Fein 
 leaders delivered a number of violent speeches in 
 support of Cosgrave, who was successful, polling 
 almost two-thirds of the entire votes recorded. 
 Throughout the remainder of the year Sinn 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 47 
 
 Feinism continued to make progress, and at the 
 end of December there were 21 Sinn Fein clubs in 
 the county, with a membership of 1,869, an 
 increase of 15 clubs and 1,290 in membership 
 sinc« June." 
 
 ** The spread of the Sinn Fein movement did 
 much to interfere with recruiting in Queen's 
 Coimty. Sinn Fein flags were put up on the 
 anniversary of the rebellion, and to celebrate the 
 return of Sinn Fein candidates. In connection 
 with the first-mentioned celebration, there was 
 some disturbance at Rathdowney, where a Union 
 Jack was pulled down and torn up by the 
 crowd." 
 
 " The number of persons in County West- 
 meath who sympathised with the Sinn Fein 
 movement was large, the chief reason being the 
 belief that the insurrection of the previous year 
 saved the country from conscription." 
 
 " The only special protection afforded in 
 County Wicklow was that given to Mr. John 
 Redmond, M.P., who received protection by 
 patrols when he was at Aughavanagh." 
 
 ' ' County Clare was quiet up to the beginning 
 of June, but at the same time disaffection lurked 
 under the surface ready to break out on very 
 small provocation. In June there was great 
 unrest due to the flooding of the country 
 with Sinn Feiners, released rebel prisoners, and 
 canvassers for De Valera, the Sinn Fein 
 candidate for the parliamentary vacancy in East 
 Clare caused by the death in action of Major 
 Redmond, the sitting member. The Nationalist 
 
48 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 candidate was Mr. P. Lynch, K.C. Violent, 
 disloyal, and inflammatory speeches were 
 delivered on behalf of the Sinn Fein candidate. 
 The turmoil increased with the approach of the 
 election day, intimidation was freely practised, 
 and there was a growing disregard for all law 
 and order. De Valera's statement to the effect 
 that if the people combined they could make the 
 English law impossible, and that English law 
 had no moral or legal sanction in Ireland, went 
 a long way in bringing about this state of affairs. 
 De Valera was successful at the polls, receiving 
 5,010 votes to 2,035 recorded for Lynch. 
 
 " De Valera's sweeping success gave a great 
 impetus to Sinn Fein not only in Clare but 
 throughout the entire county, and numerous 
 Sinn Fein clubs were formed and drilling was 
 taken up again. ... A tendency to boycott 
 persons who voted for Mr. Lynch at the election 
 showed itself. During October the condition of 
 the county was bad owing to the growth of Sinn 
 Feinism and revolutionary ideas. Drilling was 
 extensively carried on, numerous Sinn Fein clubs 
 were formed, and a strong spirit of disloyalty 
 prevailed. . . . The position at this time may 
 be summed up in the statement that Sinn Fein 
 held the field and was practically the master of 
 the situation." 
 
 " In June the release of the rebel prisoners 
 had a very disturbing effect on the people of 
 Cork, and led to many demonstrations and to 
 serious disturbances in the city. Sedition and 
 disaffection increased as the result of the growth 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 49 
 
 of Sinn Feinism. On the 8th July a number of 
 female munition workers returning in brakes 
 from an excursion singing patriotic songs were 
 mobbed in the city by Sinn Feiners." 
 
 In Galway the movement was fostered to a 
 considerable extent by the clergy. '* About the 
 middle of the year the Sinn Fein movement began 
 to make headway in County Galway, owing 
 mainly to the action of the Roman Catholic 
 clergy, who are nearly all ardent Sinn Feiners. 
 The action of the clergy led to some friction in 
 the town of Loughrea, where the majority of the 
 people are followers of Mr. John Redmond. 
 Elsewhere the movement caught on, especially 
 among the young men, who were glad of any 
 excuse to avoid joining the Army. 
 University College, Galway, became a hotbed of 
 Sinn Feinism, which the students took no trouble 
 to conceal." 
 
 The reports for 1918 show a remarkable 
 increase in the activities of Sinn Fein, and a 
 growing boldness in the methods employed by 
 the organisation. In County Clare saw-mills 
 working for Government contracts were forcibly 
 stopped, and trees that had been sold or were 
 about to be sold for Government use were cut 
 down by large parties of men, who openly stated 
 they would allow no timber to leave Ireland for 
 British use. Boycotting was not generally 
 resorted to. It was not necessary. The people 
 were too much afraid of the lawless element to 
 risk coming under its displeasure. 
 
 " Intimidation was and is rampant in the 
 
 E 
 
50 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 County (Clare)," states another report. " It is 
 done secretly and takes the form of threatening 
 letters, attacks on houses, and firing shots, 
 sometimes with effect. It has reached such a 
 pitch that the people are afraid of incurring the 
 displeasure of their neighbours or the Sinn Fein 
 leaders in their locality. Consequently no 
 evidence can be obtained in cases of outrage. 
 
 " The tone of the local press is now Sinn Fein, 
 and it has become so through sheer necessity, as 
 there would be no sale for the papers in the 
 county otherwise. The owner of three of the 
 papers is a loyal man w4th sons serving as officers 
 in the Army, but he said that he has to go with 
 the times or he might shut up his business." 
 
 It fact, Sinn Fein was now paramount : it had 
 gathered to itself the remaining elements of the 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood. 
 
 " It is safe to assume that all political parties 
 are now merged in Sinn Fein. Those that existed 
 in this county — the United Irish League, the 
 Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Irish National 
 Volunteers, the Gaelic Athletic Association, and 
 the Gaelic League — have all been inactive for a 
 long time. All their members are now Sinn 
 Feiners outwardly if not inwardly." 
 
 A report from another county (Kerry) 
 corroborates this : 
 
 " The Volimteers are included in the term 
 Sinn Fein Movement, as they are entirely Sinn 
 Fein and are the backbone of the movement. The 
 threatened application of conscription to Ireland 
 brought in a great volume of support to Sinn 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 51 
 
 Fein. It was the only political party directly 
 opposed to recruiting for the Army, and the only 
 political organisation showing any signs of 
 existence at the time the Conscription Bill was 
 passed. The people, therefore, flocked to its 
 standard, and in the campaign that followed 
 Sinn Fein took the lead in the anti-conscription 
 movement. This movement embraced all sections 
 of the community. . . . It is apparent from 
 its literature that Sinn Fein was the driving 
 force at the back of the movement, and all the 
 anti-conscription platforms were in reality Sinn 
 Fein." 
 
 The Gaelic Athletic Association, primarily an 
 association for the promotion of sports, soon 
 developed into an adjunct to Sinn Fein. 
 
 ** Its members are practically all Sinn Feiners. 
 It exercises considerable influence over young 
 men, brings them together for football matches, 
 and considerably helps to foster the Sinn Fein 
 spirit among its followers. Similarly the Gaelic 
 League, ostensibly an organisation for promotion 
 of the Irish language, is now a purely political 
 organisation, more concerned in fostering an 
 anti-British atmosphere in Ireland by 
 educational means than the promotion of the 
 language movement. It exercises considerable 
 influence amongst the younger generation, and 
 it is now practically impossible for a young man 
 to learn the Irish language without at the same 
 time having to become a rebel. The Cumann na 
 m'Ban is a female offshoot of Sinn Fein. It may 
 correctly be stated that Sinn Fein has captured 
 
52 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 all the political organisations in the county; in 
 other words the members have deserted to Sinn 
 Fein." 
 
 In the West Riding of County Cork, on the 
 announcement that conscription would be applied 
 to Ireland, an outbreak of raiding private 
 houses for arms took place. In the months of 
 April and May there were 29 such cases in this 
 Riding alone. From their similarity and the 
 methods employed the raids appeared to be the 
 work of a central organisation. The victims 
 selected were the loyalist population, usually 
 living in remote places and therefore the more 
 likely to be intimidated. 
 
 At the end of September, County Cork West 
 Riding was declared by the Army Council to be 
 a Special Military Area. Special restrictions 
 were forthwith placed on certain localities where 
 serious and organised crime had occurred, and 
 other steps were taken to suppress disloyalty. 
 Two battalions of cyclists were brought into the 
 Riding and detachments were quartered in each 
 of the principal to^vns, and from there the 
 military patrolled in every direction. The effect 
 on the Riding of these restrictions was 
 remarkable. In the first nine months of 1918 
 there were 112 outrages, of which 59 were 
 attributable, in the opinion of the police, to Sinn 
 Fein. In the last three months of 1918 only 
 21 outrages were committed, and only two of 
 these were due to Sinn Fein. In December these 
 crimes numbered six, and not one was the work 
 of Sinn Fein. It is a striking example of the 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 53 
 
 effect which a mild system of military control can 
 have on a community. 
 
 With their increase in strength, Sinn Fein soon 
 resorted to bolder tactics. An attempt to murder 
 two policemen in the streets of Tralee was 
 described as *' a most daring outrage committed 
 in daylight in the presence of over a hundred 
 inhabitants, who were too terrified to interfere 
 or subsequently identify the culprits." 
 
 In the early part of 1918 Sinn Fein was strong. 
 De Valera had been elected for East Clare in 
 July, 1917, and swept the country with Sinn 
 Fein ideas. In all his addresses he referred to 
 the danger of conscription; this, no doubt, 
 caused many people to join — ^young men who did 
 not want to fight, young women, mothers — all 
 of whom exercised their influence in the one 
 direction. During the spring of 1918 and on 
 into the summer the anti-conscription movement 
 was strongly taken up by Sinn Fein, and all the 
 leaders and the clergy spoke against it and 
 recommended the young men to arm and die at 
 home rather than die in France. Large sums of 
 money were collected and a house-to-house 
 collection was made. In short, the people 
 believed that Sinn Fein alone prevented 
 conscription in Ireland. And it must be added 
 that in this anti-conscription movement the 
 reports show that the Irish Nationalists joined 
 with Sinn Fein, *' and have remained with 
 them." 
 
 It is noteworthy that the Sinn Fein movement, 
 "which became so active and strong during this 
 
54 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 year appeared to be remarkably well supplied 
 with funds. " Hundreds of young men are 
 practically living on it," states another report. 
 " There are 60 clubs in the county, and the 
 nominal membership is 6,500, but it exercises a 
 greater influence than this membership would 
 indicate, and its adherents, including men and 
 women of all ages and classes, probably exceed 
 five times that fiumber." 
 
 The proposals of the Government to put in 
 force conscription brought matters to a climax. 
 The Roman Catholic Hierarchy took up the 
 question as a challenge, and at once proceeded to 
 make its position clear. In Thurles the 
 Archbishop of Cashel headed a procession from 
 the Cathedral to the Confraternity Hall, where, 
 after signing the anti-conscription pledge, he 
 addressed a large meeting, calling upon the 
 audience to oppose the plans of the Government 
 to the utmost, and denouncing conscription as a 
 " blood-tax." Some of the clergy preached 
 openly that it would be a sinful act for a police- 
 man to assist in enforcing conscription, and one 
 of them " told his congregation that each 
 conscript should be ' able to kill at least three or 
 four before he was taken.' " Those who are 
 acquainted with the Irish in Ireland can judge 
 for themselves the effect which such a pronounce- 
 ment would have upon the congregation. 
 
 The arrest of Sinn Fein leaders in Dublin in 
 May had the effect of nipping in the bud a 
 dangerous movement by the revolutionaries at a 
 time when it was believed in Ireland that the 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 55 
 
 British Forces would be driven out of France. 
 Unfortunately it had also the converse effect of 
 strengthening Sinn Fein by creating a sympathy 
 for the men who were arrested. 
 
 " Sinn Fein was never more highly organised 
 than at present," says another report. " Its 
 members are very enthusiastic and loyal to each 
 other, and if any scheme were planned — ^no 
 matter how ill-considered or fantastic it might 
 be — men would be readily found to give it effect. 
 For the present the young men are carried away 
 by what we should consider ' high-falutin ' 
 notions, but they do not believe them to be such 
 and rely strongly on the belief that they 
 are within reach of entire independence of 
 England." 
 
 In King's County " there were two elections 
 during the year. At each election the Sinn Fein 
 candidate was returned unopposed. The Irish 
 Parliamentary Party could not have succeeded in 
 returning a member at either of these elections. 
 At the same time it cannot be denied that there 
 are a large number of moderate men who have no 
 sympathy with Sinn Fein, especially now that 
 the dread of conscription is removed. 
 
 " It must not, however, be forgotten that in 
 this county the police have acted with great 
 firmness in the matter of prosecutions for illegal 
 drilling, unlawful assembly, and using seditious 
 language ; but it is one of the anomalies of Irish 
 life that the greater the firmness displayed the 
 greater their popularity with the mass of the 
 country people." 
 
56 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 In County Meath the Sinn Fein movement 
 " made great progress during the year." In 
 addition to the farmers who supported it in the 
 belief that it would be the means of staving off 
 conscription, labourers and small-holders rallied 
 to it under the impression that it would ' * become 
 powerful enough to compel the division of large 
 grazing farms and their distribution among the 
 landless men." Many more were carried away 
 by the cry : ' Freedom for Ireland.' It must be 
 remembered that hostility to England has always 
 been more or less ingrained in the Irish character. 
 The conversion of Mayo to Sinn Fein during 1918 
 was rapid. " Sinn Fein, which at the beginning 
 of the year found scant acceptance generally in 
 County Mayo, has now become first in the field and 
 has absorbed or crushed all its rivals. It derived 
 its first great impetus from the proposal to extend 
 the Military Service Act to Ireland. The young 
 men flocked to its standards in thousands. These 
 it rapidly organised and banded together, and 
 with the passing of the conscription dread, which 
 it claimed and got credit for staving ofi, it 
 strengthened its hold upon its members and 
 availed itself of their services to form an almost 
 unrivalled Electoral Organisation, resulting at 
 the recent General Elections in the complete 
 discomfiture of its political rival. It now holds 
 the four seats in this county; three by virtue of 
 contests and one a walk-over. It has probably 
 from four to five adherents to one of the 
 Parliamentary Party. The young men had not 
 time to disintegrate from its branches before the 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 57 
 
 fever of the election was upon them, and they 
 worked tooth and nail for the organisation that 
 saved them from the dreaded conscription." 
 
 In Galway the action of the clergy is again 
 emphasised: " In the East Riding the moment 
 the anti-conscription movement amalgamated the 
 clergy and Sinn Fein, the former appear to have 
 thrown off all restraint and indulged in the most 
 extreme Sinn Fein propaganda, utilizing their 
 position as priests to push their political 
 opinions. The Sinn Feiners here, as in other 
 parts of Ireland, took a prominent part in 
 opposing the application of conscription to 
 Ireland, and the failure of the Government to 
 enforce it has greatly improved the position of 
 Sinn Fein, as that body gets the chief credit for 
 defeating conscription. At the beginning of the 
 year about 20 to 25 per cent, of the population 
 were Sinn Feiners, now they are about 80 per 
 cent." 
 
 In some places in the same county during the 
 General Election campaign, when followers of 
 the Irish Parliamentary Party attempted to hold 
 meetings " they were hissed, booed, and groaned 
 at by the Sinn Feiners; in some instances they 
 were refused a hearing altogether." 
 
 The following figures are interesting, as 
 showing the growth of the Sinn Fein movement 
 during the year. 
 
58 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 On 3l8t December 1917. On 31st December 1918. 
 
 
 Number of Number of 
 Clubs. Members 
 
 Number of Number of 
 Clubs. Members. 
 
 Ulster 
 
 230 
 
 12,534 
 
 308 
 
 24,103 
 
 Leinster 
 
 243 
 
 15,125 
 
 320 
 
 23,234 
 
 Connaught 
 
 239 
 
 14,917 
 
 310 
 
 26,317 
 
 Mmister 
 
 327 
 
 23,694 
 
 416 
 
 38,426 
 
 Totals 
 
 1,039 
 
 66,270 
 
 1,354 
 
 112,080 
 
 That the Irish Volunteers meant to stop at 
 nothing in order to resist conscription, is proved 
 by a pamphlet issued by their Headquarters, of 
 which the following is a copy. 
 
 MEASURES FOR COMBATING CONSCRIPTION. 
 
 I. Preventive Measures. 
 
 ** The only preventive measure is the working 
 up of all public opinion against Conscription, 
 unifying that public opinion and giving it the 
 greatest possible amount of publicity both 
 national and international. The greater the 
 uproar and publicity created and the more the 
 international character of the matter is 
 emphasised, the less likely is the Government to 
 try to enforce it. 
 
 " The following means of arousing public 
 opinion and securing publicity should be resorted 
 to. (1) Pronouncements against Conscription 
 by the Clergy, (2) resolutions by public bodies, 
 Trades Unions, and public meetings against 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 59 
 
 Conscription, (3) securing the support of the daily 
 Press and of the local Press through the country, 
 (4) insisting on Members of Parliament opposing 
 it, (5) letters in the Press and pronouncements 
 by public men, (6) circulation of anti- 
 conscription leaflets in various ways. 
 
 II. Evasive Measures. 
 
 " Only in towns would enforcement of 
 Conscription be at all feasible; consequently all 
 men of military age should as far as possible 
 leave the towns. Shop assistants and others 
 should make provision to return to their homes 
 in the country. It should be made quite 
 clear to employers that the enforcement of 
 Conscription would entail the dislocation of their 
 business, and they should be compelled to agitate 
 against it as a body. Similarly, dues might be 
 withheld from Clergymen who did not protest 
 against it. 
 
 III. Militant Measures. 
 
 " The Irish Volunteers afford the only unified 
 basis of resistance to conscription. The rest of 
 the population should set about co-operation with 
 them in the most effective way, (1) all men of 
 military age should at once join the Volunteers, 
 (2) all householders and others in a similar 
 position should render the Volunteers all material 
 assistance in their power. Those who do not do 
 so voluntarily should be compelled, (3) women 
 
60 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 and children could be used for carrying 
 information, cooking, etc. In general the 
 method of opposition to conscription in any 
 district would be determined by the local 
 circumstances, and in particular by the extent to 
 which the district was organised for such 
 purposes. 
 
 IV. Tactical Measures. 
 
 " To attack troops or police would be a 
 mistaken policy. The method adopted should 
 be to act in small numbers in suitable localities, 
 thus compelling the authorities to disperse in 
 search of them. The English Conscripts who 
 would be employed to enforce the measure are all 
 town-bred, and would be at great disadvantage in 
 such cases. 
 
 " Destruction of communications should be 
 carried out as systematically as possible. 
 
 ' ' Telegraphs and Telephones can be destroyed 
 by (a) removing the instruments in County Post 
 Offices, {h) throwing a stone at the end of a rope 
 across the wires near pole, and bawling them 
 down, (c) quietly cutting wires in obscure places. 
 
 " Railways can be rendered useless for a time 
 by {a) rolling down boulders or felling trees in 
 a cutting or tunnel, (h) lifting a section of line — 
 which should be done at a curve (c) jamming 
 points at quiet spots and wrecking Signal Boxes, 
 (d) removing vital parts of locomotives, {e) 
 inducing Railway employees to go on strike. 
 
 " Roads can be made useless by {a) barricades 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 61 
 
 of difierent kinds, (b) systematically destroying 
 motor-cars, bicycles and stores of petrol. All 
 these demolitions should be done as often and 
 in as many places as possible. Any considerable 
 gain in time from these causes would be of 
 extreme value. 
 
 ' ' Always when possible fighting by day should 
 be avoided. Fighting by night in familiar 
 localities would offer advantages. 
 
 * * No kind of weapon should be despised ; 
 certain farming implements can be turned into 
 formidable weapons. Thus (a) a hay fork is 
 quite as good as a rifle and bayonet in hand-to- 
 hand fighting, (b) a billhook, axe, graip, spade 
 or sledge-hammer, though inferior to a hay fork 
 may be formidable in close fighting at night, (c) 
 a scythe-blade securely lashed with wire to a pole 
 is equal to a hay fork. 
 
 " Sometimes it will be possible to destroy a 
 body of troops by a stone shoot, from which a 
 concentrated shower of great stones would be 
 discharged from a height. 
 
 * ' Every firearm should be utilized ; a volley of 
 bird-shot in the face of a motor-driver will wreck 
 his car and stop any cars following it; so, too, 
 with rook rifles and revolvers. Good rifles 
 should be given to the best shots. 
 
 Supplies of Material, etc. 
 
 " Additional strong boots, warm overcoats 
 and the like should be laid in. Bicycles and 
 bicycle accessories should be procured in the 
 
62 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 largest possible quantities. Preserved foods 
 should be procured in as large quantities as 
 possible. Any not able to be secured should be 
 destroyed — the same rule applies to arms of all 
 kinds. 
 
 " Of other materials supplies of barbed and 
 plain wire, nails and staples, hammers, saws, 
 and axes would be useful for many purposes, and 
 stores of these should be laid in." 
 
 In the Reports for the year 1919 we find 
 evidence of the consolidation of the Sinn Fein 
 organisation and of the evolution of the Irish 
 Volunteers, or Irish Republican Army as this 
 body now begins to be termed, as a force 
 definitely at war with the Forces of the Crown. 
 
 The statistics of Indictable Offences (other 
 than those due to agrarian causes) for the whole 
 of Ireland demonstrate the growth of the 
 Republican Campaign. The following is an 
 extract of these statistics. 
 
 NATURE OF CHIME. 
 
 Murder 
 
 Firing at the Person ... 
 Assault with intent to murder 
 Threatening letters or notices 
 Intimidation otherwise •. 
 Injury to property 
 Firing into dwellings ... 
 Unlawful assembly 
 
 Injury to, or attempt to injure 
 or obstruct Railway Trains or 
 Highways 
 
 1917. 
 
 1918. 
 
 1919 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 26 
 
 23 
 
 37 
 
 50 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 98 
 
 130 
 
 246 
 
 11 
 
 16 
 
 51 
 
 215 
 
 285 
 
 671 
 
 28 
 
 29 
 
 58 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 19 
 
 13 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 63 
 
 Some interesting reasons of a set-back in the 
 popularity of Sinn Fein during 1919 are given in 
 a report from County Kildare. 
 
 " Sinn Fein, to a certain extent, got a set back 
 in not being able to obtain a hearing at the Peace 
 Conference, and locally it lost power for two 
 reasons. First, its opposition to hunting in the 
 Spring, to which the Hunt Club retaliated by 
 stopping Punchestown Races which are greatly 
 appreciated and are a sort of County holiday. 
 Secondly, the labour strike in many cases found 
 Sinn Fein labourers opposed to Sinn Fein 
 employers and Sinn Fein tradesmen, and the 
 bad feeling that occurred has not in some cases 
 been forgotten. During the strike Sinn Fein 
 employers were of necessity on the same side as 
 Nationalist and Unionist employers and are still 
 more or less bound up with them over the labour 
 question. 
 
 * ' It is believed that if a General Election were 
 held to-morrow, Sinn Fein would not sweep the 
 polls as it did in 1918. The more level-headed 
 Sinn Feiners are not in sympathy with the 
 outrages in the South of Ireland, though many 
 of the young hot-heads are." 
 
 County Meath also reports a lull in the 
 outward and visible growth of Sinn Fein during 
 1919. ** Sinn Fein cannot be said to have made 
 any marked progress during the year. . . . 
 It is, however, probable that there are a larger 
 number of people imbued with Sinn Fein 
 tendencies than in 1918. The hope of 
 active assistance from America in obtaining 
 
64 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 independence, which in many people's minds 
 means release from the present increased burden 
 of taxation, is probably responsible for this. 
 Patriotism and national aspirations have little 
 influence, except amongst a very small class." 
 
 It is in the Provinces of Munster and 
 Connaught that we find the greatest development 
 of Republican tendencies during this year. 
 
 In the East Riding of County Galway " The 
 Sinn Fein movement has advanced considerably 
 during the year, the large majority of the people 
 are Sinn Feiners, and the few who are not 
 are afraid to lift hand or voice against the 
 movement." 
 
 In the West Riding of the same county 
 ' ' During the year the Riding was in a disturbed 
 and unsatisfactory condition. In many cases 
 where persons were brought to justice for 
 breaches of the Defence of the Realm Regulations 
 during the year they declined to recognise the 
 jurisdiction of the Court, stating that they were 
 soldiers of the Irish Republic and could not 
 recognise the law of any foreign Grovernment. 
 In one case where a man was convicted and bound 
 to the peace for an offence against the Defence of 
 the Realm Regulations, because he gave the 
 required bail for his future good behaviour he 
 was expelled from the local Sinn Fein club for 
 three months. 
 
 " The police are looked upon with grave 
 suspicion, and marked unfriendliness is shown 
 to them in many places. The people are not 
 inclined to give them any assistance, and even 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 65 
 
 persons upon whom outrages have been 
 committed are not disposed to give the police 
 any information which might lead to the 
 discovery of the perpetrators of the outrages, 
 fearing that by so doing further outrages would 
 be committed upon themselves or their property, 
 and on the whole the police are receiving no 
 support from the people in the Riding." 
 
 " In County Clai'e Sinn Fein was practically 
 supreme at the opening of the year (1919). 
 . . . Its policy held full sway, and no person 
 'dare act openly in opposition, except in the towns 
 of Ennis and Kilrush. A regular system of 
 terrorism was instituted against all persons 
 opposing it, with the result that the Sinn Fein 
 sway was tacitly acquiesced in by roughly 80 
 per cent, of the population of the County. Sinn 
 Fein has established Courts to settle disputes, 
 and the people abide by their decisions in nearly 
 all cases." 
 
 Towards the end of the year, signs were not 
 wanting that the turbulent situation was getting 
 beyond the oflScial control of Sinn Fein. " Their 
 followers began committing outrages for their 
 own private ends, using the name of Sinn Fein 
 as a lever," states another report. " It is not 
 > improbable that Sinn Fein may find that it has 
 let loose a spirit of unrest which may be a factor 
 in breaking its own power." 
 
 " The West Riding of County Cork has been 
 in a disturbed condition during the whole of 
 1919, . and in the latter part of the year matters 
 have got worse. The condition of things is 
 
 F 
 
66 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 directly attributable to Sinn Fein and the Irish 
 Volunteers. A system of universal terrorism 
 exists, and this prevents the law-abiding section 
 of the community from asserting itself or even 
 assisting the authorities in maintaining the 
 supremacy of the law and bringing offenders to 
 justice. The principal efforts of Sinn Fein and 
 the Irish Volunteers are directed against the 
 R.I.C., whom they regard as the chief obstacle 
 in their path, and who are now working under a 
 strain which is almost unbearable. Their 
 numbers are too small to deal with the existing 
 state of things, and everything possible is being 
 done by the Sinn Feiners and Irish Volunteers to 
 break their spirit. The ordinary processes of 
 the law are useless now. The people in general 
 will not give evidence in criminal cases, fearing 
 attack. The result is that the lawless section 
 cormnit crime and outrage with comparative 
 impunity, and police inquiries as to their 
 movements are met with a refusal to answer any 
 questions or make any statements. Under these 
 circumstances the police are fighting with their 
 hands tied and can achieve very little success in 
 spite of much hard work. No hope of any 
 improvement under present conditions is 
 anticipated. 
 
 " The members of the Sinn Fein organisa- 
 tion are usually young people filled with 
 revolutionary ideas," the same report continues. 
 ' * Farmers and shopkeepers are opposed to these 
 ideas, but, fearing the consequences, lack the 
 moral courage to express their true opinions 
 
FROM REBELLION TO END OF 1919. 67 
 
 publicly. The activities of Sinn Fein and the 
 Irish Volunteers are now carried on secretly- 
 owing to the proclamations suppressing them*. 
 The police in the Riding have done their best 
 to make the proclamations effective, and have 
 prosecuted and convicted a large number of 
 persons who were trying to carry on the work of 
 these two societies. The Irish Volunteers are 
 well organised in the Riding, and represent the 
 striking force of Sinn Fein for purposes of 
 violence and outrage. On 13th August 1919 a 
 training camp of the Irish Volunteer leaders in 
 the Riding, assembled at Glandore. It was 
 raided and dispersed by a large force of military 
 and police, and five of the ringleaders received 
 terms of imprisonment. I am afraid this 
 organisation has a strong hold on young men in 
 this Riding. . . . It is responsible for the 
 attacks on police and soldiers and arms raids 
 which take place from time to time." 
 
 Much the same is reported from the South 
 Riding of Tipperary. '* Crime has increased of 
 late to an almost alarming extent. The 
 beginning of the year was marked by the wanton 
 murders of two constables escorting explosives by 
 men masked and armed. t . . . This was the 
 beginning of the state of things that has led to 
 the terrorism of the whole country-side. . . 
 The terrorists are yoimg men, many of them tools 
 in the hands of more designing rascals." 
 
 * These Proclamatious were made by the Lord Lieutenant 
 irom time to time under the Act of 1881. (See page 188.) 
 
 t ThiB was the Solo Head Beg outrage. (See page 142.) 
 
68 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 The figures of membership of Sinn Fein Clubs 
 on the 31st December 1919 are as follows. 
 
 Ulster 
 
 Number of 
 Clubs. 
 
 354 
 
 Number of 
 Members. 
 
 26,185 
 
 Leinster 
 
 342 
 
 24,315 
 
 Connaught 
 Munster 
 
 325 
 433 
 
 29,022 
 39,127 
 
 Totals 1,454 . 118,649 
 
 It must be remembered that in these statistics 
 * Ulster ' includes the whole geographical 
 province, not only the ' Six Counties ' which 
 form the Ulster of the Home Rule Bill. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 
 
 In the two previous chapters something has 
 been shown of the forces which were at work at 
 the beginning of the year 1920. On the one 
 hand stood Irish Republicanism, represented by 
 Sinn Fein and its subsidiary organisations, 
 working through sedition, outrage, and alliance 
 with the enemies of the Empire towards an 
 impossible ideal — an Irish Republic. On the 
 other hand stood the Government, anxious to find 
 a settlement of the age-long Irish Question which 
 should be acceptable to the majority of Irishmen, 
 and determined at the same time to fulfil its duty 
 of restoring law and order to a distracted 
 country. 
 
 There is no doubt that, even apart from 
 the obvious impossibility of allowing the 
 establishment of an admittedly hostile Republic 
 at the gateway of Europe, the majority of the 
 Irish people would not welcome a solution of the 
 Irish Question which involved the detachment of 
 Ireland from the British Empire. The status 
 of an Independent nation would undoubtedly 
 appeal to Irish sentiment, but nations cannot 
 exist upon sentiment alone, and the material 
 advantages of partnership in the Empire make a 
 
70 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 stronger appeal to the mind of an agricultural 
 community than even sentiment. The problem 
 before the Government v^as therefore the 
 restoration of law and order, and particularly 
 the suppression of the campaign of murder and 
 terrorism, while at the same time proceeding 
 with a measure of Home Rule which would 
 satisfy the inarticulate majority, whose 
 existence was screened by the conspicuous 
 activities of the extremists. The history of 
 Ireland in 1920 will show the details of the 
 problem and the measures taken for its solution. 
 The year opened with the Municipal Elections, 
 in which Sinn Fein once more asserted its hold 
 upon the South and West. There can be no 
 doubt, however, that these elections did not give 
 a true indication of the real political aspirations 
 of the people. By its methods of intimidation 
 and propaganda Sinn Fein secured many votes 
 which it would othervrise have lost, and certainly 
 succeeded in preventing the recording of votes 
 adverse to it. But the result of the elections 
 was undoubtedly one of the causes that led to 
 the intensifying of the campaign of murder and 
 outrage. The Irish Volunteers, from their 
 Headquarters to individual officers, felt not so 
 much that they had the sympathy of the people 
 behind them, but that their influence was such 
 that their numbers were secure from capture, 
 because the majority of the people would not 
 dare to report their actions to the police. A 
 man who had committed a crime would be safe 
 so long as he continued " on the run." He 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 71 
 
 could move about from place to place, secure in 
 the knowledge that the local inhabitants would 
 not only refrain from revealing his whereabouts 
 to the police, but would afford him food and 
 shelter for so long a time as he cared to billet 
 himself upon them. And it was this sense of 
 security which alone made the continuance of the 
 outrage campaign possible. 
 
 Events showed that even in the capital city 
 of the country the escape of murderers was 
 connived at by the population. On the 21st of 
 January Assistant Commissioner Redmond, of 
 the Dublin Metropolitan Police, was murdered 
 while walking through the streets of Dublin from 
 his office at the Castle to the Standard Hotel, 
 where he was staying. Two shots were fired at 
 him in Har court Street, and he fell mortally 
 wounded. After the shots had been fired, two 
 men were seen running away from the scene, 
 but no attempt was made to stop them. Mr. 
 Redmond was a native of Newry, County Down, 
 and had been fifteen years with the Royal Irish 
 Constabulary in Belfast, as an officer in the 
 Detective Department. He had recently been 
 transferred to Dublin, and his murder was 
 undoubtedly part of a campaign to assassinate 
 anyone who might be suspected of endeavouring 
 to imearth the threads of the murder-gangs. 
 He left a widow and two daughters. At the 
 inquest, the jury found a verdict as follows : 
 ' * That deceased died from the effects of a bullet, 
 and we find a verdict of wilful murder against 
 some person or persons unknown. We wish to 
 
72 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 express our abhorrence of the dastardly outrage, 
 and tender our deepest sympathy to the relatives 
 of the deceased." 
 
 On the 22nd January, 1920, the following 
 statistics of outrages were officially issued : 
 
 OUTRAGES ATTRIBUTED TO SINN FEIN. 
 
 Official Returns from 1st May, 1916, to 31st December, 1919. 
 
 Murder. 
 
 S5 3 
 
 Firinc 
 at the 
 Person, 
 
 Oh S 
 
 Assaults 
 
 Raids for Highvcay 
 
 Robbery of, 
 
 Burslary for, and 
 
 Larceny of Arms, 
 
 AmmnnitioD, and 
 
 ExplosiTes, 
 
 3 
 
 Firing 
 
 Into 
 
 Dvr'llings 
 
 o .£ 
 
 A, O 
 
 1 — 2 
 
 (inclucl 
 6 ljl5 4 233 4 
 
 3 5 
 
 1 — ' 5 2 3 
 
 11 129 7 7 
 
 4 1 
 
 6 7 
 
 Ulster 
 
 I 5 40 
 
 Leinstkr 
 
 ing D.M.P. Di 
 
 6 20 127 
 
 CONNAUGHT 
 — 5 ^ 
 
 Monster 
 13 37 275 
 
 lo 40 
 
 — — 
 
 strict) 
 14 48 
 
 — 4 
 
 11 39 
 
 1 9 
 
 30 152 
 
 2 25 
 
 30 
 
 36 
 
 105 
 
 13 
 
 115 
 
 28 
 
 54 
 
 134 
 
 429 
 
 205 
 
 761 
 
 18 2 
 
 50 13 14 
 
 46 17 
 
 Totals 
 20 67 502 
 
 70 279 
 
 3 38 
 
 180 
 
 210 
 
 1529 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 73 
 
 On 25th January a Proclamation was issued 
 from Dublin Castle offering a reward of £10,000 
 (double the amount previously offered) for 
 evidence to convict any of the offenders in five 
 cases of murder of Dublin Metropolitan Police 
 and nine cases of the Royal Irish Constabulary. 
 
 One thousand pounds was offered for secret 
 information. 
 
 The Proclamation gave the following names 
 of thfe victims : — 
 
 D.M.P. 
 
 Detective Sergeant Patrick Smith. 
 
 Detective Constable Daniel Hoey. 
 
 Constable Michael Dovming. 
 
 Sergeant John Barton. 
 
 Assistant Commissioner W. C. Redmond. 
 
 R.I.C. 
 
 Constable J. McDonnell, Co. Tipperary. 
 Constable Patrick O' Council, Co. Tipperary. 
 Constable Martin O'Brien, Co. Limerick. 
 District Inspector Michael Hunt, Thurles. 
 Sergeant John Riordan, Co. Clare. 
 Constable Michael James Murphy, Co. Clare. 
 Constable William Agar, Ballivor. 
 Constable E. Bolger, Co. Cork. 
 Constable Luke Finnegin, Thurles. 
 
 During the early morning of 31st January, a 
 raid was made by the police, supported by troops. 
 
74 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 with the object of arresting certain prominent 
 Sinn Feiners, who were suspected of seditious 
 acts. The raid took place simultaneously in the 
 City of Dublin and the counties Cork, Tipperary, 
 Limerick, and Clare. Some fifty men in all were 
 arrested and imprisoned. 
 
 In February the Curfew Order was made in the 
 Dublin Metropolitan Police District by the 
 Competent Military Authority under the Defence 
 of the Realm Regulations. This Order, which 
 was dated 20th February, came into force on the 
 23rd. It required every person within the 
 Dublin Metropolitan Police District to remain 
 indoors within the hours of 12 o'clock midnight 
 and 5 o'clock a.m. unless provided with a 
 permit in writing from the Competent Military 
 Authority or some person duly authorised by him. 
 Permits were granted to clergymen, registered 
 medical practitioners, and nurses engaged on 
 urgent duties. A warning was attached to the 
 Order to the effect that " every person abroad 
 between the hours mentioned in the Order, wh^i 
 challenged by any policeman, or by any officer, 
 non-commissioned officer or soldier on duty, must 
 immediately halt and obey orders given to him, 
 and, if he fails to do so, it will be at his own 
 peril." 
 
 This Order had the required effect of keeping 
 undesirable people off the streets at night. The 
 hours included under the Order were varied from 
 time to time according to the hours of darkness. 
 
 On 5th March the Viceroy inspected detach- 
 ments of the Royal Irish Constabulary and 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 75 
 
 Dublin Metropolitan Police, and awarded 
 decorations for bravery and distinguished 
 service. His Excellency's speech on this occasion 
 throws a very clear light upon the conditions 
 existing at that time. Here are some extracts 
 from it : — 
 
 ' * I am glad that it has been possible to hold a 
 joint parade of the Royal Irish Constabulary and 
 the Dublin Metropolitan Police. Both forces 
 have been fighting with the utmost gallantry 
 against a common foe who are sworn enemies of 
 law, order, and government, and whose cowardly 
 and diabolical methods have put the courage, 
 tenacity and endurance of the police forces to the 
 highest test. 
 
 '* I trust that the trying time through which 
 the two forces have passed during the last few 
 years, the splendid work they have done together 
 and the credit for Irish loyalty which they have 
 thus maintained, will ever bind them in bonds of 
 mutual regard and comradeship. 
 
 ** On more than one occasion during the last 
 two years I took the opportunity to warn you 
 that you would certainly be subjected to still 
 greater tests of your loyalty, devotion and 
 courage. The autumn and winter which have 
 just passed by have proved clearly that these 
 warnings were not unnecessary. 
 
 ' ' The most determined efforts have been made 
 to undermine your loyalty. Many of your 
 comrades have been foully murdered in the dark, 
 and outrages of every description have been 
 
76 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 directed against the Dublin Metropolitan Police. 
 As regards the Royal Irish Constabulary your 
 barracks have been subjected to violent attacks in 
 all parts of the country, by men who sometimes 
 could be counted in hundreds, and v^ho were 
 well armed with revolvers, rifles, bombs, and 
 explosives. 
 
 " During the last six months some thirty or 
 forty of these attacks have been made, but in 
 nearly every case they have been gallantly 
 repulsed by a handful of disciplined, determined, 
 brave men. 
 
 " You have had the most terrible disabilities 
 to contend against. Police barracks in Ireland 
 were never built with a view to defence against 
 such numbers and such weapons. Many of them 
 were erected a long time ago, so that buildings, 
 and even whole villages, have grown up round 
 them, which renders their effective defence a 
 matter of the utmost difficulty. 
 
 " Another terrible drag on you has been the 
 impossibility of inducing people who are other- 
 wise loyal to come forward and give information 
 to establish the guilt of these men. 
 
 " And here I cannot do better than quote the 
 words which were used by a great Irish judge 
 and lawyer, Lord Justice O'Connor, in his able 
 charge to the Grand Jury in Clare. The Lord 
 Justice said : — 
 
 ' What gives more reason for grave 
 
 reflection is the fact that the Government 
 
 have not the active co-operation of the people 
 
 in putting down crime of this sort. The 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 77 
 
 vast majority of the people, as I think, 
 
 disapprove of crime, but they do not 
 
 help to stop it. It is an extraordinary and 
 
 anomalous state of affairs, without a parallel 
 
 amongst any other of the w^hite races 
 
 inhabiting the British Empire.' 
 
 " Before I conclude let me once more repeat 
 
 what I have so often told you — the Irish 
 
 Government are just as determined as ever they 
 
 were to crush these forces which are fighting 
 
 against law and order, and I can assure you that 
 
 no effort will be spared, and no sacrifice will be 
 
 considered too great to give you every possible 
 
 help and support in carrying on this great work. 
 
 I feel sure that you will not allow the threats 
 
 and intimidation which are flung broadcast all 
 
 over the country to influence you, or to turn you 
 
 away from the performance of your duties." 
 
 During the month of March the Assizes were 
 held throughout the country, and the importance 
 of justice in the face of almost universal 
 terrorism became manifest. So great was the 
 intimidation practised that juries could not be 
 secured, witnesses dared not come forward to 
 give their testimony, and in many cases the police 
 could not secure evidence against the perpetrators 
 of crime. 
 
 Lord Justice Ronan, in his address to the 
 Grand Jury on the opening of North Tipperary 
 Assizes, said there were only three trivial 
 cases, arising out of a trade dispute, for their 
 consideration. If these trivial cases were not to 
 
78 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 go before them they should have the mockery of 
 his being presented with white gloves, supposed 
 to show that the county was free from crime 
 and in an almost satisfactory condition. He 
 regretted to say that the figures and facts 
 supplied to him by the authorities told a far 
 different story. In the corresponding period last 
 year there were 8 specially reported cases, 
 and the number and class, taken on the whole, 
 were such as one would naturally expect in a 
 large commimity, but in the corresponding period 
 this year, for the number 8 they should 
 substitute the number 49, an increase of 41. 
 Moreover, these cases included 2 murders, 2 
 attempts to murder, 3 cases of wounding, 
 4 cases of robbery, and attempts to rob, 3 
 cases of arson, 3 reports of killing and 
 maiming cattle, 13 cases of malicious injury, 12 
 of threatening letters, 4 raids for arms, 2 
 attacks on police barracks, and 1 incident of 
 firing into a dwelling-house. This Lord Justice 
 Ronan characterised as a terrible record of crime, 
 and added that their County Inspector had told 
 him it extended practically over the whole 
 Riding, but that perhaps the worst area was that 
 around Thurles. Dealing with the fact that no 
 one had been made amenable for these crimes, he 
 said it was obvious that there could be but two 
 causes : one was that the people sympathised with 
 crime and the other that the community was so 
 terrorised that no one dared give evidence. 
 
 The state of affairs in North Tipperary was 
 typical of that existing over a great part of the 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 79 
 
 country, and many judges placed on record 
 opinions similar to those of Lord Justice Ronan. 
 It became evident that steps must be taken to 
 secure the operation of justice by some other 
 procedure than that of a Court of Law. 
 
 During the night of March 19th there occurred 
 an incident which produced a deep sensation 
 throughout Ireland, the facts of which have 
 never yet been satisfactorily determined. The 
 Lord Mayor of Cork at this time was Alderman 
 MacCurtain, a man of advanced Republican 
 views. He had taken a leading part in 
 organising the Irish Republican Army in Cork, 
 was implicated in the rising of Easter Week, 
 1916, and had been arrested and deported to 
 England in connection with that afiair. Upon 
 his release he returned to his Republican 
 activities, and was eventually elected Lord 
 Mayor of Cork by a Sinn Fein majority of the 
 Corporation. After he had retired to bed on the 
 19th March, 1920, a loud knocking was heard 
 at the door of his house. His wife opened the 
 door, and was immediately brushed aside by 
 three or four armed men with blackened faces, 
 who made their way upstairs, knocked at 
 Mr. MacCurtain's bedroom door, and called 
 upon him to come out. He did so, and was 
 immediately fatally woimded by revolver shots. 
 His assailants then made their escape, and it 
 was asserted that the sound of a motor rcar was 
 heard as they did so. 
 
 An inquest was held, and after protracted 
 sittings a verdict was returned attributing the 
 
80 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 murder to members of the police. It has since 
 been conclusively proved that no members of the 
 police were concerned in the attack, and the 
 matter remains at present a mystery. Many 
 theories have been put forward, of which two 
 would seem to contain the elements of a possible 
 solution. One of these is that certain members 
 of the Irish Republican Army had conceived the 
 idea that the Lord Mayor was about to reveal 
 certain details of their operations of which he 
 disapproved. The second is contained in an 
 article of the London Times of March 29th, 1920, 
 an extract from which is as follows : — 
 
 " A well-informed correspondent writes : ' It 
 has now been ascertained that on the night of 
 1 7th- 18th March there was a meeting of the 
 Circle of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, 
 attended by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Alderman 
 Thomas MacCurtain, and other prominent 
 persons. At this meeting seven members of the 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood were expelled. 
 It is significant that one of the persons present 
 was shot after leaving the meeting, and that two 
 nights later the Lord Mayor was shot. It is 
 stated that at this meeting accusations were made 
 of infidelity to the cause of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood.' " 
 
 It may be noted that Mr. MacCurtain was 
 succeeded as Lord Mayor of Cork by Alderman 
 Terence McSwiney, the Commandant of the 1st 
 Cork Brigade, I.R.A. 
 
 On March 26th the world was horrified by the 
 murder of Mr. Alan Bell, a resident magistrate, 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 81 
 
 who was dragged from a tram in broad daylight 
 in the streets of Dublin, and brutally murdered. 
 The incident is dealt with elsewhere.* It is 
 mentioned here only to record the progress of the 
 Sinn Fein campaign of murder. Mr. Bell 
 was regarded as specially dangerous to that 
 organisation, as he was engaged at the time in 
 examining the relations between Sinn Fein and 
 certain Irish Banks. 
 
 The beginning of April witnessed a change in 
 the administration of Ireland. On 1st April it 
 was announced that Mr. Ian Macpherson had 
 resigned the office of Chief Secretary to the 
 Viceroy of Ireland, and two days later came the 
 further announcement that Mr. Macpherson 
 had been appointed Minister of Pensions in 
 succession to Sir Laming Worthington-Evans, 
 while Lieut. -Col. The Rt. Hon. Sir Hamar 
 Greenwood, Bart, K.C., had been appointed 
 Chief Secretary. 
 
 Sir Hamar Greenwood was born in Canada in 
 1870 of Welsh parentage. In 1895 he came to 
 England, studied law at Gray's Inn, and was 
 called to the Bar in 1906. In 1903 he had 
 adopted a parliamentary career, and three years 
 later was elected Member of Parliament for 
 York, sitting on the Liberal side of the House. 
 Defeated at the poll at the General Election in 
 January, 1910, in December of the same year he 
 stood for Sunderland, and was duly elected. He 
 has since represented this constituency without a 
 break. During the War, he commanded the 10th 
 
 * Page 224 
 
82 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 (Service Battalion) the South Wales Borderers, 
 and served in that capacity in France. Having 
 been created a Baronet in 1915 for his 
 conspicuous success in the organisation of 
 recruiting, he was called to the War Office by 
 I-^rd Derby in 1916 and appointed Deputy 
 Assistant Adjutant General. In 1919 Sir Hamar 
 received his first Ministerial appointment as 
 Under-Secretary to the Home Office. 
 
 No happier choice could have been made for 
 the difficult and arduous post of Chief Secretary. 
 Ireland was rapidly drifting into anarchy, the 
 Government was fast losing its hold upon the 
 situation. Here was a man of world wide 
 experience in peace and war, not bound by 
 insular prejudice, capable of treating the Irish 
 situation and the Irish people without fear or 
 favour. Fear indeed was unknown to him, 
 perhaps his chief characteristic is an absolutely 
 fearless outlook upon difficulty and danger. 
 Above all, here was a strong man, a man who 
 had faced the world and knew his power ; a man 
 with the gift of work and of making others work 
 gladly for him; a man with a personality which 
 had the supreme power of inspiring confidence 
 when things seemed at their darkest. Even his 
 bitterest critics, in the height of their opposition 
 to his policy, have never denied his courage or 
 his ability; there is no one of them but has, at 
 one time or another, been forced — often, perhaps, 
 against that critic's own will — to acknowledge 
 the honesty of his purpose and the earnestness of 
 his determination to do that which was right. 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 83 
 
 This was the man who was called upon in April, 
 1920, to assume what seemed to many a hopeless 
 task. The months which have since passed bear 
 witness to his success. 
 
 Sir Hamar's appointment necessitated a bye- 
 election in his constituency, but of the result 
 there was never a doubt. On May 7th the result 
 was announced, and Sir Hamar was found to 
 have topped the poll with a majority of over 
 8,000, His message on this occasion was typical 
 of the directness of his outlook. ** The result of 
 the election is most gratifying. To have secured 
 such a majority (3,369) over the combined polls 
 of my opponents in a three-cornered fight is a 
 victory which gives Lady Greenwood and myself 
 the greatest encouragement in our task in 
 Ireland. The election was fought by me on the 
 Irish question, because I consider it the most 
 important question before the English-speaking 
 world to-day. The result is an emphatic vote of 
 confidence in the Coalition Government, and in 
 myself as Chief Secretary for Ireland." 
 
 Sir Hamar was right. It was a personal 
 triumph, a vote of confidence which has never 
 been misplaced. 
 
 At the time of the appointment of the 
 new Chief Secretary the question of political 
 prisoners was embittering feeling throughout 
 Ireland. In an endeavour to quell the rising 
 storm the Administration had arrested a number 
 of prominent Sinn Feiners. Of these a small 
 proportion had been convicted, others were 
 awaiting trial for various offences, and a large 
 
84 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 number had been arrested on suspicion under the 
 Defence of the Realm Regulations.* These men 
 were lodged in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, and in 
 Wormwood Scrubbs, London, and had gone on 
 hunger-strike. On April 12th Mr. Denis Henry, 
 the Attorney-General for Ireland, announced 
 that of the 151 so-called political prisoners in 
 Mountjoy 88 were on hunger-strike, and that of 
 these some were approaching the danger zone. 
 The hunger-strikers in Wormwood Scrubbs had 
 abandoned their tactics by this date. 
 
 The condition of the prisoners caused 
 grave concern throughout Ireland. Scenes were 
 witnessed outside Mountjoy Prison and Worm- 
 wood Scrubbs : the National Executive of the 
 Irish Labour Party and Trades Union Congress 
 called a general strike : Irish opinion of all 
 shades found itself for once in unison in 
 protesting against the retention of men against 
 whom no definite charges had been formulated. 
 Sir Hamar saw an opportunity for initiating a 
 policy of conciliation, such as would show the 
 majority of the Irish people that his attitude 
 was one entirely devoid of prejudice. By his 
 advice the Viceroy received the Lord Mayor of 
 Dublin on 14th April and informed him that 
 
 * Regulation 14b, which provides that the Chief 
 Secretary shall have power, on the recommendation of 
 the Competent Military Authority, to intern " any 
 person who is suspected of acting or of having acted 
 or of being about to act in a manner prejudicial to the 
 public safety or the defence of the Realm." An order 
 under this Regulation may require the person to whom 
 the order reflates to reside or to be interned in any 
 place in the British Islands. 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 85 
 
 certain of the hunger-strikers in Mountjoy 
 Prison cjould be released on parole for the 
 purposes of receiving medical treatment outside 
 the prison for periods to be specified in each case 
 by the Medical Officer of the prison. On the 15th 
 Mr. Bonar Law read in the House of Commons 
 a message from the Viceroy as follows : — 
 
 " Following the O'Brien precedent, authority 
 was given to the Governor of Mountjoy Prison 
 to liberate any persons awaiting trial or 
 deportation, who were certified by doctors to be 
 in imminent danger of death and requiring 
 treatment which could not be given in the prison. 
 Under this order, 66 prisoners have been released 
 on parole for periods differing in each case 
 according to their particular needs. I should 
 perhaps tell you that owing to a mistake made by 
 the Prison Authorities, some of these 66 men 
 were persons who had been convicted and 
 sentenced, and were in no way entitled to be 
 released on parole. I think this should be 
 expressly made knovni, so that such action will 
 not form a precedent. The whole action taken 
 in regard to the hunger-strikers was strictly 
 based on the decision in regard to ameliorative 
 treatment. The release on parole was never 
 intended to apply to cases of men who were 
 convicted after trial." 
 
 On the 20th the Irish Grovernment issued a 
 statement to the press defining the status of these 
 prisoners and making clear the treatment which 
 would be accorded to them. This statement is 
 included at the end of this volume (Appendix C). 
 
86 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 On May 17th General Sir Nevil Macready, who 
 had assumed command of the Forces in Ireland 
 on the 14th April, inspected men of the Royal 
 Irish Constabulary and the Dublin Metropolitan 
 Police at the depot in Phoenix Park, for the 
 purpose of awarding the King's Police Medal to 
 ten members of the Forces.* 
 
 On May 15th General Tudor was appointed 
 Police Advisor to the Viceroy of Ireland, with 
 general supervisory powers over both Irish 
 police forces, and on the 24th the following 
 announcement was made : — 
 
 *' In order to relieve the pressure of work in 
 the Chief Secretary's Office the following 
 appointments have been made : 
 
 Sir John Anderson, K.C.B., Chairman of 
 the Board of Inland Revenue, to be Under- 
 Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant, jointly 
 with the Right Hon. James MacMahon. 
 
 * The following' extract from his speech on this 
 occasion will be of interest : " In many cases the Police 
 Medal represents practically the V.C. of tlie Army, 
 because many of the deeds that a man wins the medal 
 for are deeds where he risks his life, and very often 
 is incapacitated, in doing his duty. Also the medal 
 has another feature, which I think no other medal has, 
 and that is on occasions it is given for long and 
 distinguished service as distinct from any actual deed 
 such as I mentioned just now. As an old Commissioner 
 of the Police I know how it is sought after. I know 
 how when one sees a policeman or constabulary man 
 with the blue and white ribbon on him one at once says, 
 * There is a man who stands out and has had the luck, 
 possibly, to make a reputation which makes him stand 
 out from his fellows,' and he wears a decoration which 
 every policeman is only too proud to have." 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 87 
 
 Mr. A. W. Cope, second Secretary of the 
 Ministry of Pensions, to be Assistant 
 Under-Secretary, on the retirement of Sir 
 John Taylor, K.C.B., who has completed 
 forty years' service. 
 
 " Sir John Anderson and Mr. Cope are 
 appointed to hold office during the continuance 
 of the present pressure of business, with the 
 intention that they should in due course resume 
 the exercise of their previous functions." 
 
 These appointments completed the reinforce- 
 ment of the Irish Executive, as far as the 
 higher posts were concerned. Certain minor 
 appointments followed until the Executive was 
 sufficiently staffed to deal with the enormous 
 amount of work thrown upon it by the disturbed 
 state of the country. 
 
 About this time began the very serious 
 situation caused by the refusal of Irish dock and 
 railway employees to handle * munitions, ' under 
 which heading they included all stores destined 
 for the police or military forces. On May 20th 
 the Dublin dockers refused to handle the cargoes 
 of vessels coming into the port laden with 
 military stores. On the 22nd the steamer 
 Polberg arrived at Kingstown with a consign- 
 ment of cars and stores for the troops at Cork. 
 The vessel was unloaded by a party of soldiers, 
 and the stores loaded into railway wagons, but, 
 acting under instructions from their leaders, the 
 drivers of the engine which should have taken 
 the train to Cork refused to act. The men's 
 leaders stated that they were acting on the same 
 
88 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 principle as the English workers who had refused 
 to handle munitions consigned to Poland. It 
 was not until the 26th that the train was allowed 
 to proceed to its destination, and even then there 
 was no abandonment of principle. It appeared 
 that the railwaymen were under the impression 
 that the stores consisted of ammunition, but 
 upon inspection they discovered that they were 
 in fact nothing more than a consignment of 
 ' bully-beef.' Instructions were given to the 
 engine-drivers by their leaders that they might 
 proceed with their duties, and the incident came 
 to an end. 
 
 But this did not alter the general situation. 
 The dockers on strike at the Port of Dublin 
 refused to return to work unless they were given 
 an undertaking that they would not be required 
 to handle munitions, while the employers 
 demanded an unconditional return. The result 
 was a complete deadlock. Attempts at 
 negotiation proved abortive. By the middle of 
 June the position was virtually the same. On 
 June 14th the President of the National Union 
 of Railwaymen made an attempt to find a way 
 out of the difficulty, but was unsuccessful. 
 Shortly after seven o'clock he issued the follow- 
 ing ' official ' statement : — 
 
 " I communicated with the officials of the 
 L. and N.W.R. Co. yesterday and was informed 
 that Mr. Cotton was proceeding to London, upon 
 which I made the following suggestion : ' The 
 Company will agree that work will be resumed 
 on the basis existing prior to the commencement 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 89 
 
 of the dispute, and that in the event of any 
 question arising in connection with the carrying 
 out of the work, the Company's representatives 
 to meet representatives of the men with a view to 
 obviating any difficulty.' 
 
 "Mr. Cotton conveyed the suggestion and we 
 received to-day a reply from London as follows : 
 
 " ' General Manager to Cotton, North 
 Wall. Railway Companies are under statutory 
 obligations to deal with all traffic handed 
 to them, and cannot, therefore, discriminate 
 against any particular traffic. These obligations 
 must be carried out. The Company are quite 
 willing for the men to resume work on the basis 
 existing prior to the commencement of the 
 dispute, and the men can do so at once if they 
 agree to handle all traffic. (Signed) Williams, 
 Euston.' 
 
 " This was reported to the Strike Committee 
 this afternoon, who regretted that they could 
 not accept this position, and, unless anything 
 new transpires, the dispute will therefore go on." 
 
 A similar statement was also issued from the 
 Company's office. 
 
 Commenting upon the situation generally, the 
 President* of the N.U.R. said : — 
 
 ' ' I am not disposed to place all the blame for 
 the breakdown of the negotiations upon the 
 Company, as, in my opinion, they are acting 
 under instructions from the Government. I have 
 nothing to confirm this except my own point of 
 view, but it does appear to me that the Govern- 
 
 * His name was Cramp. 
 
90 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ment are refusing all offers of conciliation such 
 as I have made, and are thus forcing the issue." 
 
 The strike hit every section of the community 
 in Ireland except the Government, vp^ho were 
 able to use their own vessels, their own labour, 
 and their own motor transport to convey such 
 material as they chose to any part of Ireland. As 
 a measure against the enforcement of law and 
 order, which was undoubtedly its intention, it 
 failed utterly. That the men realised this is 
 proved by the extension of their embargo to the 
 conveyance of troops a few days later. However, 
 this matter is dealt with at some length 
 elsewhere,* and its effects need not be referred to 
 here. It is merely another example of the 
 perverse effects of Sinn Fein teaching, the result 
 of which has always been to bring ruin upon the 
 very country for which it professes to be fighting. 
 
 During the early part of the year the Sinn Fein 
 organisation endeavoured to ingratiate itself 
 with the mass of the people by establishing 
 Courts,' which were widely advertised as 
 dealing out justice to Republican litigants who 
 refused, under pressure of intimidation, to 
 recognise the legal courts. These Sinn Fein 
 courts sat irregularly and in many cases in 
 secret. In most cases they were in fact merely 
 arbitration courts, and, as such, within the law. 
 In a few cases they dealt with offenders brought 
 before them on various charges, and sentenced 
 these offenders to fines and ' banishment ' from 
 their homes for various periods. They seem to 
 
 * Chapter IX. 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 91 
 
 have existed mainly for propaganda purposes, 
 in order to afford evidence that Sinn Fein was 
 capable of government. That the leaders of the 
 movement put no faith in them as genuine 
 instruments of justice is shown by their actions 
 on several occasions. Of these, one of the most 
 interesting is the case of a cinema proprietor in 
 County Meath, which is worthy of a brief 
 account. 
 
 On August 8th this gentleman wrote to 
 Alderman Murphy asking for his advice in the 
 following circumstances. In October, 1919, he 
 returned a box of films to an agent in Belfast, 
 but the Railway Company lost the box and were 
 unable to trace it. The agent served him with a 
 writ for £60, the value of the films. The further 
 recital of his difficulties is in his own words : — 
 " I of course will have to pay this, or some 
 amount for the loss of the films. I must defend 
 the case to show I delivered the films to the 
 Railway Company, and also to ascertain the 
 actual value of the films. Then I must go for the 
 Railway Company. This is what I want you to 
 assist me in. Can I take the Railway Company 
 into a Republican Court ? I am quite sure they 
 would refuse to recognise our Courts, but suppose 
 they do, and that I can establish my claim against 
 them in our Courts, are we in a position to recover 
 the agreed amount from the Railway Company ? 
 I am sure that you can find out all particulars, 
 and will you kindly let me know as early as 
 possible? " 
 
 Alderman Murphy wrote across the top of this 
 
^2 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 letter " Please give this matter your immediate 
 attention and oblige " and sent it to the * Local 
 Government Department ' of Dail Eireann, the 
 * Government ' of Sinn Fein. The ' Minister for 
 Local Government ' copying, perhaps uncon- 
 sciously, the practice of less idealistic Govern- 
 ment Offices, minuted it to the ' Secretary for 
 Home Affairs ' as follows : — 
 " A Chara, 
 
 Enclosed letter has been sent me by Alderman 
 Murphy. I expect as it is a law question your 
 Department ought to deal with same. May I 
 take it that you will inform Alderman Murphy ?" 
 
 Some days later the ' General Secretariat ' 
 returned the correspondence to Alderman 
 Murphy, with the following minute : — 
 " A Chara, 
 
 The Secretary for Home Affairs has asked 
 me to write to you in connection with the attached 
 letter, and to say that in this case the applicant 
 may sue the Railway Company in the British 
 Courts." 
 
 A very pretty little comedy, and one that 
 shows better than pages of reasoned argument 
 the opinion of the " Secretary for Home Affairs" 
 concerning his own Courts. 
 
 The progress of the campaign of outrage was 
 very rapid during the first six months of 1920. 
 The whole question of outrage is dealt with in 
 Chapter VIII., and it will therefore be unneces- 
 sary to do more than mention the subject here. 
 The following figures give an idea of the rapid 
 increase in murder and destruction. Only such 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 93 
 
 outrages as were directly attributed to the 
 Republicans are included. 
 
 From the 1st January, 1919, to the end of 
 June, 1920, the totals of various forms of crime 
 are as follows : — 
 
 Court-houses destroyed ... 
 Vacated R.I.C. barracks destroyed 
 Vacated R.I.C. barracks damaged 
 Occupied R.I.C. barracks destroyed 
 Occupied R.I.C. barracks damaged 
 
 Raids on Mails 
 
 Coastguard Stations and Lighthouses 
 
 raided ... 
 Police killed 
 
 , , wounded . 
 Soldiers killed 
 
 , , wounded 
 Civilians killed . 
 wounded 
 
 33 
 
 351 
 
 105 
 
 15 
 
 25 
 
 98 
 
 19 
 66 
 79 
 5 
 2 
 15 
 41 
 
 It has been shown (page 62) that during the 
 years 1917 and 1918 the cases of murder and 
 assault with intent to murder, for the whole of 
 Ireland, numbered 14 and 12 respectively. The 
 above table shows that from the 1st January, 
 1919, to the end of June, 1920, these crimes 
 numbered 208. 
 
 The most ominous feature of this increase in 
 outrage was the fact that outside Ulster the 
 voice of the people remained silent. Such were 
 the measures of intimidation employed by the 
 Republicans that no man dare speak his mind 
 about the tragedy which was overtaking the 
 
94 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 country. Dail Eireann, the self-constituted 
 * Government of the Irish Republic,* although 
 it never acknowledged openly its opinion of 
 brutal murder, must yet be held responsible for 
 it, since never did it utter a word of protest or 
 take any steps to repress it. It pointed to the 
 Jrish Republican Army as a body of gallant 
 soldiers at war with the Forces of the Crown, 
 obliged in self-defence to carry out definite 
 military operations. The notorious Michael 
 Collins, ' Adjutant General of the Irish 
 Republican Army ' was indeed a member of An 
 Dail, in his capacity of ' Minister of Finance.' 
 Terence McSwiney, Commandant of the First 
 Cork Brigade, I.R.A., and Lord Mayor of Cork, 
 was another of its members. It is impossible for 
 Sinn Fein, as a political aspiration, to dissociate 
 itself from the operations of the murder-gangs, 
 while the men who by their own showing were 
 responsible for the operations of these gangs 
 were the elected representatives of the Sinn Fein 
 party. 
 
 This fact it was that made impossible direct 
 negotiations between the British Government 
 'and the representatives of Sinn Fein. The 
 most essential preliminary to the opening of 
 negotiation must be the cessation of outrage. 
 Had Sinn Fein guaranteed this cessation, it 
 would have confessed itself responsible for the 
 direction of outrage and murder, and the 
 Grovernment would have been invited to grasp a 
 hand red with the blood of Government servants. 
 Nor did Sinn Fein dare to repudiate its 
 
THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1920. 95 
 
 own familiars, and denounce their policy of 
 assassination. Terrorism is a double edged 
 weapon, apt to recoil upon the persons of those 
 who wield it. The leaders of the murder-gangs 
 were desperate men, and desperate men are no 
 respecters of persons where their own safety is 
 concerned. The opposition of Dail Eireann 
 could and would have terminated the murder 
 campaign, but not before the murderers, driven 
 to bay and feeling the halter already about their 
 necks, had wreaked a fearful vengeance upon 
 those who had first encouraged and then betrayed 
 them. The grim tragedy of MacCurtain, .and 
 of many more found done to death with the 
 ominous notice ' ' Spies and informers beware ! ' ' 
 pinned to their clothing, conveyed a warning 
 which none dare disregard. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 
 
 The events of the latter half of the year 1920 
 are of too recent occurrence for it to be necessary 
 to set them down in chronological order. Every 
 reader of the newspapers is aware that by the 
 autumn of 1920 the Irish question had resolved 
 itself into a struggle between the Government 
 and the forces of disorder, a struggle in which 
 the Government was steadily asserting its 
 supremacy. It will be sufficient for the purposes 
 of this book to deal with certain of the leading 
 events of the period, selecting those events which 
 have had a definite effect upon Irish affairs, or 
 which illustrate the condition of the country at 
 this time. Certain aspects of the situation are 
 dealt with in the succeeding chapters at greater 
 length than would be possible in a brief review. 
 
 The following table will give some idea of the 
 extent to which outrage is being committed by 
 the Republicans. The figures include only those 
 crimes knov^oi to have been carried out by 
 members of the Republican organisations, and 
 omit certain minor forms of outrage, such as 
 intimidation, cattle-driving and the like. They 
 do not include casualities in Ulster rioting 
 during the period. An account of these latter 
 will be found in Chapter XII. 
 
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98 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 These figures deserve some comment. Dealing 
 first with the total number of outrages in each 
 week, it will be observed that these increase 
 towards the beginning of September, and then 
 decrease fairly regularly. The total number of 
 outrages committed is a rough measure of the 
 niunbers of people engaged in committing them. 
 The reason of the fluctuation is probably that 
 during the increase the perpetrators of outrage 
 were encouraged by the comparative safety with 
 which their depredations were being conunitted. 
 As the police and troops became more expert in 
 stamping out crime, the more faint-hearted of 
 the desperadoes found their courage forsaking 
 them, and abandoned a pursuit which involved 
 risk of capture. It will be observed that it is 
 what we may term minor outrage that accounts 
 for the greater part of the fluctuation, while 
 major outrage remains comparatively constant. 
 The smaller men became frightened by the danger 
 of arrest, while the really desperate characters, 
 those for instance who specialised in murder, 
 knowing that they must ultimately be ' rounded 
 up ' and could not escape the penalty of their 
 crimes, continued their career of assassination, 
 careless whether they were hanged for a sheep or 
 for a lamb. 
 
 The statistics of arrests and court-martials 
 bear out this theory. They are as follows : — 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 
 
 99 
 
 Week ending 
 
 Arrests 
 Number. 
 
 Courts-Martial. 
 Numbers Held. No. of 
 
 Convictions 
 
 Aug. 7th 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 „ 14th 
 
 59 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 „ 21st 
 
 37 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 „ 28th 
 
 32 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 Sept. 4th 
 „ 11th 
 
 49 
 
 89 
 
 16 
 25 
 
 15 
 20 
 
 ,, 18th 
 
 47 
 
 39 
 
 33 
 
 „ 25th 
 
 133 
 
 31 
 
 21 
 
 Oct. 2nd 
 
 64 
 
 72 
 
 50 
 
 9th 
 
 42 
 
 78 
 
 71 
 
 ,, 16th 
 
 71 
 
 44 
 
 36 
 
 ,, 23rd 
 
 74 
 
 24 
 
 15 
 
 30th 
 
 84 
 
 77 
 
 70 
 
 Nov. 6th 
 
 49 
 
 29 
 
 25 
 
 „ 13th 
 
 110 
 
 52 
 
 41 
 
 „ 20th 
 
 137 
 
 40 
 
 29 
 
 „ 27th 
 
 189 
 
 39 
 
 25 
 
 Dec. 4th 
 
 58 
 
 43 
 
 35 
 
 ,, 11th 
 
 .. 130 
 
 70 
 
 60 
 
 ,, 18th 
 
 66 
 
 54 
 
 39 
 
 ,, 25th 
 
 66 
 
 53 
 
 48 
 
 Ja.n. 1st 
 
 .. 216 
 
 48 
 
 36 
 
 It will be observed that the arrests and 
 convictions show a progressive increase. This 
 is more clearly shown by comparing the arrests 
 for the months with the total number of outrages 
 during that month. In August, the percentage 
 of arrests to total outrage was 30. In September 
 
100 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 it was 15, a figure affected by the extraordinary 
 outbreak of raiding for arms during that month. 
 If we exclude raids for arms and arrests for that 
 offence, the percentage becomes 49. In October 
 it rose to 67 per cent. It must not be thought 
 that these figures give a measure of the 
 percentage of offenders arrested, as many 
 offenders may participate in a single crime. 
 But they do show how the chances of arrest of 
 offenders have increased, and it is just this 
 chance which deters the more faint-hearted 
 among the perpetrators of outrage. 
 
 There is another most important factor which 
 has acted as a deterrent against crime. In the 
 past it has been the Government's policy to 
 release hunger-strikers when their condition 
 became sufficiently serious. This is not the place 
 to discuss the wisdom of that policy. It was 
 decided upon in the hope that clemency towards 
 criminals would result in the birth of a more 
 generous outlook in Ireland upon the aims of 
 British government in that country. This hope 
 proved illusory. Instead of the Republicans 
 welcoming these releases as a sign that the 
 Government were disposed to deal with the Irish 
 Question in a sympathetic manner, and for that 
 purpose to waive their rights upon a point which 
 produced acrimony, they hailed them as a great 
 victory for their cause, as a sign of the weakness 
 of the Government, and as an encouragement 
 to the continuance of the campaign of outrage. 
 
 There was therefore no alternative before the 
 Government but to break once and for all the 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 101 
 
 policy of the hunger-strikers. It had become an 
 open boast of any Irish criminal that he had but 
 to endure a certain amoimt of discomfort lu 
 order to secure his release, and that therefote this 
 discomfort was the only penalty he need pay for 
 any crime which he cared to commit. Further 
 than this, the forces of law and order were 
 discouraged from the performance of their duty. 
 What, they argued, was the use of enduring 
 great hardship and undergoing grave risk of 
 death in order to capture a criminal who 
 forthwith secured his release by hunger-striking 
 and returned to the scene of his crime, to mark 
 down for murder the men who had effected his 
 arrest ? From any point of view it was obvious 
 that release by hunger-striking must be ended, 
 and that without delay. 
 
 The full consequences of this decision 
 must be realised. The weakness of previous 
 administrations both in England and Ireland, 
 bowing before the menace, had created a 
 mischievous precedent. It had become almost 
 an accepted principle that a convicted person 
 had only to threaten suicide in order to evade 
 his or her sentence. Sentimentalists of every 
 shade of opinion were ready upon the slightest 
 provocation to proclaim such persons as martyrs 
 for their cause, however ridiculous such a cause 
 might be. Sentiment is nowhere more rampant 
 than in Ireland, and the Government were faced 
 by a dilemma : either to render justice a farce 
 and release criminals who indulged in a more 
 or less genuine hunger-strike, or to retain 
 
102 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 such men in custody and incur the wrath of 
 sentimentalists. 
 
 To a man of the strength of mind of Sir Hamar 
 Greenwood there could be no hesitation between 
 these two courses. The upholding of justice 
 was the first need of Ireland, and any policy 
 which tended to weaken it was unthinkable. 
 Further, putting sentiment aside, the attitude 
 of the hunger-striker was indefensible. A man 
 who takes measures to end his life is a suicide, 
 whether he takes poison or abstains from taking 
 anything. The manner in which he takes his 
 life has no bearing on the justification of the act. 
 It is the duty of a Government holding a person 
 in custody to take every precaution against that 
 person committing suicide, but the argument 
 that it should release him lest he should evade 
 those precautions is untenable. The spectacle 
 of the long drawTi out agony of a brave man 
 determined to die in this manner may be pitiable, 
 but it is no argument for his release. It must 
 never be forgotten that the remedy is in his own 
 hands. 
 
 It was not long before the Government were 
 called upon to face a case of this nature which, 
 from the standing of the criminal, attracted the 
 attention of the whole civilised world. On the 
 12th August, 1920, Terence McSwiney, Lord 
 Mayor of Cork, member of Dail Eireann and 
 Commandant of the First Cork Brigade of the 
 Irish Republican Army, was arrested at the City 
 Hall, Cork. McSwiney was then 37 and was a 
 teacher by profession and a native of Cork. He 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 103 
 
 was a highly educated man with a fanatical 
 hatred of all things British. Formally a teacher 
 under the Department of Agriculture and 
 Technical Instruction, he afterwards became a 
 paid organiser of the Irish Volunteers in Cork 
 City. He attended the meeting of the executive 
 of Irish Volunteers in Dublin prior to the 
 Rebellion, was interned after the rebellion, but 
 was released in December, 1916. He was again 
 arrested on February 22nd 1917 and deported 
 to England, but was released in June 1917, 
 whereupon he resumed his Volunteer activities 
 in Cork, wearing the uniform of the Irish 
 Republican Army. He attended the Sinn Fein 
 Convention in Dublin in October, 1917, was tried 
 by District Court Martial at Cork on November 
 16th 1917 for illegal drilling and wearing 
 uniform, and was sentenced to six months' 
 imprisonment, but was released on hunger-strike 
 five days later. On December 12th 1917 he was 
 again wearing uniform and drilling in Cork; 
 accordingly he was re-arrested on March 10th 
 1918 and committed to Belfast Gaol. On 
 completing his sentence he was deported to 
 England and interned at Lincoln. 
 
 During his internment he was elected 
 unopposed for Mid- Cork and was released from 
 Lincoln on March I7th 1919. He attended 
 meetings of Dail Eireann and accompanied the 
 Irish- American Delegates to Limerick on the 8th 
 May. On October 5th 1919 he was found 
 holding a meeting in Macroom Sinn Fein Hall, 
 to organise a collection for the Republican Loan, 
 
104 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 and a receipt for a volunteer application fee was 
 also found on him. On the 26th October he held 
 a similar meeting at Ballingeary. On the 30th 
 March 1920 he was elected Lord Mayor of Cork 
 — after the murder of Thomas McCurtain the 
 previous mayor. Prior to this he was reported 
 to have been a member of the Foreign Affairs 
 Committee of Dail Eireann. On the 16th 
 August 1920 he was tried by District Court 
 Martial at Cork on charges under Regulations 
 22a and 27 of the Defence of the Realm. He 
 was found guilty under Regulation 22a of having 
 a cipher under his control, and under Regulation 
 27 of having in his possession two documents the 
 publication of which would be likely to cause 
 disaffection to His Majesty, and was sentenced 
 to two years' imprisonment without hard labour. 
 
 According to the evidence, the City Hall at 
 Cork w^as searched by the Military Authorities 
 on the 12th August. In a desk used by the 
 accused was found a secret cipher issued to the 
 Officers of the Royal Irish Constabulary for use 
 as from the 28th July 1920. In a shed at the 
 back of the City Hall, where the accused and ten 
 other persons were assembled, was found a 
 decoded cipher message sent on the previous day 
 by a police officer in Cork to an official in Dublin. 
 
 There was no question of McSwiney's right to 
 possession of the cipher in his capacity of Lord 
 Mayor. The cipher was for police use only, 
 and was issued only to officers of the R.I.C. 
 
 In McSwiney's desk were also found : — 
 
 (1) A sealed typewritten copy of a resolution 
 
.THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 105 
 
 passed by the Corporation of Cork acknowledg- 
 ing the authority of Dail Eireann as the duly 
 elected Government of the Iri-sh people. 
 
 (2) Typewritten notes for a speech, containing 
 the following passages : ' ' Our first duty is to 
 answer that threat in the only befitting manner 
 by showing ourselves un terrified, cool and 
 inflexible for the fulfilment of our chief purpose 
 — the establishment of the independence and 
 integrity of our country, the peace and happiness 
 of the Irish Republic. To that end I am here. 
 
 " If the present aggravated persecution by our 
 enemies could stop us voluntarily in the normal 
 discharge of our duties, it would help them very 
 materially in their compaign to overthrow the 
 Irish Republic now established and functioning 
 according to law notwithstanding the English 
 Army of Occupation. 
 
 " Our spirit is but to be a more lively mani- 
 festation of the spirit in which we began the 
 year — to work for our City in a new zeal, and 
 because of our initial act we had dedicated 
 it to the Republic, and formally attested our 
 allegiance, to bring by our administration of the 
 city glory to our allegiance, and by working for 
 our city's advancement with constancy in all 
 honourable ways in her new dignity as one of the 
 first cities of the Irish Republic, to show our- 
 selves eager to work for, and if need be, to die 
 for, the Irish Republic. 
 
 "Facing our enemy we must declare an attitude 
 simply. We see in their regime a thing of evil 
 incarnate. With it there can be no parley — 
 
106 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 any more than there can be a truce with the 
 powers of Hell. This is our simple resolution — 
 We ask for no mercy and we will make no 
 compromise." 
 
 In the City Hall was found at the same time 
 a letter addressed to McSwiney in his capacity 
 of Commandant 1st Cork Brigade I.R A. from 
 the Republican ' Director of Munitions '. This 
 letter is quoted in full on page 
 
 At the Court Martial McSwiney objected " To 
 the whole Court as being an illegal Court not 
 assembled by the Irish Republic." He refused 
 to plead, and his refusal was treated as a plea of 
 Not Guilty. After the finding of the Court, 
 upon being asked if he wished to address the 
 Court, he replied : " I have decided that I shall 
 be free alive or dead in a month, as I will take 
 no food for the period of my sentence." 
 
 He was transferred to Brixton Gaol on the 
 16th August, to undergo his sentence. He had 
 been on hunger-strike since the date of his arrest, 
 and it became evident that his hunger-strike was 
 to be a trial of strength between all arrested 
 Republicans and the Government. Appeals 
 were made for his release from many quarters; 
 many of these appeals being made by persons who 
 hardly understood the principles involved. The 
 Government's reply to one of these appeals, made 
 by the Labour Party, contains passages which 
 put forward very clearly the reasons that made 
 his release impossible. 
 
 " The Lord Mayor was one of the leaders of 
 the Irish Republican Army, which has declared 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 107 
 
 itself to be at war with the Forces of the Crown, 
 and according to his own written word in one of 
 the seditious documents for possession of which 
 he was convicted, he and his followers were 
 determined to pursue their ends, asking for no 
 mercy and making no compromise. He was 
 arrested while actively conducting the affairs of 
 a rebel organisation under cover of a Mayoral 
 Court. Had he been taken at his word and dealt 
 with as an avowed rebel, according to the 
 universal practice of civilised nations he would, 
 having regard to the circumstances of his 
 capture, have been liable immediately to be shot. 
 Instead he was tried by a legally constituted 
 tribunal, sentenced to a moderate term of 
 imprisonment, and * given at once all the 
 privileges of a political prisoner. 
 
 ' ' From the moment of his arrest he thought to 
 defeat the ends of justice, and to reduce the 
 Forces of the Crown to impotence by refusing 
 food, no doubt in the belief that that course 
 would lead to his speedy release. It is the clear 
 duty of the Government not only to take every 
 step possible to suppress disorder in Ireland, but 
 also to protect those brave men who are carrying 
 out their duties as servants of the Crown, in 
 daily peril of their lives. To release prisoners 
 who, like the Lord Mayor, have been guilty of 
 complicity in a movement which uses as one of 
 its main instruments assassination and outrage 
 would be nothing short of a betrayal of those 
 loyal officers on whose devotion to duty the 
 fabric of social order in Ireland rests. Since the 
 
108 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 arrest of the Lord Mayor fifteen officers have been 
 brutally and treacherously done to death without 
 even a chance of defending themselves. Surely 
 the sympathy which has been given in such full 
 measure to the Lord Mayor, whose condition has 
 been brought about by his own deliberate act, is 
 due rather to the bereaved widows and families 
 of the murdered Irish Policemen. The Govern- 
 ment fully realise how large a part sentiment 
 plays in all human affairs, and if it were 
 possible they would gladly have taken the 
 attitude of the English King who said of an 
 opponent ' He is determined to make himself a 
 martyr and I am equally determined to prevent 
 it.' 
 
 " Greatly as the Government sympathise with 
 those who desire to see peace and order restored 
 in Ireland they cannot take a course which, as 
 the Prime Minister has said, would inevitably 
 lead to a complete breakdo\vn of the whole 
 machinery of law and Government. The policy 
 of the Government has been made clear from the 
 outset, and if the Lord Mayor dies in prison the 
 responsibility will rest in some degree upon those 
 who by their repeated appeals have encouraged 
 the belief that the Government would prove 
 insincere in their determination, and the hope 
 that notwithstanding all declarations to the 
 contrary his misguided action would eventually 
 lead to his release." 
 
 The Press were quick to realise that the 
 retention of McSwiney was no act of mere petty 
 spite, but was due to a decision based upon the 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 109 
 
 highest policy. The result was the issue of a 
 Manifesto to the English Press by the relatives 
 of McSwiney through the Irish Self-Determina- 
 tion League in London, an organisation which 
 had issued bulletins as to McSwiney 's condition. 
 This document, which is as follows, exhibits, 
 better than any other evidence could do, the 
 political capital which was being made out of 
 the slow death of a brave man, even by his nearest 
 relatives. 
 
 For Publication. With the Compliments of 
 
 Art O'Brien. 
 
 THE LORD MAYOR OF CORK. 
 
 No more information to be given to the English 
 
 Press. 
 
 ' ' The following is a statement by the relatives 
 of the Lord Mayor in reference to the campaign 
 of mis-representation in the English Press : — 
 
 ' ' The progress of the agony of the Lord Mayor 
 of Cork, symbolising as it does the age-long 
 struggle of his country for her freedom, has day 
 by day increased the interest and, what is more 
 important, the knowledge of the Press and People 
 of Europe, America, Australia, Africa, and 
 
110 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Asia, not alone in the Lord Mayor, but also in 
 the cause which he advances by his suffering. 
 
 " At the commencement of the struggle in 
 Brixton Prison, most of the organs of the English 
 Press (then apparently not subject to any 
 particular Government control or instruction on 
 this subject), treated the matter fairly, or as 
 fairly as could be expected, in their columns. 
 As the interest of the public in England was 
 stirred by the reports in the Press, and demon- 
 strations were taking place nightly in front of 
 Brixton Prison, the English Government, got 
 apprehensive, and, at a certain stage, the Chief 
 Commissioner of Police issued a note to the 
 members of the Newspaper Proprietors' Associa- 
 tion asking them, should certain information 
 come to their knowledge, to withhold it from 
 publication. Therefore statements given to the 
 Press by the relatives and friends of the Lord 
 Mayor were, in the case of many of the English 
 papers, distorted from their proper meaning, 
 and, in many instances, absolutely false reports 
 were given, words and statements being 
 attributed to the relatives and friends which 
 they had never used or made. The Lady 
 Mayoress, Miss Mary McSwiney, Miss Annie 
 McSwiney, and Father Dominic (the Lord 
 Mayor's Chaplain) have all been victims of this 
 campaign of falsehood, and have all been obliged, 
 on more than one occasion, to write letters of 
 contradiction to the papers concerned. These 
 letters have, at times, not been published, or have 
 been bowdlerised beyond recognition. 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. Ill 
 
 *' As the interest of the struggle of the Lord 
 Mayor extended itself to the four quarters of the 
 earth, and as the eyes of the world thereby got 
 more and more riveted on the struggle between 
 Ireland and England, the English Government 
 got still more apprehensive and greater efforts 
 have been put forth in an endeavour to counteract 
 the telling effects made by the statements of the 
 relatives and friends of the Lord Mayor. Higher 
 authorities than Scotland Yard have taken a 
 hand in the attempt to discredit the relatives 
 and to confuse the issue. 
 
 " The Home Office, in other words the 
 Secretary of State for Home Affairs, has issued 
 statements, which where not false, are purposely 
 misleading. The same authority has further 
 inspired statements in the English Press, as, for 
 instance, in the case of the Evening News for 
 20th September, which gave figures from an 
 * Authoritative Source ' which are only available 
 for publication to the Home Office. This same 
 report also suggested that the health bulletins 
 published by the friends and relatives of the Lord 
 Mayor were not true. The report further 
 contained statements in reference to the Lord 
 Mayor which were false and misleading. A 
 letter sent tp the editor of the Evening News, 
 controverting these statements and challenging 
 him to produce his ' authoritative source ' and 
 asking for the same prominence to be given to 
 this letter as to the original report, was not 
 published. 
 
 '* The circumstances related above have 
 
112 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 gradually made it quite evident to the relatives 
 and friends of the Lord Mayor that a deliberate 
 campaign of misrepresentation and falsehood 
 has been engineered by the English Government, 
 and that the English Press is allowing itself to be 
 used as an instrument of this campaign. In 
 these circumstances, the relatives and friends of 
 the Lord Mayor have decided that, after the issue 
 of this present statement no further information 
 either by personal interview, written bulletin or 
 otherwise will be given to any organ of the 
 English Press, or to any English News Agency. 
 They will, however, continue to issue bulletins to 
 the Foreign Press and Foreign Agencies. 
 
 " In arriving at this decision, the relatives 
 have taken into account that some organs of the 
 English Press have resisted the attempts of their 
 Government to make them the instruments for 
 this despicable campaign. In order, however, to 
 make it still more clear that this struggle is one, 
 not between individuals, but between the two 
 nations of Ireland and England, they deem it 
 advisable to break relations with the English 
 Press organisations as a whole. The torture, 
 agony, and slow murder of the Lord Mayor 
 affects the honour of the nation to which the 
 English Press belongs and, just as the Chief 
 Commissioner of Police issued an instruction 
 to the Members of the English Newspaper 
 Proprietors' Association to suppress certain 
 news, so now the relatives of the Lord Mayor 
 leave it with the members of that Association to 
 protect the honour of their nation and to deal 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 113 
 
 with the case of the Lord Mayor on those 
 grounds. 
 
 Signed: 
 
 Muriel McSwiney, Lady Mayoress of Cork 
 
 Mary McSwiney, Sister of Lord Mayor 
 
 Annie McSwiney, ,, ,, ,, ,, 
 
 John McSwiney, Brother of Lord Mayor." 
 
 It is hardly necessary to remark that the 
 allegations concerning the influencing by the 
 Government of the opinions of the English Press 
 are ridiculous, and show a strange ignorance of 
 the freedom of expression enjoyed by the English 
 newspapers. 
 
 McSwiney died at 5.30 a.m. on the 25th 
 October, despite every effort on the part of the 
 prison authorities to keep him alive and induce 
 him to take food. He had from the first been 
 given every possible attention and comfort. He 
 was constantly attended by a nurse, and his room 
 was specially kept at the most favourable 
 temperature for prolonging life. The spectacle 
 of a strong man deliberately committing slow 
 suicide with the direct encouragement of his 
 friends despite every effort of those whom he 
 styled his * enemies,' the British Government, is 
 one of the saddest examples of the utter confusion 
 of thought of the Republicans. 
 
 The lack of animus on the part of the Govern- 
 ment was shown by the fact that McSwiney 's 
 funeral cortege, decked with every conceivable 
 
 I 
 
114 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Republican emblem, and escorting a cofiBn upon 
 which was an inscription in Republican terms, 
 was allowed to pass publicly through the main 
 streets of London in the middle of the day. 
 Naturally, however, such an incitement to 
 rebellion could not be permitted in Ireland 
 without grave risk of disorder endangering 
 innocent lives. The funeral party were 
 therefore informed during their journey to 
 Holyhead that a special steamer had been placed 
 at their disposal to convey the body direct to 
 Cork, together with twenty of the mourners and 
 the guard of honour. The purely political 
 outlook of the Republicans on the whole pitiful 
 incident was then once more shown. The guard 
 of honour and McSwiney's relatives preferred to 
 proceed direct to Dublin in order to take part in 
 the celebrations which had been prepared there 
 in expectation that the coffin would be landed 
 at Kingstown; whilst the body of Terence 
 McSwiney was allowed to proceed to Cork 
 unattended by mourners, and under the care of a 
 party of the R.I.C. 
 
 The day prior to McSwiney's arrest, eleven 
 prisoners in Cork Gaol had begun hunger- 
 striking in order to secure release. These men 
 were awaiting Court Martial for various 
 offences, and adopted the method of abstension 
 from food in order to render themselves unfit for 
 trial. The official statement upon the matter 
 is as follows : 
 
 " In the statement on the subject of the 
 hunger-strike at Cork Prison, issued to the Press 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 115 
 
 on 16th August, it was made clear that 
 prisoners on hunger-strike awaiting trial who 
 were arrested either in the act of making 
 murderous attacks upon police or soldiers, or 
 upon direct and clear evidence of complicity in 
 such attacks, or for other very serious offences, 
 will not be released unless, after trial, they are 
 acquitted of the offence with which they have 
 been charged; and that if, in consequence of 
 their voluntary abstension from food, they 
 render themselves unfit to take their trial, the 
 Government must disclaim responsibility in the 
 matter; but that, on the other hand, it has been 
 decided temporarily to release from custody a 
 certain number of prisoners awaiting trial for 
 less serious offences. 
 
 ' ' In view of the fact that many of those who 
 began hunger-strike on 11th August are now in 
 such a state of health that it has been necessary 
 to postpone the trials fixed for them, the Govern- 
 ment think it right, in order that there may be 
 no misunderstanding as to their action, to make 
 public the offences with which they are charged, 
 and the circumstances in which they were 
 arrested. 
 
 *' Michael Fitzgerald. This man is charged 
 with having murdered Private Jones at Fermoy 
 on September 7th last. He was duly committed 
 for trial, and at Cork Assizes on 21st July last 
 a true Bill was found against him, but it was 
 impossible, owing te the absence of jurors, to 
 proceed with the trial. He will be tried at the 
 earliest possible moment. 
 
116 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 " John Power. On the night 6th August a 
 military patrol near Fethard alleges that it found 
 three men, of whom John Power was one, lying 
 behind a hedge with two guns and cartridges 
 from which the shot had been extracted and 
 replaced by heavy lead slugs. He is awaiting 
 trial by Court Martial. 
 
 " Thomas Donovan, Matthew Reilly, John 
 Crowley, Peter Crowley, Christopher Upton. 
 On the night 16th July a party of police entering 
 Ballylanders were heavily fired .upon from 
 several houses. They returned the fire, where- 
 upon a patrol of military and police near by 
 came to their assistance, entered the houses from 
 which it is alleged the police were being fired 
 upon, and arrested several men one of whom was 
 seriously wounded. These men are awaiting trial 
 by general Court Martial in connection with the 
 occurrence. 
 
 " Michael Burke. This man was arrested on 
 9th August, and it is alleged that he was found 
 in possession of an automatic revolver, which 
 had been taken from Constable Maloney, who was 
 in company with Sergeant Tobin when Tobin was 
 murdered. Burke lives about three miles from 
 the scene of the murder. He is awaiting trial 
 by Court Martial. 
 
 " John Hennessy. This man is charged in 
 connection with an attack by a party of armed 
 men on a military lorry at Inchimore on 28th 
 July last. The lorry was captured and burnt. 
 He is awaiting trial by Court Martial. 
 
 *' Joseph Murphy and Joseph Kenny. These 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 117 
 
 men were arrested on various dates and it is 
 alleged that they were in possession of arms or 
 ammunition. They are both awaiting trial by 
 Court Martial." 
 
 Michael Fitzgerald died on the 17th October 
 and Joseph Murphy on the 25th. But the 
 firmness of the Government showed the futility 
 of prolonging the struggle. On the 12th 
 November Mr. Arthur Grifi&th, the ' Acting 
 President of the Irish Republic,' wrote a letter 
 to the Lord Mayor of Cork, McSwiney's 
 successor, in which he said '* I am of the opinion 
 that our countrymen in Cork prison have 
 sufficiently proved their devotion and fidelity, 
 and that they should now, as they were prepared 
 to die for Ireland, prepare again to live for her." 
 This letter was transmitted to the nine surviving 
 prisoners, who immediately consented to receive 
 nourishment. 
 
 The prompt obedience to the terms of this letter 
 show that the official heads of the Sinn Fein 
 Movement are solely to blame for the deaths of 
 McSwiney, Fitzgerald, and Murphy. If they 
 could terminate the hunger-strike when they did, 
 they could have done so as soon as it became clear 
 that the Government would not give way upon 
 the question, and so could have saved the lives 
 of their followers. It is impossible to avoid the 
 conclusion that Sinn Fein were determined to 
 encourage the deaths of these men, in order to 
 proclaim them martyrs for propaganda purposes. 
 It is a poor cause which would treat its most 
 devoted adherents so callously. 
 
118 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 The case of ArcHbishop Mannix caused some 
 sensation during the early part of August. The 
 Archbishop had long been a fomenter of discord 
 in Australia, where he had made several speeches 
 directed against the British Empire and the 
 Government. In July he reached America, 
 where he repeated his oratorical tirades, and 
 finally announced his intention of landing in 
 Ireland. He embarked on the Baltic at the 
 end of the month, amid a display of enthusiasm 
 by Irish sympathisers in New York, with the 
 intention of landing at Queenstown. Owing, 
 however, to the danger of the smuggling of arms 
 and ammunition into Ireland; the Government 
 had issued an order that eastward-bound liners 
 from America were not to call at Queenstown, and 
 this order did not come into operation until after 
 the Baltic had sailed from New York. Prepara- 
 tions were made by Republican sympathisers in 
 Liverpool to welcome Dr. Mannix on his arrival 
 there, and it seemed likely that considerable 
 disorder would take place, as anti-Republicans 
 had expressed their intention of interfering with 
 the demonstration. 
 
 It was impossible to allow Dr. Mannix to land 
 in Ireland, for by so doing fuel would only have 
 been added to the fires of unrest. A destroyer 
 was therefore sent to intercept the Baltic, and 
 Dr. Mannix was transferred to her and brought 
 to Penzance, from which port he proceeded to 
 London. 
 
 The incident caused a considerable amount of 
 excitement in Dublin. Bonfires were lighted in 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 119 
 
 many places throughout the City on the 9th 
 August in honour of the Archbishop, and as a 
 demonstration against his exclusion from 
 Ireland. A patrol of soldiers and police found 
 a party of men round one of these, fires after 
 Curfew hour, and attempted to effect their 
 arrest. The men refused to halt when 
 challenged, with the result that one of them was 
 shot and died almost immediately afterwards. 
 This incident had the unfortunate effect of 
 eausing an outburst of feeling against the troops, 
 who had not hitherto been interfered with. On 
 the night of August 13th several attacks were 
 made on detached parties of soldiers, one man 
 being thrown into the Liffey and only rescued 
 with difficulty; and in consequence of this a 
 number of soldiers quartered in the Castle broke 
 out and attacked a hostile crowd with the handles 
 of their entrenching tools. A few stray shots 
 were fired at them as the crowd ran away, but no 
 casualties occurred. 
 
 Both the McSwiney and Mannix incidents 
 were not without their sinister influence upon an 
 event which might have been the most important 
 in recent Irish history, the meeting of the 
 *' Peace Conference " in Dublin on August 24th. 
 The importance of this Conference is such that 
 the circumstances attending it may well be 
 described at some length. 
 
 It is one of the most conspicuous tendencies of 
 the Irish character to mistrust any offer coming 
 from the British Government, and to attribute 
 any catastrophe, from Sinn Fein outrage to the 
 
120 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 failure of the potato crop, to the machinations 
 of that Government. There is consequently no 
 doubt that a solution of the Irish problem 
 emanating from the Irish themselves would stand 
 a far better chance of acceptance in Ireland than 
 an alternative solution (although possibly more 
 favourable to the Irish) emanating from the 
 British Government. This has always been 
 universally recognised, and by no one more clearly 
 than the Prime Minister. On many occasions 
 he has endeavoured to secure from the responsible 
 body of Irish opinion some proposals for Irish 
 self-government upon which a settlement could be 
 based. On July 22nd he stated to a Labour 
 deputation that he would be prepared to 
 negotiate with any representative body <Df Irish 
 opinion. Early in August he suggested to a 
 deputation of Unionists from County Cork 
 that they should endeavour to crystallise Irish 
 moderate opinion for the purpose of formulating 
 definite proposals for Irish Home Rule. 
 Symptoms were not wanting throughout the 
 South that such a course would be acceptable to 
 many individuals and schools of thought. The 
 net result was the appearance in the Irish Press 
 of the following advertisement : — 
 
 THE IRISH PEACE CONFERENCE. 
 
 INVITATION. 
 
 *' To all who desire peace rather than 
 WAR in Ireland, and who are in sympathy with : 
 
 THE RECENT RESOLUTION OF THE DUBLIN CHAM- 
 
THE LATTER HALE OF 1920. 121 
 
 BER OF COMMERCE, THE ACTION OF THE CORK 
 DEPUTATION TO THE PRIME MINISTER, THE RECENT 
 RESOLUTION OF THE DEPUTY-LIEUTENANTS AND 
 MAGISTRATES OF QUEEN'S COUNTY, THE RECENT 
 RESOLUTION OF THE UNIONIST ANTI-PARTITION 
 
 LEAGUE, 
 
 and who are willing to take part in a Conference, 
 free from all entanglement with any political 
 party, association, league, or group, with a view 
 to securing a firm offer of National Self-Govern- 
 ment to the People of Ireland. 
 
 THE CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD ON 
 TUESDAY, 24th AUGUST. 
 
 Please apply for tickets without delay. 
 
 PLEASE NOTE — 
 
 1. Place and hour of meeting will be 
 notified later. 
 
 2. Applications for tickets cannot be 
 answered until the tickets are 
 actually posted towards the end of 
 this week. 
 
 Write to — 
 
 The Hon. Secretary, 
 
 Irish Peace Conference Offices, 
 13, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin. 
 
 The Conference met on Tuesday, 24th August, 
 and it seemed as though the destiny of misfortune 
 that is claimed for the Irish presided over its 
 
122 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 birth. The preceding week-end had witnessed 
 one of the worst periods in the campaign of 
 murder, no less than seven members of the police 
 having been assassinated in widely different 
 parts of the country. The McSwiney hunger- 
 strike and the Mannix incident had aroused 
 many sections of the community to a state of 
 mind which was hardly conducive to a discussion 
 of peace. The Restoration of Order Act had 
 just come into force in an atmosphere tainted 
 with wilful misunderstanding. And, beyond 
 these disturbing influences, there was a brooding 
 feeling that the opportunity was lost, that the 
 moderates, in allowing the country to be captured 
 by Sinn Fein, had forfeited their right to speak 
 as the mouthpiece of the Nation. 
 
 But, notwithstanding the misfortunes which 
 surrounded it, the Conference was not entirely 
 hopeless from its inception. It was quite as 
 representative in its composition as could have 
 been expected, and the most significant feature 
 of it was that it was called together not by 
 invitation sent to individuals, but by general 
 advertisement in the Press. This was striking 
 evidence of the earnestness of the desire for 
 peac« by those who attended it. Another 
 feature was the fact that the assembly contained 
 leading converts from both extremes; for 
 instance, Lord Shaftesbury from extreme 
 Unionism, and Mr. Sweetman, one of the 
 original founders of Sinn Fein. 
 
 The Sinn Fein organisation, while taking no 
 part in the Conference, showed tacit consent to 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 123 
 
 its convening. It is believed that Irish 
 Volunteers were present in order to prevent 
 interruption or disorder by individual Sinn 
 Feiners. The Limerick Leader, the Sinn Fein 
 organ of the Irish town most in sympathy with 
 Sinn Fein, declared that ' A Peace Conference 
 in Ireland without representatives of the 
 majority of the people may be looked upon as 
 staging Hamlet with the part of the Prince of 
 Denmark omitted, but no one can deny that the 
 lead given in this Conference to Irish Moderates 
 is sound, and no Irishman can deny the influence 
 of the men who formed the meeting.' On the 
 other hand, the Unionist Belfast News Letter 
 stated that ' Irish peace is something for which 
 any person in Ireland with any feeling of 
 responsibility is hungering.' 
 
 The Conference must be regarded as an earnest 
 effort on the part of moderate men to find some 
 basis upon which an equitable and lasting settle- 
 ment of the Irish constitutional question could be 
 founded. Among those present were Sir Horace 
 Plunkett, the Earl of Shaftesbury, Sir Stanley 
 Harrington, Lord MacDonnell, Captain Stephen 
 Gwynn, the O'Connor Don, Col. Sir T. 
 Hutcheson Poe, Sir Nugent Everard, Lord 
 Monteagle, Lord Athliminey, Sir Algernon 
 Coote, Mr. Thomas Lough, Sir Thomas Grattan 
 Esmonde, The High Sheriff of Dublin (Alderman 
 Dr. Mc Walter), Sergeant Hanna, K.C., and Mr. 
 John Sweetman. The last-named gentleman 
 was one of the original founders of Sinn Fein, 
 but he is not now connected with that party. 
 
124 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 The following resolutions which were proposed 
 by Lord MacDonnell were carried with few 
 dissentients : 
 
 "1. That in the judgment of this Confer- 
 ence, the grant of full Nationalist self- 
 government within the Empire can alone 
 bring peace to Ireland, and that complete 
 administrative, fiscal and financial 
 independence is the decisive test and 
 characteristic of National self-govern- 
 ment. 
 *' 2. That this Conference welcomes the 
 acceptance by North East Ulster of the 
 principle of self-government, and 
 repudiates the coercion by armed force of 
 any part of Ireland, and that while 
 expressing its unalterable repugnance to 
 any form of partition of Ireland, it 
 recognises that in any negotiation 
 concerning the relations of North East 
 Ulster to the rest of Ireland, the former 
 must be accorded the status of a free 
 contracting party. 
 ** 3. That the grant of such National self- 
 government, which is wholly different 
 from the provisions of the Bill for the 
 Better Government of Ireland at present 
 before Parliament, is quite compatible 
 with the Prime Minister's recent 
 declaration of the Government's Irish 
 policy." 
 In submitting the above resolutions Lord 
 MacDonnell stated that he accepted the two 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 125 
 
 limitations laid down by the Prime Minister on 
 the Government's willingness to re-open the 
 discussion of the Irish Question, viz. : that the 
 demand for an Independent Eepublic could not 
 be considered and that there should be no coercion 
 of Ulster. On the latter point, however, he 
 claimed that it was not inconsistent with the 
 special treatment of Ulster that Ireland should 
 have complete administrative, fiscal and financial 
 authority over her own revenue. 
 
 The proposals embodied in these resolutions 
 were regarded by many of the speakers as 
 committing the Conference to the adoption of 
 the policy of Dominion Home Rule ; but this view 
 was resisted by Sir Horace Plunkett, who 
 advised that they should be discussed and 
 accepted without reference to any particular 
 scheme for giving them practical effect. The 
 most important criticism came from Lord 
 Shaftesbury who, while expressing himself as 
 otherwise in g^ieral agreement with the 
 proposals, held that the declaration in the second 
 resolution regarding Ulster's acceptance of the 
 principle of self-government was an over- 
 statement of fact, and from Mr. Sweetman, who 
 urged that instead of putting forward a state- 
 ment of agreement on general principles the 
 Conference would be better advised to endorse a 
 practical suggestion which had been made by 
 Lord Hugh Cecil for ascertaining the wishes of 
 the Irish people and for giving effect thereto if 
 they should prove to be compatible with the 
 security of the Empire. The suggestion referred 
 
126 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 to was that the Government should withdraw 
 their present Bill and substitute therefor a Bill 
 to set up a Constituent Assembly in Ireland, 
 empowered to formulate and present to Parlia- 
 ment a Bill which would represent whatever 
 measure of agreement could be attained by the 
 Irish people themselves. Lord Hugh Cecil 
 proposed that this Constituent Assembly should 
 be elected on a basis of proportional representa- 
 tion, and Mr. Sweetman urged that in addition 
 it should be free to present any plan it pleased, 
 including a plan for making Ireland an 
 independent Republic, and that no oath of 
 allegiance should be required from any member 
 of the Assembly. It was apparently Mr. 
 Sweetman 's idea that proposals of a moderate 
 and conciliatory character were more likely to 
 come from an assembly which was absolutely 
 unfettered than from a body working under 
 prescribed restrictions. 
 
 A resolution urging the immediate release of 
 the Lord Mayor of Cork in the interests of 
 conciliation was carried unanimously at the 
 commencement of the proceedings of the 
 Conference, and later the following resolution 
 proposed by Mr. Thomas Lough was also 
 carried : 
 
 ' * That this Conference calls upon the Grovem- 
 ment in the interests of peace, and in order to 
 create a suitable atmosphere for a policy of 
 general appeasement upon the lines indicated in 
 the preceding resolutions, to abate forthwith the 
 stringency of the policy of repression and to 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 127 
 
 adopt a policy of amnesty, and pledges itself, if 
 a truce be thus begun, to assist in the formation 
 of local Committees of Conciliation for the 
 purpose of furthering the cause of local and 
 general pacification." 
 
 The Conference concluded its proceedings by 
 electing a Standing Committee to communicate 
 the resolutions passed to the Prime Minister and 
 the Cabinet, with full power to take such other 
 steps as they might deem necessary to give effect 
 to the resolutions, and to reconvene the Confer- 
 ence if necessary. 
 
 A deputation from ti>e Standing Committee 
 then waited upon the Lords Justices in Dublin 
 Castle to lay before them the resolutions passed 
 by the Conference appealing for the release of 
 the Lord Mayor of Cork and other political 
 prisoners. The deputation was received by the 
 Lord Chancellor, General Macready, and the 
 Under Secretary (Sir John Anderson) who under- 
 took to forward the terms of the resolution to 
 the Government. 
 
 It will be observed that nothing tangible 
 resulted from the sitting of the Conference, but 
 it was hoped that the Standing Committee would 
 produce more definite proposals. On the larger 
 issue, it became daily more obvious that any such 
 Conference must be regarded as of a purely 
 academic interest so long as no abatement could 
 be discovered in the campaign of outrage. And 
 unfortunately during the weeks following the 
 Conference this campaign increased rather than 
 diminished in intensity. Though the Moderates 
 
128 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 might desire a settlement of the Irish Question 
 which would be acceptable to the British Govern- 
 ment, they were powerless to restrain the lawless 
 minority determined to make any form of settle- 
 ment impossible. And so the Conference passed 
 into history, having failed to prove that it 
 represented any body of Irish opinion which 
 would justify the Government in altering the 
 terms of the Government or Ireland Bill. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 THE LATTER HALF OF 1920 — (Continued.) 
 
 We may now revert to the question of the 
 punishment of offenders against the peace. As 
 will be seen by reference to the j&gures given on 
 page 99, the numbers of arrests and courts 
 martial have steadily increased. Until the 
 Restoration of Order in Ireland Act came into 
 force (see page 412) courts martial were held 
 under the Defence of the Realm Regulations and 
 varying sentences were imposed. Courts martial 
 in Ireland are precisely regulated by the 
 provisions of military law, and these are such as 
 to give every possible security to the accused, as 
 will readily be admitted by all who have any 
 knowledge of court martial procedure. In many 
 cases the records of the courts reveal new 
 phases of the activities of the Republicans. A 
 few recent examples of such courts martial may 
 be of interest. 
 
 Cornelius McNamara of Blackboy, County 
 Limerick, was sentenced by a district court 
 
 J 
 
130 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 martial held at Cork on September 15th to six 
 months' imprisonment without hard labour, for 
 an offence under Regxdation 27 D.R.R. The 
 evidence showed that the accused, at Garryowen 
 on July I7th, when engaged with four or five men 
 in making a house-to-house collection, was 
 searched by the police and a manuscript found 
 in his pocket as follows : 
 
 Boycott of the R.I.C. No. 6. 
 
 ' ' Volunteers shall have no intercourse with 
 the R.I.C, and shall stimulate and support in 
 every way the boycott of this force as ordered by 
 the Dail. Those persons who associate with the 
 R.I.C. shall be subjected to the same boycott, 
 and the fact of their association with and 
 toleration of this infamous force shall be kept 
 public in every possible way. Definite lists of 
 such persons in the area of his command shall be 
 prepared and retained by each Company, 
 Battalion and Brigade Commander." 
 
 William Tynan of Ballybrittas, Queen's 
 County, was tried before a district court martial 
 held at Dublin on the 18th September, 1920, for 
 offences under Reg. 27, Reg. 79, and R^g. 18 
 R.O.I.R. and Reg. 9AA D.R.R. The evidence 
 showed that on searching the premises of Thomas 
 Tynan, the father of the accused, a number of 
 documents and eleven sporting cartridges were 
 found, alleged to belong to the accused. The 
 documents included the following : 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 131 
 
 " IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY." 
 
 To Commandant. Brigade Headquarters. 
 
 Battalion. 
 
 A Chara, 
 
 You will furnish answers to the accompanying 
 queries. 
 
 Brigade Adjutant. 
 
 Subject " Police Boycott " 
 
 Query. Reply. 
 
 1. How has boycott been declared 
 in your area? 
 
 2. What are the visible results of 
 Boycott Order? 
 
 3. Do general population speak 
 to members of the R.I.C.? 
 
 4. Has a list been compiled of 
 persons who are " friendly " 
 with the police? 
 
 6. Are police forced to com- 
 mandeer supplies? 
 
 6. Have merchants been ordered 
 to refuse supplies? 
 
 7. What steps have been taken to 
 deal with persons who disobey 
 the Order? 
 
 8. Have you any suggestions to 
 offer as a means of intensi- 
 fying the boycott in your Area? 
 
132 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 A copy of An T'Oglac, the'ofiScial organ of the 
 Irish Volunteers, containing the following 
 passage was also found : 
 
 ** Some of the failures to take police barradis 
 were excusable; some were inexcusable. There is 
 not a barrack in the country that cannot be taken 
 if proper methods are employed, but no fortified 
 building was ever taken by firing rifle shots at it 
 from a distance. Volunteers who go out on such 
 an attack must go out with their minds made up 
 that they are going to win. In the lexicon of the 
 Volunteers there must be no such word as 
 ' fail.' " 
 
 The accused, who refused to recognise the 
 Court, was found guilty of the charges under 
 Reg. 27 R.O.I.R. and Reg. 9AA D.R.R., and 
 sentenced to be imprisoned with hard laJ)our for 
 eighteen months. 
 
 John Cottrell, of Graigue-na-managh, County 
 Kilkenny, was tried by a District Court Martial 
 which assembled at Cork on the l7th September, 
 1920, for an offence against Reg. 27 of the 
 R.O.I.R. The evidence showed that on a search 
 being made of the licensed premises of Mr, Joyce, 
 Maine Street, Graigue-na-managh, on 24th 
 August, 1920, there were found in a room 
 upstairs some photographs of the accused and a 
 waistcoat in the pocket of which was a paper 
 signed ' ' Kit ' ' to the following effect : 
 
 ' ' I am going to Ballymurphy and will be back 
 as soon as possible, if you think we could take the 
 barrack send for all the Innistiege men. I am 
 going to Gowran to-morrow so arrange for nine 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 133 
 
 more men with cycles or a waggonette, make the 
 usual collection at Parade to-night and use your 
 own judgment in all things. ' ' 
 
 The accused, who refused to recognise the 
 Court, stated that he had never seen the paper 
 before. He was found guilty and sentenced to 
 imprisonment with hard labour for one year. 
 
 Patrick Landers of Listowel was tried by a 
 District Court Martial held at Limerick on the 
 21st September, 1920, for offences against 
 Regs. 27 and 79 R.O.I.R. The evidence showed 
 that on searching the bedroom of the accused on 
 the night August 12th/ 13th in Mrs. Nolan's 
 public-house at Listowel, a number of documents 
 were found including confidential R.I.C. reports. 
 The accused was arrested on 3rd September, and 
 when searched foimd to be in possession of the 
 following documents : — * 
 
 " Gentlemen, Monday, August 9th, 1920. 
 
 At a meeting of the Batt. Council of the North 
 Kerry Battalion, I.R.A., held on yesterday, it 
 was decided that * should any solicitor refuse to 
 take the oath of allegiance to Bail Eireann before 
 entering a Parish or District Court, he is not to 
 be allowed to plead at any of these Courts.' 
 
 Should any solicitor be allowed to act who 
 refuses to take the oath, the services of the 
 Volunteers will be immediately withdrawn. 
 
 (Signed) P. Landers, Listowel. 
 J. SuGRUE, Listowel. 
 S. Grady, Lixnaw." 
 
 The accused refused to recognise the Court, 
 
134 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 but stated that the above letter was a copy and 
 not written by him. He was found guilty of an 
 offence against Reg. 27 R.O.I.R., and sentenced 
 to 12 months imprisonment without hard labour. 
 
 James Cullen was sentenced to three months' 
 imprisonment without hard labour by a District 
 Court Martial held at Cork on 28th September, 
 1920, for having in his possession, contrary to 
 Regulation 27 R.O.I.R., a copy of the official 
 organ of the Irish Volunteers containing the 
 following : — 
 " Arrival of English Cavalry. 
 
 In view of the arrival of English Cavalry 
 Regiments in Ireland the Company Captains of 
 the Irish Republican Army in areas where these 
 Cavalry units are quartered will immediately 
 take steps to give their companies a thorough 
 training in fighting against mounted troops. 
 The following suggestions for their guidance will 
 be found instructive : — 
 
 1. The engagements in '98 at Old KilcuUen, 
 Saintfield, Tubberneoring, and Ballyellis should 
 be carefully studied and explained to the men. 
 They were all victories of badly trained and 
 badly armed men, but determined and well 
 handled infantry over cavalry. 
 
 2. The men will be taught to select ground 
 unsuitable for cavalry, to improve that ground 
 by spikes and other handy obstacles, and to act 
 in formation so offering no suitable mark for 
 cavalry attack. 
 
 3. Attention will be directed to the possibility 
 of ambushing mounted columns on the march — 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 135 
 
 especially at night — and the helplessness of 
 horsemen in such circumstances. 
 
 4. Care must be taken to impart instruction 
 for dealing with single horsemen or small 
 mounted bodies. In this respect the men must 
 be trained individually. 
 
 5. The individual infantry man must be 
 instructed in the use of all weapons against 
 cavalry. Especially is it necessary to understand 
 how to disable or disorganise the horses. 
 
 6. Action against the led horses when all or 
 some of the cavalry dismount is also to be studied. 
 
 7. English cavalry are not instructed in how 
 to use their fire-arms with effect when mounted; 
 they are thus vulnerable unless able to deliver a 
 
 "charge. 
 
 8. If the mounts of a unit include a number 
 of mares in season, the neighbourhood of a 
 stallion will occasion disorder. In 1870 a French 
 Cavalry regiment horsed with Arab stallions 
 caused considerable trouble in Lorraine. Com- 
 pany Captains are recommended to map out 
 their scheme of instruction beforehand which 
 will make for clearness and brevity." 
 
 Shamus O'Neil, John O'Keefe and Edward 
 McGrath were charged before a district court 
 martial held at Cork on 1st October, 1920, with 
 unlawful assembly, and under Reg. 79, R.O.I.R. 
 with doing an act calculated to promote the 
 objects of an unlawful association. The accused 
 refused to recognise the Court. 
 
 The evidence showed that at Blackcastle, Co. 
 
136 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Tipperary, on the 15th September, 1920, at about 
 3-30 p.m., a mounted military patrol saw men 
 running out of a farm outhouse. In giving chase 
 military were shot at. Fourteen bicycles were 
 found in an adjacent wood, also a haversack 
 containing intelligence reports and some 50 
 rounds of ammunition. The documents included 
 the following : — 
 
 Intell. Dept., 
 1st Batt. 
 
 Tipp. No. 3 Bde. 
 " To Bde Chief of Intell. 4—9—20. 
 
 1. Orderly limerick junction reports that 
 a patrol of 6 peelers from junction bks. patrol 
 the main road on three nights each week. 
 Patrols are termed " rising patrols." They 
 leave Brks, between 12 midnight and 3 a.m. 
 The Sgt. in charge of Brks. always accompanies 
 patrol. Patrol generally goes out on Saturday 
 and SUNDAY nights and one night during week. 
 Orderly can have moved at 7 p.m. any night this 
 patrol is going out. ^t. of Intell. 
 
 2. Despatch rider for yesterday didn't arrive 
 back yet. It is rumoured that two were captured 
 yesterday and are in military Brks. here. If 
 our despatch rider was captured, the names of 
 Coy., Capts. and all officers in Stn. 8 were got on 
 him as well as all bde. Adjts. papers. 
 
 (Sgn.) L.O.I." 
 John O'Keefe stated that he ran in a spirit 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 137 
 
 of self preservation. Shamus O'Neil stated that 
 he did not consider case proved. Edward 
 McGrath stated he had never seen the haversack. 
 
 The accused were found guilty of the second 
 charge and sentenced to imprisonment with hard 
 labour for a period of two years. 
 
 Be^rnard Mallon and Michael Mallon, of Derry- 
 chrin, Eglish, Patrick Crawford, of Coalisland, 
 and Thomas Morris, of Moneymore, Co. Tyrone, 
 were charged before a District Court Martial 
 held at Londonderry on the 15th October, 1920, 
 with offences under the D.R.R. and R.O.I. R. 
 
 The evidence showed that when the house of 
 Bernard Mallon, senior, at Eglish was searched 
 on the morning of 15th September, a loaded 
 revolver was found under the bed which had been 
 occupied by Bernard Mallon, junior, and Michael 
 Mallon. Immediately outside the window of 
 another room occupied by Patrick Crawford and 
 Thomas Morris a second revolver was found 
 also loaded. In a coat which Thomas Morris 
 -afterwards put on, a letter was discovered 
 addressed to a car owner in the district, in the 
 following terms : — 
 
 " H.Q., SINN 
 
 Co. Derry, fein 
 
 I.R.A. CREST. 
 
 To. . . . 
 
 You are hereby ordered not to drive any more 
 Police or Military. Failing to comply with same 
 you will be doomed and #ot your car as 
 compensation would have to be paid by that 
 
138 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 district. So you have now been put under 
 observation by the I.R.A. 
 
 Any further report of your misconduct will 
 lead to your death. 
 
 H.Q., 
 
 Co. Derry, 
 I.R.A." 
 
 All the accused refused to recognise the Court. 
 They were found guilty of having fire-arms and 
 ammunition without a permit. Morris was also 
 foimd guilty of an offence under Reg. 27 
 R.O.I.R. The two Mallons and Crawford were 
 sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour for 
 eighteen months. Morris was sentenced to 
 imprisonment with hard labour for two years. 
 
 We may refer here to the court martial on 
 Kevin Berry which created some attention at the 
 time owing to the fact that it was the first court 
 martial in Ireland on a capital charge which 
 resulted in the hanging of the accused. The 
 circumstances were as follows : — 
 
 On the morning of the 20th September an 
 unarmed ration party from Collinstown Camp 
 called at Monk's Bakery in Upper Church Street, 
 Dublin, with a motor lorry, in order to draw 
 bread for the troops. The party consisted of 
 a non-commissioned officer, a driver, and two 
 fatigue men, and was accompanied by an 
 armed escort of six men. They reached 
 the bakery at 11 o'clock, and the n.c.o. 
 and two fatigue#men went into the passage 
 leading into the bakery, leaving the lorry 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 139 
 
 in charge of the armed escort. While they 
 were absent four men dressed in ordinary 
 civilian clothes were seen walking down Church 
 Street. When these men came up to the lorry 
 they produced revolvers and shouted to the escort 
 to put their hands up and to hand over their 
 arms. As they did so they opened fire, with the 
 result that one man of the escort, Private 
 Washington, was shot dead, and two. Privates 
 Whitehead and Humphries, mortally wounded in 
 the abdomen. These two men were subsequently 
 removed to hospital and operations performed, 
 in the course of which a bullet fell from Private 
 Whitehead's body. The operations were un- 
 availing, and the men died the same day. 
 Having fired upon the escort, some of the 
 attackers rushed up the street, being joined by 
 other men. 
 
 Meanwhile in the bakery itself the ration 
 party had been attacked. One of the 
 privates was wounded in the ankle, the other 
 in the elbow. The latter stated that as he was 
 going up the passage he heard shouts of " Hands 
 up ! " and on turning round saw fifteen or twenty 
 men firing at the lorry. The n.c.o. managed to 
 get back to the lorry and arm himself with a 
 rifle. He then found a man lying underneath 
 the lorry with an automatic pistol in his hand. 
 This man was arrested and proved to be Kevin 
 Berry, or Barry, a * corporal ' in the Irish 
 Republican Army and a medical student. He 
 was taken to the North Dublin Union, and there 
 he stated that he had been ordered by an 
 
140 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 * officer,' presumably of the Irish Republican 
 Army, to attack the lorry that morning and to 
 seize the arms and ammunition of the escort. 
 
 Kevin Berry was tried by general court martial 
 at Dublin on the 20th October, charged with the 
 wilful murder of Privates Whitehead, Washing- 
 ton, and Humphries, of the Duke of Wellington's 
 Regiment. The case concerning Private White- 
 head was taken first. Berry refused to be 
 professionally represented, and declined to 
 recognise the Court or to make any statement. 
 In the course of the evidence two members of the 
 escort identified the accused as one of the men 
 who fired into the lorry, and as having actually 
 fired the shot which killed Private Washington. 
 The bullet found in Private Whitehead's body 
 corresponded exactly with those found in Berry's 
 pistol, which showed evidence of having been 
 recently discharged. Berry was found guilty of 
 the wilful murder of Private Whitehead, and 
 accordingly the charges concerning the other two 
 murdered men were not proceeded with. The 
 Court sentenced the accused to be hanged, and 
 the sentence was duly confirmed. 
 
 Many appeals were made for reprieve, chiefly 
 based on the fact that Berry was only eighteen 
 years of age. The plea was invalidated by the 
 fact that the murdered men were only a year or 
 two older. The Army in Ireland is a young 
 army, and the murderers have never allowed this 
 consideration to hinder assassination. For 
 instance, Private Squibb, of the Hampshire 
 Regiment, murdered at Cork on August 8th, 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 141 
 
 1920, was only seventeen at the time. The sen- 
 tence on Berry was duly carried out at Mountjoy 
 Prison, Dublin, on the 1st of November at 8 a.m. 
 The records of some of the leaders of the 
 murder organisations will serve to illustrate the 
 type of man with which the authorities are called 
 upon to deal. Michael Collins, the ' Adjutant 
 General ' and chief of the Irish Republican 
 Army, is a member of Dail Eireann, having been 
 elected for South Cork, and is responsible for the 
 administration of its finances under the title of 
 Aire Aergid, or Minister of Finance. He is thus 
 a definite link between An Dail and the murder 
 gangs. He is the son of Michael Collins, a small 
 farmer of Woodfield, near Rosscarbery, County 
 Cork, and was born in 1890, being educated at 
 the National School. He left home at the age of 
 twenty, lived for a while at Cork, and then went 
 to London, where he was employed in the Sorting 
 Branch of the General Post Office. Fear of 
 conscription drove him from England. He 
 returned to Ireland in March, 1916, and became 
 a clerk to a firm of Chartered Accountants 
 in Dublin. He took part in the Easter 
 Week rebellion, was subsequently interned at 
 Frongoch, but was released in December, 1916. 
 Returning to Dublin, he became secretary to the 
 Sinn Fein orgapisation, also acting secretary to 
 the Irish National Aid Association, a body 
 formed to assist rebel prisoners and their 
 relatives. He also became Adjutant General of 
 the Irish Volunteers, and personally commanded 
 the Volunteer Guard on the occasion of the 
 
142 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 funeral of 0' Donovan Rossa in Dublin. 
 
 Collins spent the greater part of 1917 touring 
 the country and making turbulent and seditious 
 speeches. At Skibbereen he stated publicly that 
 the policy of the Volunteers was to punish 
 British military or police officers if any harm 
 was done to Volunteer officers. He addressed 
 meetings in uniform at Longford, and made a 
 speech urging that police barracks should be 
 attacked and arms seized. For this speech he 
 was summoned and returned for trial. He gave 
 bail but did not appear, and a warrant was issued 
 for his arrest. He has been ' on the run ' ever 
 since. 
 
 Daniel Breen, for whom a reward of £1,000 
 was offered, is a criminal of a somewhat different 
 type. He is an active member of the Irish 
 Republican Army, in which he holds the rank of 
 Commandant of the Third Tipperary Brigade. 
 He was formally a labourer, and is now 27 years 
 of age. He first attained notoriety in criminal 
 circles in 1919, in connection with the Solo Head 
 Beg outrage. This was the first murder of 
 members of the Royal Irish Constabulary since 
 the Easter Week rebellion of 1916. On 21st 
 January, 1919, two constables, James McDonnell 
 and Patrick O'Connell, were escorting a car 
 carrying gelignite for use in Solo Head Beg 
 Quarry near Tipperary. They were ambushed 
 by six or seven armed men, of whom Breen was 
 one, and shot dead, the gelignite being stolen. 
 Breen is suspected of complicity in many other 
 murders, the latest of which is the murder of 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 143 
 
 Major Smyth and Captain White at Drumcondra 
 on the 11th October, 1920. 
 
 Breen's immediate associate, John Tracy, the 
 Vice- Commandant of the Third Tipperary 
 Brigade I.R.A., was shot dead during a raid by 
 the troops on notorious Republican premises in 
 Talbot Street, Dublin, on the 14th October, 1920. 
 He first appeared publicly in 1917, when De 
 Valera visited Tipperary. Tracy on this 
 occasion commanded a Volunteer * Guard of 
 Honour ' in uniform. He was prosecuted and 
 sentenced to imprisonment, but secured his 
 release by hunger-striking. He was concerned 
 with Breen'and another man named Hogan in 
 the Solo Head Beg affair, and had been ' on the 
 run ' ever since. Hogan was arrested and taken 
 to Thurles police barracks. Tracy and his 
 accomplices attacked the escort which was con- 
 veying Hogan to prison at Knockalong Railway 
 Station, murdered two of the escort, and rescued 
 Hogan. Tracy was next concerned in the attack 
 at Oola on the mail lorry in which General Lucas 
 was escaping from the hands of the Sinn Feiners. 
 A soldier died of wounds sustained in this affair. 
 In endeavouring to escape from Talbot Street he 
 committed his last murder, that of one of the 
 soldiers engaged in his arrest. He was shot dead, 
 and a clip of pistol cartridges with dum-dum 
 bullets was found in his pocket. 
 
 Towards the end of the year there was strong 
 evidence that the failure of the murder campaign 
 to achieve the desired result had caused a great 
 
144 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 weakening of the influence of Sinn Fein. This 
 evidence may well be summarised here, but before 
 this is done it must be pointed out that this 
 weakening of influence is not in itself sufficient 
 to end the murder campaign. At the head of 
 the terrorists are many men who could not hope 
 to escape the capital penalty should they be 
 captured, and these men will strain every nerve 
 to wreck the course of justice before they meet 
 their inevitable fate. Desperate deeds continue 
 to occur, but Ireland as a whole has no sympathy 
 with them, and there are signs that vndely 
 differing opinions in the country are combining 
 to put an end to them. And it is only when 
 public opinion refuses to tolerate outrage that 
 true peace can be restored. 
 
 The main heads of evidence concerning the 
 crumbling of Sinn Fein authority are, very 
 briefly, as follows : — 
 
 The Sinn Fein Courts (referred to on page 90), 
 although instituted with a great flourish of 
 trumpets, were soon proved to be inefficient and 
 incapable of enforcing their findings. The people 
 lost confidence in them and preferred to bring 
 their cases before the legally constituted British 
 Courts. A short experience of Republican 
 judicial practice had taught them that in this 
 respect at least Sinn Fein was incapable of carry- 
 ing out its undertakings- 
 
 The failure of the campaign against the police 
 was so marked that even the most fervent 
 supporters of Sinn Fein could not fail to notice 
 it. Far from the numbers and morale of the 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 145 
 
 Police Forces. diminishing, they increased at an 
 unexpected rate. The figures of strength of the 
 Forces alone are sufficient to show this. The 
 total strength of the R.I.C., including the 
 Auxiliary Envision of Temporary Cadets, was, 
 on the 19th September, 9856. By November 21st 
 it had risen to 11,766. On the same date the 
 strength of the Auxiliary Division alone was 969, 
 as a result of some five months' recruiting. 
 The Force was enabled to extend from its 
 concentration, and to re-occupy stations from 
 which it had previously been withdrawn. 
 
 During the year it had become the policy of 
 Sinn Fein to induce the local authorities to 
 withdraw their allegiance from the Local 
 Government Board and to recognise only the 
 authority of Dail Eireann. This policy soon 
 proved futile, and many leading local authorities 
 realised that their only chance of effective 
 working was alliance with the British 
 authorities. During November, for instance, 
 County Galway Council*, which had proved 
 recalcitrant for some months, issued instructions 
 to their rate collectors to place all moneys to the 
 credit of the legally constituted treasurer. 
 
 The attempt of Sinn Fein to induce the 
 railwaymen to persist in their policy of refusing 
 to convey troops and munitions met with no 
 support in the Irish Press. As soon as the issue 
 reached the point where no alternative was 
 possible to the closing of the railway system as a 
 whole, the men yielded. This was a distinct blow 
 
 • See also page 417. 
 
146 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 to the authority of Sinn Fein, which had 
 instigated the refusals from the first*. 
 
 The firmness of the Government on the question 
 of hunger-striking brought about a complete 
 surrender of this policy by the ' Acting 
 President ' himself t. 
 
 The economic pressure brought to bear upon 
 Sinn Fein by frequent seizures of funds held by 
 the various organisations is as complete as the 
 preventive pressure. Tv^o captured letters well 
 illustrate these points. The first of these is 
 addressed to Terence McSwiney, then Lord 
 Mayor of Cork and ' Commandant of the First 
 Cork Brigade, I.R.A.,' and was found on the 
 premises of John O'Connell, the ' Captain of the 
 Queenstown Co. I.R.A. ' It is dated 25th May, 
 1920, and reads as follows : — 
 
 '* The drain on our prisoners' dependants fund 
 is £20 per week. . . . The bearer of this letter 
 is Sean (John) O'Connell, just released from 
 Wormwood. He organised and carried out 
 successfully the capture of six rifles at Rush- 
 brooke last February, and his arrest was 
 accomplished soon after. This resulted in 
 his dismissal from Haulbowline Dockyard. 
 Although we allow himself and his people £3 
 weekly we cannot do so for long more. His 
 brother was out in Easter Week with himself and 
 our small section and surely his case deserves our 
 attention. Above is one of many similar cases, 
 
 * See page 250. t See page 117. 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 147 
 
 and where we suffer in common for the cause we 
 might also unite in helping each other." 
 
 The Rushbrooke affair referred to in this letter 
 was the capture and disarming of four soldiers 
 by twenty armed and masked men. One of the 
 former, Corporal Gooder, of the Sherwood 
 Foresters, was murdered in the affray. 
 
 The second letter is addressed to Daniel Breen. 
 It is dated 26th September, 1920, and contains 
 one of the earliest indications of the intentions of 
 the terrorists to extend their activities to 
 England. 
 
 ** Tipperary No 3 Brigade. 
 26—9—20. 
 
 ** Re yours to the Chief of Staff.* For God's 
 sake, Dan, have a bit of sense. What the hell 
 do you or I need to care about the Dublin 
 Corporation? Besides, Dan, the evidence that 
 Beatie really was there to bum the Town Hall 
 wouldn't hang a cat in any court of justice. t 
 Of course he may really have been one of the 
 burners and the Corporation may be wrong, but 
 is that any reason why everyone in the army§ 
 should get out and leave it all to the Dublin 
 Corporation? I should think not. Try to 
 reconsider the whole matter and let me know. 
 I'll hold over your resignation until I hear from 
 
 * Richard Mulcahy, one of the ablest members of the 
 murder gang. See Appendix B. 
 
 t This appears to refer to the burning of Tipperary Town 
 Hall some time previously. 
 
 § The I.R.A. 
 
148 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 you. E. Dwyer is resigning because there is too 
 much fight. He thinks the enemy's way of 
 burning is a knockout blow to active service. I 
 felt like chucking it myself because like yourself 
 I think things are too slow and that we should 
 burn England, but there is such a lot of terror 
 creeping into the Republican Ranks that my 
 monkey is up and I will see matters through this 
 crisis if I can. Re yours to myself. I quite 
 agree with you, Dan, and I don't at all think 
 your idea a bit too wild. As to your suggestion 
 of a South Tipp. Contingent going to England, 
 I'll speak to G.H.Q. on the matter. However, I 
 believe G.H.Q. is quite alive to facts. They 
 don't want to start till the world sees England's 
 acts clearly. That takes a little time, I assure 
 you. Write soon, cheerio." 
 
 The allusion to Dwyer in the above letter is 
 interesting. Edward Dwyer was * Adjutant G 
 Company 1st Battalion 3rd Tipperary Brigade, 
 I.R.A.' Francis Dwyer, his brother, was 
 * Captain F Company ' of the same battalion and 
 brigade. They were shot dead by masked 
 men outside their houses at Ballydavid, near 
 Tipperary, about 11 p.m. on the 18th October, 
 1920. It is not too much to infer that they 
 were suspected of dangerous weakness by their 
 accomplices, and paid the invariable penalty in 
 such cases. 
 
 Having now glanced at the evidence of the 
 weakening of Sinn Fein influence, we may well 
 consider what is the natural corollary of such 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 149 
 
 weakening. The position of the authorities grows 
 stronger every day, the troops and police are 
 learning the best methods of dealing with 
 assassins in a country admirably suited to the 
 operations of the latter, and are undoubtedly 
 securing evidence against those who are guilty 
 of outrage. The members of the murder-gangs 
 are well aware of this, and the knowledge is 
 causing a sharp cleavage in their ranks. The 
 rank and file, poor dupes of the designing 
 criminals who pose as their officers, know the risk 
 they run by continuing their campaign, and, 
 having nothing to gain but false promises, are 
 disposed to remain peaceful citizens rather than 
 incur the risk of imprisonment. The leaders, 
 however, reason differently. They know that 
 their necks are in nooses already, that only by a 
 continuance of the campaign of murder and 
 intimidation can they escape for a time the just 
 reward of their crimes. They are desperate men, 
 fighting like cornered rats against the fate which 
 they may delay but cannot avert. 
 
 The natural result is that minor outrage, such 
 as may be perpetrated by the rank and file, 
 continues to decrease, while desperate murder, 
 the acts of the principal assassins, continues to 
 flame out upon the least opportunity. Towards 
 the end of November two massacres occurred, 
 which displayed the brutality of the Republican 
 assassins on a scale that horrified the whole 
 world. 
 
 The first massacre took place about 9 a.m. on 
 Sunday, 21st November. A party of murderers 
 
150 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 arrived in Dublin on the Saturday, taking 
 advantage of the influx of crovp^ds to the City to 
 attend a hurling match at Croke Park on Sunday 
 afternoon. The headquarters of the Republican 
 Army evidently required these men for the 
 purpose of a combined assassination of ofiBcers 
 whom they suspected of dealing with the mass of 
 accumulating evidence against members of the 
 murder-gangs. Many of these officers were living 
 unprotected in Dublin. They were attacked 
 almost simultaneously at 9 o'clock on Sunday 
 morning, with the result that fourteen servants of 
 the Crown were murdered in cold blood. The 
 following are the full details of this appalling 
 outrage, set down in the dispassionate language 
 of the official report. 
 
 CASE A. 28, Erlsfort Terrace. 1 Murder. 
 
 " The murderers' leader rang the bell and 
 asked the maid for ' Colonel Fitzpatrick.' She 
 disclosed the whereabouts of the bedroom of 
 Captain Fitzgerald. The leader then called in 
 about 20 men, placed them in position in the hall 
 and then entered Fitzgerald's room. The maid 
 heard his shouts and the assassin's voice say 
 * Come on.' Four shots were fired into Captain 
 Fitzgerald's body in rapid succession. The police 
 found him in bed in a pool of blood, his forehead 
 shattered with bullets, another through his 
 heart, and one through his wrist, which he had 
 held up to ward off the shot. All the shots had 
 been fired point blank. Captain Fitzgerald, the 
 son of a Tipperary doctor, had recently been 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 151 
 
 employed as a defence officer of police barracks 
 in County Clare. While thus engaged he was 
 kidnapped by the I.R.A. His captors tried to 
 shoot him with his own revolver, which 
 miraculously missed fire. They then twisted 
 his arm till it was dislocated, dragged him to a 
 field, propped him against a wall and fired at 
 him. He contrived to leap over the wall, and so 
 escaped. He had come to Ehiblin for surgical 
 treatment of his arm, and had only been a few 
 days out of hospital before he was assassinated." 
 
 CASE B. 22 Lower Mount Street. 
 
 1 murder in the house. 2 further murders 
 resulting near by. 
 
 " The maid opened the door, whereupon 
 twenty men rushed in and demanded to be shown 
 the bedrooms of Mr. Mahon and Mr. Peel. Mr. 
 Mahon's room was pointed out to them, where- 
 upon they rushed in and fired five shots into his 
 body at a few inches range, killing him on the 
 spot. Meanwhile some others of the murderers 
 attempted to enter Mr. Peel's room, of which the 
 door was locked. Seventeen shots were fired 
 through the panels, but Mr. Peel escaped 
 uninjured. Another servant, hearing the shots, 
 shouted from an upper window to a party of 
 cadets of the Auxiliary Division who had left 
 Beggars Bush Barracks to catch an early train 
 southwards for duty. These cadets at once 
 attacked the house, after despatching two of 
 their number, cadets C. A. Morris and Frank 
 Garniss, to their depot for reinforcements. They 
 
152 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 chased the assassins through the house and 
 captured one whom their fire had wounded and 
 three others, all of whom were armed. The 
 reinforcements on their arrival were asked what 
 had become of Morris and Garniss. They replied 
 that they had never seen them, that they had 
 never arrived at the depot, and that they them- 
 selves had only come out on hearing the firing. 
 A search was made, and the bodies of the missing 
 men were found by a Red Cross nurse lying in a 
 neighbouring garden. They had apparently been 
 intercepted by the murderers' pickets, led to the 
 back of the house, placed against a wall, and 
 murdered. Morris lived at Mitcham, had served 
 in France as a Lieutenant in the M.G.C.,* and 
 was aged 22. He had joined the Auxiliary 
 Division on the 12th October. Garniss had 
 joined the very next day, after fifteen years' 
 service in the Army. He lived at Hull. These 
 were the first Auxiliary Cadets to be murdered, 
 and the tragedy caused great resentment among 
 their comrades. It is interesting to note that 
 Mr. Mahon had the previous night told Mr. Peel 
 to be especially watchful, as he had an idea that 
 they were being followed. ' ' 
 
 CASE C. * Briama,' 117 Morehampton Road. 
 Murder of one officer and two civilians. 
 ** Just before nine o'clock a party of between 
 ten and twenty armed men knocked at the door, 
 which was opened by a boy of ten, the son of Mr. 
 Smith, the householder. They rushed into the 
 
 • Machine Gun Corps. 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 153 
 
 house, and dragged Mr. Smith and Captain 
 McLean, who were in bed with their wives, into a 
 front spare bedroom. Mr. Caldow, the brother 
 of Mrs. McLean, was thrust in beside them and 
 all three were shot in cold blood. Captain 
 McLean and Mr. Smith were dead before an 
 ambulance could arrive. Mr. Caldow was 
 seriously wounded. Mr. Thomas Henry Smith, 
 who was about 45 years of age, left a 
 wife and three children. Captain McLean, 
 who had served in the Rifle Brigade during 
 the War, had come with Mr. Caldow to 
 Ireland with a view to securing employ- 
 ment in the police. Captain McLean left 
 a wife and child. Both Mrs. Smith and Mrs. 
 McLean were with their husbands when the 
 assassins entered. The latter dragged their 
 victims to an empty room to murder them, as 
 Captain McLean when overpowered implored 
 them not to murder him under the eyes of his 
 wife. On completing their dastardly work the 
 murderers ran out of the house and disappeared. ' * 
 
 CASE D. 92, Lower Bagot Street. 1 murder. 
 ** A party of murderers numbering about a 
 dozen were let in by Mrs. Slack, the landlady. 
 They asked for Captain Newbury, Court 
 Martial Officer, who lived there with his wife. 
 Seeing the crowd, the landlady rushed upstairs 
 in terror, and saw nothing of the subsequent 
 happenings. Some of the men knocked at 
 Captain Newbury's door. Mrs. Newbury opened 
 it and seeing a crowd of men with revolvers, 
 
154 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 slammed it in their faces and locked it. The men 
 burst the door open, but Captain and Mrs. 
 Newbury escaped to an inner room and tried to 
 hold the door against them. They had almost 
 succeeded in shutting it when the men lired 
 through the door, wounding Captain Newbury, 
 who nevertheless got to the window, flung it open, 
 and was half way out when the murderers burst 
 into the room. Mrs. Newbury flung herself in the 
 way, but they pushed her aside and fired seven 
 shots into Captain Newbury's body. The police 
 found the body half in and half out of the 
 window, covered with a blanket which Mrs. 
 Newbury, although prostrate, had flung over it. 
 It is significant that in this case, as in many 
 others, the assassins had made a diligent search 
 for papers, hoping perhaps to find and abstract 
 documents or evidence upon which the officers had 
 been working." 
 
 CASE E. 28, Upper Pembroke Street. 
 
 2 officers murdered and four wounded. 
 " The residence of Mrs. Gray was raided at 
 nine o'clock by about twenty men, some of whom 
 came on bicycles. The house consisted of several 
 flats. The raiders, who were armed and undis- 
 guised, held up Mrs. Gray and her maid on the 
 stairs. The house appeared to be familiar to them 
 as they broke up into parties, each of which went 
 straight to its objective. Ten to twelve shots 
 were heard, and following these the assassins 
 decamped. Mrs. Gray and her maid visited the 
 rooms immediately and found that Major 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 155 
 
 Dowling of the Grenadier Guards had been shot 
 dead at his bedroom door. Captain Price of the 
 Royal Engineers w^ found dead in the room next 
 door. Captain Keenlyside of the Lancashire 
 Fusiliers, whose wife most gallantly struggled 
 with the murderers and thereby frustrated their 
 purpose, was wounded in the arm. Colonel 
 Woodcock was fired at as he came down stairs. 
 He appears to have taken the raiders who were 
 in the hall by surprise. He called out to Colonel 
 Montgomery who, on coming out of his room was 
 wounded in the body, from which woimd he died 
 some days later. While running towards his 
 room to secure a weapon Colonel Woodcock was 
 also wounded. A sixth officer, Mr. Murray, of 
 the Royal Scots, was also wounded as he came 
 down the stairs. A lady resident in the house 
 went from room to room seeking help, and in 
 every room found only dead, dying, or wounded 
 men." 
 
 CASE F. 38, Upper Mount Street. 2 murders. 
 " This house was entered at 9.10 a.m. by 
 twenty armed, unmasked men, who were let in by 
 a servant. She unwillingly pointed out the rooms 
 occupied by Lieutenant Aimes of the Grenadier 
 Guards and Lieutenant Bennett of the Motor 
 Transport. The maid rushed upstairs and told 
 an officer sleeping on an upper floor and another 
 male lodger that murder was being done down 
 stairs. A fusilade of shots was heard by these 
 three, and when they came downstairs they 
 found two bodies in a pool of blood in Mr. Aimes' 
 
156 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 bedroom. Mr. Bennett had evidently been 
 dragged from his room in his bedclothes into his 
 brother officer's room where both were shot 
 together, their bodies lying side by side." 
 
 CASE G. Gresham Hotel, Sackville Street. 
 2 murders. 
 
 * ' A party of fifteen to twenty men entered the 
 open door of the hotel, held up the Boots and head 
 porter, at the point of their revolvers, and forced 
 the latter to lead them to the rooms occupied by 
 Captain McCormack, of the Army Veterinary 
 Corps, and Lieutenant Wilde. The party, one 
 of whom carried a huge hammer, knocked first at 
 the door of room 14, occupied by Mr. Wilde. He 
 opened it and asked them what they wanted. 
 Eor answer three shots were fired into his chest 
 simultaneously. The party then moved to room 
 24, occupied by Captain McCormack, who was 
 sitting up in bed reading his paper. Without a 
 word five shots were fired into his body and head 
 as he sat there. The bed was saturated with 
 blood, and the body, and especially the head, 
 was horribly disfigured. Possibly the assassins 
 had used the hammer as well as their revolvers to 
 finish off their victim . " 
 
 CASE H. 119, Lower Bagot Street. 1 murder. 
 *' This raid was presumably similar to the 
 others. Captain Baggally, Court Martial Officer, 
 was shot dead. When the police arrived every 
 occupant of the house had left and no witness was 
 available to describe the circumstances. Captain 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 157 
 
 Baggally had lost a leg in the war and was a 
 barrister by profession. He had been employed 
 as a prosecutor under the Restoration of Order in 
 Ireland Regulations. ' ' 
 
 Immediate steps were taken by the authorities 
 to discover the assassins. In view of the fact that 
 it was known that many persons had come to 
 Dublin from Tipperary, a notorious centre of the 
 murder-gangs, it was thought advisable to search 
 the crowds assembled at Croke Park for the 
 hurling match. It had been arranged that a 
 cordon was to be drawn round the ground, and 
 that an. oflBcer with a megaphone should announce 
 to the crowd the object of the cordon and of the 
 search, in order to avoid a stampede. But a 
 stampede was exactly what the murderers among 
 the crowd desired, in order that they might slip 
 away in the ensuing confusion. Accordingly, as 
 soon as the forces of the Crown appeared, 
 picquets posted by the murderers fired upon them, 
 and at the same time men in the crowd itself 
 discharged their revolvers, with a view to 
 creating a panic. 
 
 The police were compelled to return the fire, 
 with the result that ten persons were killed and 
 eleven wounded. Two others were killed and 
 several others injured in the stampede. It was 
 found impossible to search those escaping from 
 the ground, but over thirty revolvers were 
 subsequently found in the field, having been 
 thrown away by their owners. 
 
 The second massacre took place on the follow- 
 
158 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ing Sunday, 28th November, at Kilmichael, 
 between Macroom and Dunmanway, in County 
 Cork. The full and exact details of this tragedy 
 will probably never be accurately known, owing 
 to the fact that only one of the party attacked 
 escaped, and he was very severely wounded. 
 
 It appears, however, that during the afternoon 
 of the 28th, the District Inspector at Macroom 
 took out, in the ordinary course of duty, a patrol 
 of seventeen members of the Auxiliary Division 
 of the R.I.C., accompanied by a temporary 
 constable. The patrol, which travelled in two 
 Crossley tenders, was going in search of a 
 wanted man, and had been operating with 
 a detachment of the Essex Regiment from 
 Dunmanway. Shortly after dusk, about 5 p.m., 
 the patrol was proceeding along the Macroom- 
 Dunmanway Road, and had reached a point 
 where the road takes a slight curve. At this 
 point the road is flanked by low stone walls, 
 beyond which are narrow strips of bogland, 
 sloping up to boulder-strewn hills on either side. 
 
 Here an ambush had been prepared by members 
 of the murder-gangs who were ' on the run ' in 
 this wild country. The assassins, who wore 
 khaki trench-coats and steel helmets, had drawn 
 a motor-lorry across the road, and were thus 
 mistaken by the patrol in the dark for a military 
 escort. The first car halted, and its occupants 
 dismounted to get in touch with the supposed 
 troops. A fierce fire was at once opened upon 
 them. Three cadets were killed outright, and 
 the survivors, seeing their mistake, began to run 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 159 
 
 back to their cars for cover. The second car, 
 which had been following some hundred yards 
 behind the first, now came up, and its occupants 
 dismounted to assist their comrades. As they 
 did so, from a depression in the adjoining hill- 
 side came a close-range, devastating fire. The 
 patrol was caught between three fires, from the 
 lorry and from the walls on either side of the 
 road. After many of the patrol had been 
 disabled, overwhelming forces of the assassins 
 came out of hiding and disarmed the survivors. 
 A brutal massacre followed, it being the policy 
 of the murder-gangs to allow no survivor to 
 escape and reveal their identity. The dead and 
 wounded were indiscriminately hacked with 
 axes and bayoneted, shot guns were fired into 
 their bodies, and many were savagely mutilated 
 after death. Of the whole patrol of eighteen, 
 sixteen were found lying dead on the spot, one 
 had disappeared, and one was foimd terribly 
 wounded and taken to Cork Military Hospital. 
 He had two bullet wounds in his body, and had 
 been struck on the head with an axe and left for 
 dead. The bodies of all had been rifled, even 
 their clothes being taken. 
 
 The intimidation of the local inhabitants is 
 shovm by the fact that many people going to Mass 
 in the morning had been diverted from the 
 locality of the ambush, yet no one of them had 
 informed the police. No news reached Macroom 
 until 9-30 the following morning, when a party 
 went out and found the site of the massacre. An 
 examination showed that the stone walls border- 
 
160 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ing the road had been heightened and loop- 
 holed, and that the depression in the hillside, 
 from which the flanking fire had been opened, 
 had been shielded by camouflage representing 
 rocks and boulders. 
 
 This was the last sensational outrage of the 
 year, if we except the bombing of a party of 
 Auxiliary Cadets at Dillon's Cross on the 11th 
 December, which resulted in the death of one of 
 the party and the wounding of several others, 
 and was one of the contributory causes of the 
 burnings in Cork on that night. 
 
 There can be no doubt that at the close of the 
 year the outlook in Ireland was considerably 
 brighter than could have been anticipated some 
 months earlier. The Government of Ireland Act 
 was on the Statute Book, the Irish had obtained 
 a far more generous measure of Home Rule than 
 they had any right to expect. The future of the 
 country lay in the hands of its own inhabitants, 
 they had but to prove their capacity for govern- 
 ment to secure such political liberty as their 
 fathers had never contemplated. The power of 
 the assassins was broken; although they might 
 achieve further sporadic outrages, the forces of 
 law and order were steadily hemming them in. 
 And, finally, and most hopeful of all, was the 
 rapidly accumulating weight of evidence that the 
 great mass of the people had recognised the folly 
 of a policy of lawlessness, and were increasingly 
 anxious for peace which should bring in its train 
 a new era of prosperity to their distracted 
 
THE LATTER HALF OF 1920. 161 
 
 country. And indeed what further need was 
 there of fighting ? The granting of Home Rule 
 had swept the nightmare of Republic out of the 
 brains of all sane men, leaving in its stead the 
 vision of an Ireland remaining an integral part 
 of the Empire, yet waiting to be governed by 
 those of her sons who should prove capable of 
 holding the reins. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FORCES OF THE " REPUBLIC." 
 
 Throughout the preceding chapters reference 
 has frequently been made to the various 
 organizations responsible for the disturbances in 
 Ireland. In the present chapter some attempt 
 will be made to give an account of these 
 organizations, of their constitution and aims, 
 and of their methods of operation. 
 
 •It may be stated in general terms that the 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood is the nucleus 
 round which are grouped the various military 
 organizations. The principal of these is the 
 Irish Volunteers, or (as they have now become) 
 the Irish Republican Army. It is alleged that 
 The Brotherhood is responsible for the direction 
 of what may be termed " major outrage," such 
 as the murder of individuals who have rendered 
 themselves obnoxious to it, whilst the Volunteers 
 are employed upon more strictly military 
 operations, such as raids for arms and attacks 
 upon barracks. It must be realized from the 
 outset that during the period dealt with in this 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 163 
 
 book the various republican organizations con- 
 sidered themselves as the directing force of a 
 de facto Irish Republic, of which the Government 
 was Dail Eireann, and the policy the conduct of 
 war upon the British Empire in general and the 
 Forces of the Crown in particular. 
 
 The Constitution of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood is a lengthy document*, and space 
 does not permit of its quotation in full. But it 
 is of such great importance in enabling the 
 general reader to grasp the problem underlying 
 the solution of the Irish Question, that fairly 
 extensive extracts from it must be given. 
 
 " The object of the Irish Republican Brother- 
 hood (hereinafter sometimes called the " Organi- 
 zation ") is to est^iblish and maintain a free and 
 independent Republican Government in Ireland. 
 
 " The Irish Republican Brotherhood shall 
 do its utmost to train and equip its 
 members as a military body for the purpose of 
 securing the independence of Ireland by force of 
 arms f it shall secure the co-operation of all Irish 
 military bodies in the accomplishment of its 
 object, and shall support every movement 
 calculated to advance the cause of Irish National 
 Independence — consistent with the preservation 
 of its own integrity. 
 
 '* Every Irishman, irrespective of class or 
 creed, whose character for patriotism, truth, 
 
 *It is in the form of a printed octavo pamphlet, and bears 
 no indication of the printer's name or place of printing. 
 
164 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 valour, sobriety and obedience to superior officers 
 can bear scrutiny, and who accepts the Constitu- 
 tion of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, is 
 eligible for membership of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood. 
 
 " Names of prospective candidates for mem- 
 bership shall be proposed and seconded at a 
 Circle meeting. If accepted by a Circle, the 
 Centre shall direct a member to ascertain in an 
 approved manner whether said prospect is 
 willing to join the organization. When a 
 prospect is approached for this purpose, only the 
 investigator shall be present with him. 
 
 " Each candidate who qualifies for admission 
 into the Irish Republican Brotherhood shall 
 affirm on oath that he does not belong to any other 
 oath-bound society, and shall, as a requisite for 
 acceptance, take the following oath : — 
 
 " In the presence of God I 
 
 DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL DO MY UTMOST 
 TO ESTABLISH THE NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE OF 
 
 Ireland, that I will bear true allegiance to 
 
 THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE IrISH REPUBLICAN 
 
 Brotherhood and Government of the Irish 
 Republic : that I will implicitly obey the 
 constitution of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood and all my superior officers, 
 and preserve inviolate the secrets of the 
 organization. So help me God." 
 
 " Should any man, while a member of the 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood, be asked to 
 join any other oath-bound society, he shall 
 immediately inform his Superior Officer in the 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 165 
 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood, who shall at once 
 transmit the information to the Supreme Council 
 in the appointed manner. Each Ofi&cer of the 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood shall be em- 
 powered to at any time demand that any member 
 under his jurisdiction shall on oath affirm that 
 he does not belong to any other oath-bound 
 society. 
 
 " No man who is a member of any other such 
 Society shall be admitted to, or allowed to retain 
 membership of, the Irish Republican Brother- 
 hood without the express permission of the 
 Supreme Council. 
 
 " The unit of organization shall be known as 
 a * Circle ' ; the members of which shall elect an 
 officer, entitled a ' Centre,' to direct and govern 
 same. Each Circle shall also elect a ' Sub- 
 Centre,' a Secretary and a Treasurer. 
 
 " Each Circle shall meet at least monthly. 
 
 " (a) The Governing Body of the Organiza- 
 tion shall be entitled ' The Supreme Council.' 
 It shall consist of one member for each of the 
 eleven divisions enumerated in this clause. The 
 eleven members so elected shall co-opt four 
 additional members, whose names are to be known 
 only to the members of the Supreme Council. 
 The total membership of the Council shall thus 
 be fifteen. 
 
 " (b) The Irish Republican Brotherhood shall 
 be divided into eleven Electoral ' Divisions.' 
 
 " The District Centres and County Centre in 
 each Division shall, in Convention assembled, 
 elect by ballot a committee of five of their 
 
166 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 number, who shall, under oath of secrecy, elect 
 by ballot a member of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood as ' Divisional Centre,' who shall 
 represent the Division on the Supreme Council of 
 the Organization. 
 
 " Each member of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood shall pay a monthly fee of sixpence, 
 one-third of which will be retained by the Circle, 
 one-third by the County Treasurer, and one-third 
 remitted to the Supreme Council through the 
 Divisional Centre. Each member shall also 
 contribute according to his means for the 
 purchase of war materials, and shall pay any 
 special levies which the Supreme Council may 
 impose as the necessity arises. 
 
 " Any member of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood may be suspended by his Centre, or 
 by a majority vote of the ' Circle, ' on any of the 
 following grounds : — (a) abstention from Circle 
 meetings without valid excuse, (b) failure to pay 
 membership fees; (c) failure to pay levies 
 for purchase of arms; (d) loss of arms entrusted 
 to his care; {e) speaking of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood (I.R.B.) on any occasion other than 
 at Circle meetings, unless with the express 
 permission of his Centre or Circle ; (/) intemper- 
 ance ; (g) being guilty of any act derogatory to the 
 interests of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. 
 
 " Should any grave misdemeanour or serious 
 breach of discipline warrant it, Trial by Court 
 Martial may be ordered by a majority vote of the 
 Circle, by the Centre or any other Supreme 
 Authority. If found guilty said member shall 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 167 
 
 be expelled from the Organization and the 
 expulsion reported to the Supreme Council 
 through the proper channels. All charges 
 against members shall be made in writing. 
 
 ' ' No member of the Irish Republican Brother- 
 hood shall receive any information respecting the 
 work of the Organization except what is 
 necessary for the performance of his duty. 
 Should any member inadvertently acquire such 
 information he shall not be at liberty to divulge 
 or make use of same, but shall report to his 
 superior officer. 
 
 " At all meetings of the Organization where 
 any officer is elected the following oath shall be 
 taken : — 
 
 " In the presence of God, I , 
 
 DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I SHALL NOT DISCLOSE 
 TO ANY PERSON THE BUSINESS OF THIS MEETING OR 
 THE NAMES OF THOSE PRESENT THEREAT. 
 
 " There shall be no State religion in the Irish 
 Republic. Each citizen shall be free to worship 
 God according to the dictates of his conscience. 
 
 " There shall be no privileged persons, or 
 classes, in the Irish Republic. All citizens 
 shall enjoy equal rights therein. 
 
 " The SUPREME council of the Irish 
 Republican Brotherhood is hereby declared 
 in fact as well as by right, the sole -govern- 
 MENT OF THE Irish Republic. Its enactments 
 shall be the laws of the Irish Republic until 
 Ireland secures absolute National Independence, 
 and a permanent Republican Government be 
 established. 
 
168 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ** The authority of the Supreme Council shall 
 be unquestioned by any member of the Irish 
 Republican Brotherhood. 
 
 " The Supreme Council of the Irish Re- 
 publican Brotherhood shall have power to levy 
 taxes, raise loans, make war and peace, negotiate 
 and ratify treaties with Foreign Powers, and do 
 all other acts necessary for the protection and 
 government of the Irish Republic. 
 
 * ' A Declaration of War shall be supported by 
 at least ten members of the Supreme Council, 
 and a decision so arrived at shall be binding on 
 all Members of the Council. 
 
 " There shall be an ' Executive ' of the 
 Supreme Council, composed of the President, 
 Secretary and Treasurer of that Body, whose 
 election shall, if possible, take place at the first 
 meeting of a new Supreme Council to which all 
 members shall have been summoned. 
 
 " This Executive shall be vested with all 
 powers and prerogatives of the Supreme Council 
 when the Supreme Council is not in Session; 
 except those of declaring War, and altering the 
 Constitution. 
 
 " A majority vote of the Executive shall be 
 binding on all three of its members. 
 
 " The President of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood is in fact as well as by right. 
 President of the Irish Republic. He shall 
 direct the working of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood subject to the control of the Supreme 
 Council or the Executive thereof. 
 
 "The Supreme Council shall have power to 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 169 
 
 appoint a Secret Court for the trial of any 
 member or members charged with the commission 
 of treason or grave misdemeanours. 
 
 "Any member of the Irish Republican Brother- 
 hood who unlawfully appropriates money 
 entrusted to him for National purposes shall be 
 expelled from the Irish Republican Brotherhood. 
 The Supreme Council shall circulate the name 
 or names of such offenders throughout the 
 Organization, and to representative Irishmen 
 living in foreign countries as may be deemed 
 advisable. 
 
 ' ' The Supreme Council alone shall have power 
 to inflict a sentence of Capital Punishment and 
 to give it effect; and this only in cases of treason. 
 The crime of treason is hereby defined as any 
 wilful act or word on the part of any member of 
 the Irish Republican Brotherhood calculated to 
 betray the cause of -Irish Independence, or sub- 
 serve the interests of the British or any other 
 foreign government to the detriment of Irish 
 Independence. 
 
 " There shall be a * Military Council ' of the 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood which shall be 
 attached to, and at all times be subject to, the 
 Supreme Coimcil, and shall have no power to 
 direct, or interfere with, the policy of the 
 Government of the Irish Republic nor in any way 
 to alter the Constitution of the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood. 
 
 GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS AT CIRCLE MEETINGS. 
 
 1. Post Guard at door. 
 
 2. Centre opens meeting in the name of the 
 
170 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 IRISH REPUBLIC, members standing to atten- 
 tion. 
 
 3. Roll call by Secretary, and reports on 
 absentees. 
 
 4. Introduction of new members. 
 
 5. Reports on candidates for membership 
 proposed at previous meeting of Circle. 
 
 6. Nominations of prospective candidates. 
 
 7. Orders from District Board. 
 
 8. Collection of subscriptions. 
 
 9. Announcement of next meeting date. 
 
 10. Other business. 
 
 11. Military training through lectures, discus- 
 sions, etc., as arranged by District Board. 
 
 12. Centre declares meeting closed — members 
 standing to attention." 
 
 It will be seen from the above extracts of the 
 " Constitution " that the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood is a secret society, whose members 
 are bound by oath, penalty, and threat to carry 
 out its orders, whatever they may be. There is 
 no attempt at limiting the scope of these orders ; 
 the expression " by force of arms " is sufficient 
 in itself to include any act of violence which 
 might be considered expedient. Murder could 
 but be regarded as an incident to such an 
 organization, as a judicial execution of an enemy 
 to its avowed aspiration — the establishment of an 
 independent Irish Republic. Regarded in the 
 light of this policy, the motives underlying even 
 such cold-blooded outrages as the murders of 
 Captain Lendrum and Mr. Alan Bell become 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 171 
 
 clear. It may be stated here that not one of ^e 
 publications issued by the Republican organiza- 
 tions bears any indication of place of origin. 
 Even the printer's name is withheld. 
 
 Of the purely military organizations, the Irish 
 Republican Army is the most important, indeed 
 it may be said to have absorbed all the lesser 
 bodies that have existed from time to time. It 
 is the offspring of the Irish Volunteers, a force 
 which was originally formed as a counterblast to 
 the Ulster Volunteers. A large proportion of 
 the Irish Volunteers displayed their loyalty to 
 the Crown in 1914, but the residue to9k up a 
 definitely Republican standpoint, and from this 
 residue developed the Irish Republican Army. 
 
 The general scheme of organization of the 
 Irish Volunteers shows them to be a purely 
 military force, modelled upon accepted military 
 lines. 
 
 " All Irishmen who subscribe to the following 
 objects : 
 
 1. To secure and maintain the rights and 
 liberties common to all the people of Ireland. 
 
 2. To train, discipline, and equip for this 
 purpose an Irish Volunteer Force. 
 
 3. To unite, in the service of Ireland, 
 Irishmen of every creed and of every party 
 and class, 
 
 are eligible for membership of the Irish 
 Volunteers, and all Irishmen having signed this 
 declaration : — 
 
 ' I, the undersigned, desire to be enrolled 
 for service in Ireland as a member of the 
 
172 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Irish Volunteer Force. I subscribe to the 
 
 Constitution of the Irish Volunteers, and 
 
 pledge my willing obedience to my superior 
 
 officers. I declare that in joining the Irish 
 
 Volunteer Force I set before myself the 
 
 stated objects of the Irish Volunteers and no 
 
 others ' 
 
 shall be members of the Irish Volunteer Force." 
 
 Another document* lays down that the tactical 
 
 unit of the force shall be the Company, consisting 
 
 of not less than 76 and not more than 100 men 
 
 including eight Squad Leaders and four Section 
 
 Commanders. Each Company is to have three 
 
 officers, the Captain, the Right Half Company 
 
 Commander, who ranks as a First Lieutenant, 
 
 and the Left Half Company Commander, who 
 
 ranks as a Second Lieutenant. In addition to 
 
 these, two additional Non-Commissioned Officers, 
 
 ranking as Section Commanders, are provided 
 
 for, whose duties are to be those of Adjutant and 
 
 Quartermaster respectively. In each Company 
 
 twelve men are to be specially trained in 
 
 signalling, eight in each of the special services 
 
 of engineering, scouting and despatch-riding, 
 
 transport and supply, and first aid, and four in 
 
 musketry. It is, however, suggested that all the 
 
 men in the Company should receive at all events 
 
 elementary training in these subjects. 
 
 " The Company and Half -Company Com- 
 manders shall be elected by the Company at a 
 general meeting summoned for that purpose. 
 The election must be by ballot and shall not take 
 
 * " Constitution of the Irish Volunteers " (a small pamphlet 
 without any indication of place of origin). 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 173 
 
 effect unless and until ratified by Headquarters. 
 Every Company Officer, upon ratification of his 
 election, shall be given a Commission by Head- 
 quarters, such a Commission to be his authority 
 to act a§ a Company Officer of the Irish 
 Volunteers." 
 
 A rather curious feature of the Force is the 
 express provision which is made for the 
 discussion of matters submitted to any unit ' ' for 
 its recommendation " by that unit's Commander 
 or by higher authority. It is expressly laid down 
 that officers of the unit shall form an Advisory 
 Council, presided over by the unit Commander, 
 which council, however, shall have no authority 
 over matters of discipline, command, or efficiency, 
 for which the Commander is wholly responsible. 
 This institution of Councils commences with the 
 Company, whose Council is to consist of the 
 Captain, First and Second Lieutenants, 
 Adjutant, and Quartermaster, and extends to 
 the Battalion and the Brigade. 
 
 The Battalion is to consist of not less than 
 four or more than seven Companies, and its 
 officers are to be as follows : Commandant, 
 Vice-Commandant, Adjutant, Quartermaster, 
 Lieutenant of Engineers, and Chiefs of 
 Signallers, Medical Services, and Scouting and 
 Cycling, the last three ranking as Lieutenants. 
 The Commandant, Vice-Commandant, Adjutant, 
 and Quartermaster are to be elected by ballot at 
 a meeting of all the officers of the Companies 
 comprising the Battalion. The election of the 
 remainder is to be in the hands of the Battalion 
 
174 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Council. The Brigade is to consist normally of 
 from three to six Battalions. Its officers are to 
 be a Commandant, Vice-Commandant, Adjutant, 
 Quartermaster, and Captains of Engineers, 
 Signallers, Medical Services, and Scooting and 
 Cycling. The Battalion Commandants, Vice- 
 Commandants, Adjutants, and Quartermasters 
 of each Battalion comprising the Brigade shall 
 elect the Brigade officers. 
 
 The supreme authority is to be Headquarters, 
 a directing body operating from Dublin, to 
 which only indirect reference is made in the 
 " Constitution." 
 
 The Irish Volunteers publish an official organ 
 under the title An T'Oglac, from which may be 
 gleaned many interesting facts bearing upon the 
 outlook of the force and the methods adopted by 
 it in the course of its campaign of outrage. An 
 extract from the number dated April 1st, 1920, 
 throws an interesting light upon the Republican 
 attitude towards British aims in the late War. 
 It has been the cry of these very sections of the 
 people of Ireland that since the war was fought 
 for the rights of small nations, they were entitled 
 to benefit from the results of the British victory 
 in that war. How far the Irish Volunteers were 
 prepared to lift a finger in the defence of a 
 certain " small nation," Catholic in faith as is 
 Ireland, is shown by the following : — 
 
 " The duty of the soldiers of the Irish 
 Army at the present juncture is to keep as 
 calmly efficient, as ' ready and steady,' as 
 they were before that other murderous 
 
THE FOBCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 175 
 
 menace of the enemy in 1918 called 
 ' Conscription.' 
 
 " Then, as now, the people of Ireland 
 were threatened with slaughter {sic), and 
 then as now the Irish Volunteers stood pre- 
 pared to risk their lives to defend the rights 
 and liberties of the citizens of the Irish 
 Republic. Our organisation was improved, 
 arming and equipping were carried on 
 vigorously, with the result that the close of 
 the war in France found our Republican 
 Army able to carry on a vigorous campaign 
 of guerilla warfare in this country 
 against the foreign Army of Occupation, 
 and particularly that most essential and 
 dangerous part of it, those traitorous Irish- 
 men who in the garb of ' policemen ' act as 
 spies for the enemy and use their local 
 knowledge for his advantage." 
 Another sentence from the same article reads 
 as follows : — 
 
 * ' Meanwhile our guerilla warfare against 
 the enemy forces must be pushed on even 
 more vigorously than ever. The situation 
 must be made more impossible for the enemy 
 daily. . . .If our organisation and 
 discipline are good we shall strike blows thai 
 will make the enemy tremble." 
 It must be observed that in every publication 
 issued by the Volunteers there is insistence upon 
 the hypothesis that the Irish Republican Army 
 is actually at war with the British Government, 
 which is repeatedly described as ' the enemy.' 
 
176 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 This is a matter of great importance, for it has a 
 direct bearing upon the whole question of 
 outrage. The point is again emphasised in 
 another passage in the number oi An T'Oglac 
 from which quotation has already been made. 
 
 " Reports show that the state of organisation 
 in some of the Brigade areas is far from 
 satisfactory. In cases where a loose and 
 imperfect state of organisation exists the Brigade 
 staff are generally to blame. Brigade officers 
 who have been negligent in their duties are 
 warned to ' get a hustle on ' in regard to Brigade 
 organisation if they wish to retain their 
 positions. Headquarters cannot tolerate any 
 slackness at the present time. There is a war on* 
 and those officers who are unable or unprepared 
 to work hard and efficiently must make way for 
 those who can and will." 
 
 The same article goes on to discuss a subject 
 of considerable interest, namely, the question of 
 emigration. The attitude of the Republican 
 Army is very frankly expressed : — 
 
 ' 'A certain number of cases have occurred from 
 time to time where Volunteers whose freedom of 
 movement and means of earning a livelihood have 
 been interfered with as the result of enemy 
 activity have sought the assistance of Head- 
 quarters in being sent out of the country to 
 America or elsewhere. It is necessary to make 
 clear the position of the responsible authorities 
 of the Irish Volunteers with regard to this 
 
 * The italics are mine. 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 177 
 
 important subject of emigration from Ireland. 
 In common with all bodies who have the national 
 welfare at heart, the Executive of the Irish 
 Volunteers is strongly opposed to the departure 
 from Ireland of a single citizen of the Irish 
 Republic. The emigration of any able-bodied man 
 or woman under the circumstances is a national 
 loss, an addition to the depopulation from which 
 our country suffers as the result of the enemy's 
 policy ; but the departure of any Irish Volunteer 
 during the most critical time of the War of 
 Independence can only be regarded as cowardly 
 desertion. Only those men who are sent abroad to 
 do special work or for very exceptional reasons 
 will be facilitated in any way by Headquarters in 
 leaving this country. ' ' 
 
 That this question was regarded very seriously 
 by the Administration of the Republic is proved 
 by the fact that the Minister of Defence of Dail 
 Eireann issued a manifesto in the form of a hand- 
 bill, dated June 5th, 1920. This document reads 
 as follows : — 
 
 " The enemy has declared that there are too 
 many young men in Ireland, and he is anxious 
 to clear them out. It suited his purpose to 
 refuse them passports during the war, but he 
 will now give them every facility to emigrate. 
 These facilities must not be availed of. Ireland 
 wants all her young men. Their presence in the 
 coimtry is more necessary now than ever. It is 
 because of their growing numbers and their 
 efiBcient military organisation that the British 
 Army of Occupation is in its present state of 
 
 M 
 
178 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 disorganisation. The long-drawn-out struggle 
 has reached its final stages, and Ireland is 
 winning. No one realises this more clearly than 
 the enemy. His recent admissions prove it. 
 His cunning and his brute force have availed him 
 nothing in the end. There is just one chance left 
 for him, that is, to stimulate emigration. It 
 saved him once before and it might do so again. 
 The young men of Ireland must stand fast. To 
 leave their country at this supreme crisis would 
 be nothing less than base desertion in the face 
 of the enemy. We look upon those Irishmen who 
 have joined the enemy forces as degenerates, and 
 rightly so. But the Irishman who at this stage 
 leaves his country, or withdraws his aid in the 
 vital struggle, is little better. In fact, he is 
 y^OTse in a sense : because the others may never 
 have seen the light, but he has; and he now 
 deliberately turns his back upon it. There can be 
 no possible excuse for desertion at the present 
 time. The plea of want of work will not do. 
 Employment is no scarcer now than it was during 
 the years that the enemy kept the ports closed and 
 compelled Irishmen to stay at home. There will 
 be plenty of employment for everyone in Ireland 
 in future. The Government of the Republic is 
 at present engaged upon work which w411 ensure 
 this. All that is needed is a little more patience, 
 and then a bracing up for the final tussle. After 
 that no Irishman need leave his native land in 
 order to live under decent conditions. Before 
 that we must have no deserters. ' ' 
 
 Finally, an extract from the ' General Notes ' 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 179 
 
 appearing in An T'Oglac for July 15th, 1920, 
 shows the policy of hindering emigration in 
 active operation : — 
 
 ' ' Kerry Volunteers have taken direct action to 
 prevent emigration. Young men of military age 
 have been arrested and forbidden to leave the 
 country." 
 
 In spite, however, of the warlike tone oi An 
 T'Oglac, it is evident that one of the tasks of 
 Headquarters is to keep up a perpetual campaign 
 against indiscipline and slackness of recruiting. 
 An article entitled ' Keep up the Offensive ! ' 
 which is the chief feature of the issue of July 
 15th, 1920, displays this very clearly. A short 
 extract will suffice : — 
 
 " The sense of discipline of the Volunteers 
 is not like the machine-made discipline of 
 mercenaries; it has its basis in a lofty ideal of 
 service to and self-sacrifice for the nation. It 
 is strange that men who by their membership of 
 the Army of Ireland show their willingness to 
 risk death for the Republic should in some cases 
 show a reluctance to subject themselves to the 
 slight discomforts and restraints of a strict 
 discipline. 
 
 *' The Volunteer Force, being a voluntary 
 army, has attracted to its service young Irishmen 
 of spirit, courage and a sense of national duty ; 
 but there do undoubtedly remain a large number 
 of young men who would make good Volunteers 
 at present outside the force. This is particularly 
 so in some parts of the country, where it is chiefly 
 due to imperfect organisation; but everywhere 
 
180 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 suitable men are available who for some reason 
 have not been got. Recruiting for such a body 
 as the Volunteers must, of course, be done 
 cautiously. Only suitable men, who are known 
 and vouched for, should be admitted; but there 
 are many such still untapped (sic), and a serious 
 effort should be made to increase our strength 
 everywhere. Many young Irishmen who are not 
 in the ranks would readily and gladly join, and 
 onc« they have come under the influence of the 
 Volunteer atmosphere would make good soldiers 
 of Ireland. 
 
 " It is necessary that all the strength, all the 
 energy, all the enthusiasm and all the efficiency 
 of the armed manhood of Ireland should be 
 thrown into this fight against the enemy at the 
 present time. . . . His strongholds must be 
 attacked, his forces surprised and disarmed, his 
 communications interrupted, his despatches 
 seized, his activities watched, his machinery 
 interfered with, his supplies cut off in every part 
 of the country with such persistence, speed, and 
 ubiquity that he will not be able to get his 
 ' system ' solidly established anywhere. . . . 
 All should vie with one another to make them- 
 selves fit and worthy soldiers of Ireland and to 
 play a man's part in this glorious war which we 
 are waging for our country's freedom." 
 
 Two interesting examples of the methods by 
 which funds were raised for the purposes of the 
 Irish Volunteers may be adduced. The first is 
 contained in a leaflet issued by the Brigade 
 Commandant of the Kilkenny branch of the Irish 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 181 
 
 Volunteers and dated July, 1920. This leaflet, 
 which was distributed by being placed in the 
 letter-boxes of houses in the district, reads as 
 follows : — 
 *' Dear Sir (or Madam), 
 
 The Irish Volunteers, in addition to their 
 usual duties, have had, recently, the 
 responsibility of preventing crime, arresting 
 criminals, affording protection where required, 
 etc. This work has exhausted the funds at our 
 disposal and has gone beyond the financial 
 resources of individual Volunteers and it has 
 been found absolutely necessary to issue this 
 appeal for funds to enable them to carry on the 
 necessary public work. The Volunteers have 
 fully expended their energies in these activities 
 and the efficiency of their work has been admitted 
 on all sides. It is expected that those who are 
 not called upon to give their time will help 
 financially. ' ' 
 
 It should be observed that although the ' usual 
 duties ' of the Volunteers are referred to, they 
 are not specified. Presimiably the recipients of 
 the leaflet might hesitate to finance a campaign 
 of murder and outrage. But the veiled threat 
 contained in the last sentence is obvious, and the 
 police reports contain many examples of its 
 enforcement. For instance, at 3 a.m. on October 
 16th, 1920, a resident of Mount pleasant, near 
 Wexford, was aroused by the sound of his front 
 door lock being blown in by a rifle shot. Nine 
 masked and armed men entered and demanded 
 at the point of the revolver a * ' Munitions Levy ' ' 
 
182 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 of £5, which was perforce given them. 
 
 The zeal of the Volunteers for activity such 
 as would evidence that ' efficiency ' so desired by 
 Headquarters has sometimes led to ludicrous 
 incidents. On the fourth of October, 1920, 
 twenty barrels of treacle were stolen from the 
 railway goods yard at Ballina, Co. Mayo, by a 
 number of armed men, who broke the barrels and 
 rolled them into a pond. The stationmaster, 
 subsequently received a note to the effect that the 
 treacle had been " confiscated by order of the 
 Adjutant, A Company, No. 1 Battalion, North 
 Mayo Brigade, I.R.A." Credit where credit is 
 due! 
 
 The Irish Republican movement has not been 
 content to rely solely upon the manhood of 
 Ireland. Both the women and the boys have been 
 enlisted, the former in an organisation kno'svn 
 as Cumann na m'Ban, and the latter in the 
 Fianna Eireann, which their own pamphlet 
 describes as ' The Irish National Boy Scouts 
 Organisation.' 
 
 In a pamphlet dated 1914, issued by the former 
 body, entitled ' The Volimteers, the Women and 
 the Nation,' the following passages occur, and 
 are sufficiently illustrative of the aims of the 
 movement : — 
 
 "It is now on all sides acknowledged that 
 Cumann na m'Ban — the Irishwomen's Coimcil — 
 is the most vigorous and enterprising of all the 
 movements that have grown out of the idea of 
 arming and drilling the nation. 
 
 " The destiny of small nations always finally 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 183 
 
 depends on their women. This is a truth that 
 every leader of any movement in this country 
 must take into account ; it was fully realised by 
 the great leader of the last victorious movement 
 in Ireland — Michael Devitt — when he founded 
 the Ladies' Land League as the last line of 
 defence. It is a truth perfectly accepted by the 
 young captains and secretaries of the Volunteers, 
 who help us of the Cumann na m'Ban to found 
 our branches throughout the country." 
 
 ** From the ranks of these young, daring, and 
 self-sacrificing men will come perhaps the great 
 leader we are all looking for." 
 
 * ' We stated the aims of our new-born political 
 organisation thus : — 
 
 1. To advance the cause of Irish liberty. 
 
 2. To organise Irishwomen in furtherance of 
 this object. 
 
 3. To assist in arming and equipping a body 
 of Irishmen for the defence of Ireland. 
 
 4. To form a fund for these purposes to be 
 called ' The Defence of Ireland Fund.' " 
 
 '* Every day some body of women struggling 
 by themselves in a country town to find an outlet 
 for their patriotism, and their desire to work for 
 Ireland, realise that their place is in Cumann na 
 m'Ban. And so steadily the movement grows 
 and the spirit grows. Where the members of 
 Cumann na m'Ban are most numerous the spirit 
 of the Volunteers is best. What are recognised 
 as the best drilled and most efficient regiments in 
 the country are backed by the strongest force of 
 women." 
 
184 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 " From the start we of Cumann na m'Ban 
 decided to do any national work that came within 
 the scope of our aims. We would collect money 
 for arms, we would learn ambulance work, 
 learn how to make haversacks and bandoliers, we 
 would study the question of food supplies, we 
 would practise the use of the rifle, we would 
 make speeches, we would do everything that came 
 our way — nothing is too low or too high for us 
 to attempt, for we are not the auxiliaries or 
 the handmaidens or the camp-followers of the 
 Volunteers — we are their allies. We are an 
 independent body, with our own executive and 
 our own constitution. If some unhappy fate 
 were now to destroy the Volunteers, Cumann na 
 m'Ban is not only capable of still growing and 
 flourishing, it is capable of bringing the whole 
 Volunteer movement to life again." 
 
 ' ' Men who fight the battles of other people are 
 either fools or mercenaries." 
 
 Perhaps this last sentence may help to explain 
 the refusal of Irish Republicans to assist in the 
 fight for the liberties of Belgium. 
 
 In 1916 Cumann na m'Ban took a prominent 
 part in the insurrection of Easter Week. One of 
 its widely distributed handbills says '' Cumann 
 na m'Ban is proud that its members rallied under 
 the Republican flag in Easter Week, 1916. . . . 
 by taking their places in the firing line and in 
 every way helping in the establishment of the 
 Irish Republic." 
 
 The Constitution of the Fianna Eireann sets 
 
THE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC. 185 
 
 out the policy of the organisation as follows : — 
 
 ** Object. — To re-establish the Independence 
 of Ireland. 
 
 Means. — The training of the youth of Ireland, 
 mentally and physically, to achieve this object 
 by teaching scouting and military exercises, 
 Irish history and the Irish language. 
 
 Declaration. — ' I promise to work for the 
 Independence of Ireland, never to join England's 
 armed forces and to obey my superior officers.' " 
 
 The Fianna, whose chief in 1920 was Countess 
 Markievicz, has an organisation modelled upon 
 that of the Irish Volunteers, distinctly military 
 in its principles. The unit is the Slaugh (Troop), 
 and the governing body the Ard-Choisde (Central 
 Council).' The nature of its appeal is shown by 
 a widely distributed hand-bill, of which the 
 following is the wording : — 
 
 * ' Boys ! Ireland is calling you, Ireland wants 
 your help in the ranks of Fianna Eireann, the 
 only organisation which trains boys on Irish- 
 Ireland lines, without distinction of creed, class, 
 or politics. 
 
 * ' Boys 1 Join the young army of Ireland 
 which has already given so many martyrs to the 
 cause of Irish Independence, and help to win 
 the crown of freedom for your Motherland ! ' ' 
 
 The Headquarters of all organisations are in 
 Dublin, while the rest of the country is divided 
 into Brigade Areas, in the case of the Volunteers, 
 and similar districts in the case of the affiliated 
 bodies. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 
 
 The preceding chapter contained some account 
 of the forces of the '* Irish Republic," a 
 Republic that was never recognised outside 
 Ireland, and existed only in theory in that 
 country. The Irish Republic is, however, a 
 convenient phrase in which may be included the 
 various Sinn Fein organizations having for their 
 object the establishment of an independent 
 nation. The Irish Volunteers constantly describe 
 themselves as the Irish Republican Army in their 
 orders and proclamations, and have been 
 constantly referred to as such throughout the 
 last few years. It will be convenient at this stage 
 to examine the means by which the Republican 
 forces have been supplied with arms, and the 
 measures taken by the Government to disarm 
 those whose possession of arms was a source of 
 danger to the community and a menace of murder 
 to those engaged in the maintenance of law and 
 order. 
 
 To deal first with legislation. By an Act of 
 Parliament of 1847 power was given to the Lord 
 Lieutenant to proclaim certain regulations to be 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 187 
 
 enforced in any specified district of Ireland, 
 Among these regulations was one to the effect that 
 " it shall not be lawful for any person whom- 
 soever (except Justices of the Peace, Persons in 
 Her Majesty's Naval or Military Service, or in 
 the Coast-Guard Service, or in the Service of the 
 Revenue, or in the Police or Constabulary Force, 
 or Special Constables, or Persons duly licensed 
 to kill Game, or Persons to whom any Licence 
 shall have been granted under this Act as herein- 
 after secondly mentioned) to carry or have within 
 the District specified in any such Proclamation, 
 elsewhere than in his or her own dwelling-house, 
 any Gun, Pistol, or other Fire-arm, or any part 
 or parts of any Gun, Pistol, or other Fire-arm, 
 or any Sword, Cutlass, Pike, or Bayonet, or 
 any Bullets, Gunpowder, or other Ammunition; 
 and every Person carrying or having any Gun, 
 Pistol, or other Fire-arm, or any Sword, Gutless, 
 Pike, or Bayonet, or any Bullet, Gimpowder, or 
 Ammunition, contrary to the Provisions of this 
 Act, shall be guilty of a Misdemeanour, and shall 
 be liable on conviction thereof to be imprisoned, 
 with or without hard labour, for any term not 
 exceeding two years." 
 
 This Act appears to have been continued until 
 1856, when it was superseded by *' The Peace 
 Preservation, Ireland, Act, 1856." This latter 
 Act continued the provisions of the Act of 1847 
 as regards possession and carrying of arms, but 
 reduced the penalty to " imprisonment for any 
 Period not exceeding one Year . ' ' 
 
 In 1870 '* The Peace Preservation, Ireland, 
 
188 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Act, 1870 " became law, and by it the penalty 
 for carrying and possessing arms was raised once 
 more to imprisonment for any period up to two 
 years. Certain other modifications of the original 
 Act were also introduced. Of these the principal 
 were as follows : — 
 
 No person, although holding a licence to carry 
 arms, was allowed to carry or possess ' ' any fire- 
 arm of the description known as a revolver," 
 unless the licence specially sanctioned such a 
 weapon. Persons holding game licences must 
 also have a licence to carry arms. Arms must 
 only be sold to persons licensed to have them. 
 
 This Act was continued under the provisions 
 of the Expiring Laws Continuance Act until 
 1875, when a new Act became law, slightly 
 modifying the Act of 1870, once more reducing 
 the penalty from two years' imprisonment to one, 
 and simplifying the machinery for granting 
 licences. This Act in its turn was continued 
 under the Expiring Laws Continuance Act until 
 1881, when " An Act to amend the Law relating 
 to the carrying and possession of Arms and for 
 the Preservation of the Public Peace of Ireland ' ' 
 was passed, and became known as The Arms Act. 
 
 The purport of this Act was to place the whole 
 question of arms in the hands of the Lord 
 Lieutenant. He was empowered to " proclaim " 
 any particular district, and by his proclamation 
 to make such regulations for the possession and 
 carrying of arms as seemed good to him. Certain 
 paragraphs of the Act are worth quoting in full. 
 
 '* In a proclaimed district a person shall not 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 189 
 
 carry or have any arms or ammunition save as 
 authorised by the conditions set forth in the 
 proclamation hereinafter mentioned. 
 
 " Any person carrying or having, or reason- 
 ably suspected of carrying or having any arms 
 or munitions in contravention of this Act may 
 be arrested without warrant by any constable or 
 peace officer, and, as soon as reasonably can be, 
 conveyed before some justice of the peace in 
 order to his being dealt with according to law. 
 The Lord Lieutenant may by warrant direct 
 any person named in such warrant to search in 
 houses, buildings, and places situate in a pro- 
 claimed district and specified in the w^arrant, for 
 any arms or ammunition suspected to be therein 
 in contravention of this Act. 
 
 " The Lord Lieutenant, by and with the 
 advice of the Privy Council in Ireland, may 
 from time to time by proclamation declare this 
 Act to be in force within any specified part of 
 Ireland, and this Act shall thereupon after the 
 date specified in the proclamation be in force 
 within such specified part, and any such specified 
 part of Ireland is in this Act referred to as a 'pro- 
 claimed district ' ; and any such proclamation 
 may set forth the conditions and regulations 
 under which the carrying of arms and ammuni- 
 tion is authorised, and make provision for the 
 appointment of persons to give effect to the same 
 and the manner of the promulgation thereof." 
 
 The Arms Act originally covered a period from 
 the date of it becoming law until June 1st, 1886. 
 It was extended under the provision of the Expir- 
 
190 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ing Laws Continuance Act until 1906, and was 
 then allowed to lapse, during the time that Mr. 
 Bryce was Chief Secretary. 
 
 It will be seen that under these various Acts 
 the traffic in and possession of arms in Ireland 
 was suitably controlled, and there is no doubt 
 that in 1906 the possession of arms was 
 practically limited to such well-affected citizens 
 in whose hands they could safely be trusted. 
 But from 1906 onwards all control was removed, 
 and from that date importation began afresh, 
 and arms of all kinds, from service rifles to the 
 more dangerous automatic pistol, began to be 
 distributed all over the country. It was not to be 
 expected that the Irish Republican Brotherhood 
 and the organizations it controlled, especially 
 the Irish Volunteers, and at the same time the 
 corresponding but antagonistic societies of 
 Ulster, would allow such an opportunity to slip. 
 The rate of distribution increased with the 
 threatening horizon of events in 1914, and 
 during the early months of that year the import 
 of arms into Ireland reached very grave propor- 
 tions. It was not until the outbreak of the War 
 that the Defence of the Realm Act gave powers 
 to check this importation, and then only 
 indirectly. 
 
 Regulation 31, framed under this Act, is as 
 follows : 
 
 ' ' No person shall bring into the United King- 
 dom or remove from or to Great Britain to or 
 from Ireland any fire-arms, parts of fire-arms, 
 military arms, parts of military arms, or 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 191 
 
 ammunition or any explosive substance or bring 
 into Ireland any military equipment or com- 
 ponent parts of ammunition without a permit 
 from the competent naval or military authority, 
 and if any person does so he shall be guilty of an 
 offence against these regulations, and any person 
 who has in his possession or custody or under his 
 control any article so brought or removed in con- 
 travention of this regulation shall be guilty of 
 an offence against these regulations, unless he 
 proves that he did not know, and could not with 
 reasonable diligence have ascertained, that the 
 article was so brought or removed in contraven- 
 tion of this regulation." 
 
 This regulation, as will be seen, dealt only with 
 the further importation of arms into the country. 
 It was still no offence to carry or possess arms, 
 and even after the lesson conveyed by the Easter 
 Rebellion of 1916 no steps were taken to render 
 the having of arms illegal. Regulation 9AA 
 under the Act provides as follows : 
 
 * ' In any area in respect of which the operation 
 of Section 1 of the Defence of the Realm (Amend- 
 ment) Act, 1915, is for the time being suspended 
 (in other words, in areas such as Ireland where 
 offenders against the Regulations are necessarily 
 tried by Court Martial), the competent naval or 
 military authority may make orders prohibiting 
 or restricting . . . the carrying, having or 
 keeping of fire-arms, military arms, ammunition 
 or explosive substances." 
 
 Nothwithstanding the powers conferred on the 
 Competent Military Authority under this 
 
192 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Regulation, it was not until 28th September, 
 1918, that any order was made. On that date, 
 however, the following was issued : 
 
 " Whereas in many parts of Ireland private 
 dwelling houses and other places have been 
 illegally raided by lawless men, and firearms, 
 military arms, ammunition and explosive sub- 
 stances have been seized therefrom, and whereas 
 such seizures have been made and are likely to be 
 made for purposes prejudicial to the public 
 safety and the Defence of the Realm, and it is 
 necessary for the purposes of securing the public 
 safety and the Defence of the Realm, to have 
 under effective military control all firearms, mili- 
 tary arms, ammunition and explosive substances 
 at present not under such control, 
 
 " Now I, Lieu tenant-General the Right 
 Honourable Sir F. Shaw, K.C.B., General 
 Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Ireland, Com- 
 petent Military Authority for Ireland, in exer- 
 cise of the powers conferred on me by Regulations 
 9AA of the Defence of the Realm Regulations, 
 Hereby Order that throughout Ireland (being an 
 area in respect of which the operation of Section 
 One of the Defence of the Realm (Amendment) 
 Act, 1915, is for the time being suspended), the 
 carrying, having or keeping of fire-arms, military 
 arms, ammunition of explosive substances, is 
 prohibited, unless such articles are under effective 
 military control. 
 
 " This prohibition shall not apply in the case 
 of any member of His Majesty's Forces or of any 
 member of the Forces of His Majesty's Allies, or 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 193 
 
 of any member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, 
 or of any member of the Dublin Metropolitan 
 Police, or in the case of any person to whom a 
 Competent Naval or Military Authority, or any 
 person authorised by him, has given permission 
 in writing to carry, have or keep fire-arms, mili- 
 tary arms, ammunition or explosive substances. 
 
 ' ' This Order, so far as it relates to the having 
 dr keeping of fire-arms, military arms, ammuni- 
 tion or explosive substances shall take effect as 
 from the 9th day of October, 1918, inclusive." 
 
 Details are added to the Order, setting out the 
 method of obtaining Permits, and also the 
 method of disposal of arms by such persons who 
 have not obtained a Permit. This latter instruc- 
 tion is interesting. 
 
 *' Persons who have not obtained a permit as 
 required by this Order, and are, therefore, pro- 
 hibited from carrying, having or keeping fire- 
 arms, military arms, ammunition or explosive 
 substances should, as soon as possible, and in any 
 case, on or before the 9th day of October, hand 
 in all articles of the kind in their possession to 
 any Military Centre, or, if the owners prefer, to 
 any Police Barrack or Police Station. Arms so 
 handed in should be previously cleaned and well 
 oiled, and all articles, packages, etc., should be 
 distinctly and securely labelled with the name 
 and address of the owner and with a description 
 of the arms, etc. 
 
 " The owner should ask for, and is entitled 
 to receive therefor, a receipt from the official to 
 whom they are handed. 
 
 N 
 
194 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 " Cartridges should be securely packed in 
 boxes or strong paper with the total number of 
 them stated on the label. 
 
 " All articles handed in will be carefully and 
 safely kept under effective Military control by 
 the Military authorities, and will be returned to 
 the owner or his legal representative if, and 
 when, in the opinion of the Ck)mpetent Military 
 Authority, this can be done with due regard to 
 the public safety, or, if in the opinion of the 
 Competent Military Authority they are required 
 for the defence of the Realm." 
 
 The issue of this Order makes the having of 
 fire-arms without a permit an offence under the 
 Regulations throughout the whole of Ireland, 
 and thus renders the possessors of any such 
 weapon liable to be tried by Court Martial. 
 
 As was to be expected, the total number of 
 arms surrendered was wholly disproportionate to 
 the number of arms in possession of the civil 
 population at the date of the issue of the Order. 
 
 The position in October, 1918, was therefore 
 that a large number of arms of all descriptions, 
 sporting and military rifles of all kinds, new and 
 obsolete, shot guns of various types, and pistols 
 of every conceivable variety, w^ere held by the 
 populace contrary to law. Although the Regu- 
 lations gave power to the authorities to search 
 for these. 
 
 " The competent naval or military authority 
 or any person authorised by him, or any police 
 constable : — 
 
 {a) If he suspects that any fire-arms, military 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 195 
 
 arms, ammunition or explosive substances are, 
 or are kept, in or upon any house, building, land, 
 vehicle, vessel, or other premises in contravention 
 of an order under this regulation, may enter, if 
 need be by force, the house, building, land, 
 vehicle, or premises at any time of the day or 
 night and examine, search, and inspect the same 
 or any part thereof, and may seize any fire-arms, 
 military arms, ammimition or explosive sub- 
 stances found therein or thereon which he 
 suspects to be, or to be kept therein or tnereon in 
 contravention of this order ; and 
 
 (b) If he suspects that any person is carrying 
 any fire-arms, military arms, ammunition or 
 explosive substances in contravention of any 
 such order, may stop that person and search 
 him;" 
 
 it can well be imagined that in a country like 
 Ireland, affording every facility for concealment, 
 any such search must frequently prove unavail- 
 ing, and that a systematic combing of the 
 country-side for concealed arms was out of the 
 question. 
 
 The possessors of arms in the country might be 
 roughly classified under three heads : civilians 
 possessing arms with a permit under the order, 
 civilians possessing arms unlawfully, and the 
 various Forces of the Crown — ^military, police, 
 and coast-guards. Of these three classes, the 
 first were mainly well-disposed citizens, owning 
 merely sporting weapons as a rule, the 
 second mainly Republican sympathisers, owning 
 weapons of all kinds either in their capacity 
 
196 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 of Volunteers or for some private and sinister 
 purpose, while the third carried the weapons 
 peculiar to their calling, rifles, automatic 
 pistols, and revolvers. The policy of the 
 authorities was to diminish the numbers of 
 arms-holders of the second class as much as 
 possible, by searches based upon information 
 received and confiscation of any weapons found. 
 The policy of the Volunteers was to capture the 
 arms held by the first and third class, in order to 
 augment their own supplies. It w^as this latter 
 policy that led to two well-marked varieties of 
 their activity, namely raids for arms upon 
 private owners and organised attacks upon 
 barracks, coast-guard stations, lighthouses, and 
 parties of men carrying arms. 
 
 We may deal first with the question of raids 
 for arms, it being understood that for this 
 purpose " arms " may be taken to include what 
 the Regulations style " ammunition or explosive 
 substances. ' ' 
 
 It must be realized that the capture of arms 
 already in Ireland was the main source of supply 
 to the Republican sympathisers. The importa- 
 tion of arms was difficult, although smuggling 
 undoubtedly took place to a certain extent, 
 mainly through the medium of passengers' 
 baggage. It was indeed the difficulty of carry- 
 ing out a sufficiently thorough examination of 
 baggage that was one of the contributory causes 
 of the closing of Queenstown to eastward-bound 
 Atlantic liners. Occasionally, too, it happened 
 that vessels lying in Irish harbours were raided 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 197 
 
 by the Volunteers for the purpose of seizing such 
 arms as they possessed; for instance, about mid- 
 night on 30th August, 1920, a party of armed 
 men boarded the Swedish steamer Thyra, which 
 was lying in Fenit Harbour, Co. Kerry, and 
 carried away three rifles and eight hundred 
 rounds of ammunition. But opportunities such 
 as these were of course comparatively rare, and 
 reliance had necessarily to be placed upon arms 
 previously imported. 
 
 The Volunteers were most careful to organize 
 raids for arms in order to secure the maximum 
 result from them and the most suitable distri- 
 bution of such arms after their capture. Fre- 
 quent references occur in ^47^ T'Oglac to an order 
 that individual Volunteers were not to carry out 
 raids on their own initiative, but were only to 
 act under instructions from the proper authority. 
 A " general order " issued on 14th June, 1920, 
 by the " Adjutant General " of Oglaigh na 
 h'Eireann (the Irish Volunteers, Oglaigh = a 
 soldier) refers to the matter and indicates the 
 anxiety felt by the Headquarters of the Volun- 
 teers lest the authorities should be beforehand in 
 securing arms in any district. It runs as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Seizure of Arms by the Enemy. All 
 seizures of arms and military stores in Brigade 
 Area will be immediately reported to Head- 
 quarters. Full details of the circumstances 
 under which they were taken will be indicated." 
 
 Another " general order " dated 26th May, 
 1920, lays down that " No action of anything 
 
198 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 like a military nature (a definition which includes 
 raids for arms) shall be taken or ordered to be 
 taken by any Volunteers, except in so far as this 
 is covered by definite orders or permission 
 actually received from his superior officer." 
 
 The number of raids for arms soon reached 
 extraordinary proportions, as can be gathered 
 from the following figures. From 1st January 
 1920 to 1st January 1921 the number of raids for 
 arms reported to or discovered by the police was 
 2,801, of which 982 were carried out in a single 
 week, from 29th August 1920 to 4th September 
 1920. This week appears to have been the 
 beginning of a centrally organized policy on the 
 part of the Volunteers. Until then these raids 
 appear to have been due to the activities of the 
 local companies and battalions, but from that 
 week they were evidently conducted upon some 
 general plan embracing the whole country, and 
 probably therefore directed by Headquarters. 
 The Provinces of Leinster and Ulster were chiefly 
 affected in this particular week. In the former 
 alone between three and four hundred raids were 
 made, well over a hundred of which took place in 
 County Meath. In Ulster raids took place in 
 every county except Londonderry and Antrim, 
 and numbered in all about three hundred. The 
 total number of arms secured in these raids 
 throughout the whole country during the week 
 was over six hundred, including weapons of all 
 kinds, but mainly sporting guns. In a number 
 of cases the owners of the weapons resisted the 
 raiders, of whom five were known to have been 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 199 
 
 killed and eight wounded. On the other hand, 
 one peaceful citizen was killed and five, including 
 a woman, were wounded while defending their 
 property. 
 
 The methods of carrying out these raids varied 
 very little, and a few examples will serve to show 
 what those methods were. 
 
 On the night of August 31st, 1920, nine houses 
 in the Clones district, Co. Monaghan, were 
 raided by armed men in search for arms. A 
 woman aged 65 was shot and dangerously 
 wounded in one of these houses. 
 
 On the«same date a retired County Inspector of 
 the R.I.C. was dangerously wounded in the 
 course of a raid for arms upon his house in Co. 
 Tipperary. 
 
 On the 20th September, 1920, six houses in the 
 Howth district, Co. Dublin, were raided for arms 
 by a party of armed and masked men, who 
 secured six shot guns and twenty-nine cartridges. 
 The cases were not reported to the police until 
 they called at the houses for the purpose of 
 collecting the arms for safe custody. 
 
 This last case illustrates the difficulties in the 
 way of securing accurate information as to raids 
 for arms in particular and outrages in general. 
 There were always two reasons which deterred 
 the ordinary civil population from reporting the 
 activities of the Volunteers to the police. The 
 first was the rule of intimidation under which 
 the country had fallen, and the second was a 
 possibly uneasy conscience. The question of 
 intimidation is dealt with elsewhere, it is 
 
200 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 sufiBcient here to state that persecution of some 
 kind almost invariably overtook the cx>nveyor of 
 information to the police. As for the possession 
 of an uneasy conscience, there v^^ere many owners 
 of arms who, although they kept them normally 
 for innocent purposes, had failed to take steps to 
 apply for a permit, very often from a suspicion 
 that their records were not such as to facilitate 
 the granting of a permit. 
 
 From the Volunteers' point of view the opera- 
 tions were simple. In the first place, the objects 
 of their attention were usually owners of arms 
 with permits, who had therefore no reason for 
 concealment of their weapons. In the second the 
 raiders were local men, who found no difficulty 
 in learning who owned arms and where these were 
 kept. All that was necessary was for a party of 
 men, who might or might not take the trouble to 
 disguise themselves, to force their way into a 
 house by night, hold up the occupants at the 
 points of their revolvers, take the arms, and 
 disappear, long before the alarm could be con- 
 veyed to the nearest police. Even if they were 
 recognized, the chances were enormously against 
 information being laid against them. From the 
 point of view of the despoiled owner, it was far 
 better in the long run to bear the loss of his 
 property in silence than to incur the enmity of 
 the local Volunteers. Boycott and even personal 
 violence are two evils against which any possible 
 form of police protection is practically powerless. 
 
 Organized attacks upon Grovernment establish- 
 ments containing arms or explosives, or upon 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 201 
 
 parties of armed men for the purpose of disai*m- 
 ing them, may be divided into attacks upon 
 police barracks, military barracks, coast-guard 
 stations and lighthouses, policemen, and soldiers. 
 These attacks were necessarily somewhat 
 different, both in scope and execution, from 
 simple raids upon the houses of civilians. They 
 required a greater force to carry them out and 
 more careful preparation in order to ensure their 
 success. Further, the percentage of success was 
 very much smaller. Although attempted with 
 the advantages of surprise and overwhelming 
 numbers on the side of the attackers, it frequently 
 happened that the latter wfere driven off with 
 considerable loss. The whole question of these 
 attacks is dealt with in another chapter, here we 
 need be concerned with them only as they affect 
 the question of the securing of arms by the 
 raiders. 
 
 It must again be stated that ' * arms ' ' must be 
 understood as including not only weapons but 
 explosives and military stores of all kinds. 
 Explosives were required for many purposes, 
 such as the destruction of property and the manu- 
 facture of bombs. It may be remarked in 
 passing that light was thrown upon the latter 
 activity of the Volunteers by a letter found in the 
 City Hall at Cork on the occasion of the arrest 
 of Terence McSwiney. This letter is headed 
 " G.H.Q. Dublin," under date 30th of June, 
 1920, and is addressed to O.C. Cork, No. 1 
 Brigade, the post held by Mr. McSwiney. It 
 runs as follows : 
 
202 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ' ' Will you kindly report as soon as possible if 
 there are any facilities in your area for the 
 manufacture of grenades. By this I do not 
 necessarily mean heavy foundry work. If you 
 can get a man who understands moulding to cast 
 iron cases from a pattern which we can supply, 
 it will meet the situation. We can then supply 
 necks in required numbers, these containing 
 spring, striker, percussion cap, fuse and 
 detonator, and if it be possible to cast even two 
 cases a day, something at least will be done to 
 speed up output. The need for this is very 
 pressing just now. ' ' 
 
 The letter is signed " T. Mc, Director of 
 Munitions." 
 
 The manufacture of bombs by the Republicans 
 was not always profitable to themselves. On 13th 
 October, 1920, an unoccupied house at Saltmills, 
 near T intern, Co. Wexford, was shattered by 
 an explosion. An armed party rushed to 
 the spot from the nearest police barracks, and 
 found the building totally wrecked. Seven 
 corpses were found, and five badly wounded 
 people were taken to hospital in custody. Two 
 pthers known to have been there were missing, 
 and were believed to have been blown to pieces. 
 Some less seriously wounded had been taken away 
 by the survivors. A local body of Republicans 
 had been engaged in manufacturing bombs for 
 the purposes of attack on police and soldiers. 
 The usual type of bomb made on these occasions 
 is a rough iron casting containing explosives and 
 fragments of metal. This is provided with a 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 203 
 
 short fuse which has to be ignited by the thrower. 
 Similar accidents to amateur Republican muni- 
 tion makers had occurred before, but they were 
 kept quiet by the Republicans and the relatives 
 of the victims were simply informed that the 
 latter had " gone to America." The type of 
 bomb manufactured is easily made out of 
 explosives raided from quarries and lighthouses. 
 
 Military and police equipment was required 
 not only for the normal fitting out of the Volun- 
 teers, but also for purposes of disguise. On 
 many occasions Volunteers disguised as police- 
 men or soldiers effected entry into barracks, and 
 even caused local disturbances in order to inflame 
 opinion against the Forces of the Crown. 
 Parties of them so disguised are known to have 
 driven through villages at night, firing revolvers, 
 in order to make capital out of the subsequent 
 report of the " shooting up " of the villages by 
 uniformed men. 
 
 The best method of illustrating the various 
 outrages into which raids upon Government 
 establishments and personnel have been classified 
 will be to give statistics and examples. Attacks 
 on military and police barracks are dealt with 
 statistically elsewhere, but examples of the 
 capture of arms in these attacks can properly be 
 dealt with here. 
 
 Dealing first with police barracks, the attack 
 upon Schull R.I.C. barracks is a good example 
 of the methods of the Volunteers. At eight 
 o'clock in the evening of 4th October, 1920, a 
 large party of armed and disguised men made 
 
204 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 their way towards the barracks, which are 
 situated in the Skibbereen district. Two or 
 three of them knocked on the back door, and upon 
 being challenged, gave the correct countersign. 
 The door was opened, and about twenty men of 
 the party rushed in and held up the police inside, 
 while others held up the six police who were on 
 duty outside the barracks. The raiders then 
 proceeded to seize all the arms they could lay 
 their hands upon, consisting of four service 
 rifles, nine carbines, four shot guns, eight 
 revolvers, three automatic pistols, four Verey 
 pistols, 1,300 rounds of rifle ammunition, 256 
 rounds of revolver ammunition, 40 shot gun 
 cartridges, 63 rounds of automatic pistol 
 ammunition, 36 Mills bombs, 24 hand grenades, 
 48 rounds of Verey pistol ammunition, and 10 
 parachute cartridges. In addition to this haul 
 the raiders took 13 sets of accoutrements, and a 
 number of arms which had recently been sur- 
 rendered to or captured by the police, consisting 
 of 13 shot guns, 44 shot gun cartridges, 3 
 revolvers and 5 rounds of revolver ammunition. 
 The raiders placed all the police records and 
 most of the barrack bedding in a pile and burnt 
 them together with the buildings. The police 
 were searched, stripped of their accoutrements, 
 and then conducted at the point of the revolver 
 to certain houses in the village. 
 
 This was an exceptional case, and is quoted 
 merely to illustrate the method. The success of 
 raids upon occupied barracks has been very slight, 
 in many cases small bodies of police have put up 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 205 
 
 heroic defences against parties of raiders many 
 times out-numbering them. Further particulars 
 of such defences will be dealt with in the chapter 
 dealing with the R.I. C. 
 
 The same remarks may be applied to attacks 
 upon military barracks. On a few occasions the 
 raiders succeeded in surprising the garrison and 
 capturing arms, but far more frequently they 
 were driven off with heavy losses, which could not 
 be determined owing to the secrecy displayed by 
 the Volunteers in the disposal of their casualties. 
 It became a common expression in Ireland that 
 a man had ' ' gone to America, ' ' a phrase imply- 
 ing that he had been killed in the course of 
 fighting with the police or military and had been 
 secretly buried. 
 
 Perhaps the best example of a successful attack 
 upon a military barracks occurred at Mallow, 
 Co. Cork, on 28th September, 1920. In this 
 case the surprise was most carefully planned. 
 A party of fifty armed men waited until half 
 past nine in the morning, when the majority of 
 the occupants of the barracks, the 17th Lancers, 
 were out exercising horses. They then rushed 
 the sentry, disarmed him, swept into the guard- 
 room, and engaged the guard. In the fight 
 which ensued the sergeant of the guard was 
 fatally wounded, and his men were eventually 
 overpowered. One, however, escaped and leap- 
 ing on a horse galloped out to recall the rest of the 
 garrison. The raiders meanwhile loaded up all 
 the arms they could find into two motor-cars, 
 and made an effort to burn down the barracks by 
 
206 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 placing trusses of hay in the barrack-rooms, 
 saturating them with petrol, and setting them 
 on fire. In this they were not successful, owing 
 probably to their eagerness to decamp before 
 they were interrupted. The arms captured on 
 this occasion consisted of 25 service rifles, 2 
 Hotchkiss machine guns, 4,000 rounds of 
 ammunition, and 20 swords and lances, together 
 with some boots and equipment. 
 
 Raids on barracks, both military and police, 
 are dealt with elsewhere, as has already been 
 explained. But raids on lighthouse and coast- 
 guard stations, since they have for their exclusive 
 object the capture of arms and explosives, may 
 be fully dealt with here. These establishments 
 are equipped with explosives and signalling 
 apparatus for the sole purpose of assisting 
 navigation. Lighthouses in many cases give 
 warning during foggy weather by means of 
 explosive sound signals, similar to " maroons." 
 Coast-guard stations are supplied with devices 
 for saving life from wrecks, including rockets, 
 and signalling devices which involve the use of 
 explosive substances. Through long custom 
 shipping has learnt to depend upon these con- 
 ditions, and any interference with them could 
 not but tend to induce mariners to avoid coasts 
 where such interference was apt to take place. 
 But the incidental causing of danger to shipping 
 did not weigh with the Republican leaders in 
 their desperate search for explosives. Between 
 Ist January, 1920, and 1st January, 1921, forty- 
 six raids were made upon lighthouses and coast- 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 207 
 
 guard stations, and in nearly every case the 
 essential equipment of the establishment was 
 removed. 
 
 On 31st July, 1920, six men, masked and dis- 
 guised and some carrying rifles, made their way 
 into Mizen Head lighthouse, demanded the key 
 of the magazine from the lighthouse keeper on 
 watch, and took away all the explosives they 
 found there. Mizen Head lighthouse is situated 
 in the extreme south-west of Ireland, and is of 
 the first importance as the landfall for eastbound 
 vessels proceeding to Queenstown and Liverpool 
 via St. George's Channel. 
 
 On 24th September, 1920, at five minutes past 
 eleven in the morning, thirteen armed men forced 
 their way into Hook Head lighthouse, on the 
 south coast of Co. Wexford, and took away 820 
 charges of gun-cotton, 2,165 detonators, and 2 
 telescopes. In both the above cases the lighthouses 
 in question were thus rendered utterly useless aa 
 aids to navigation in foggy weather. 
 
 Raids upon coast-guard stations were carried 
 out upon very similar lines. The most striking 
 example is the practically simultaneous attack 
 on two stations five miles distant from one 
 another : at Castletownbeer and Ballycrovane on 
 the northern shores of Bantry Bay, on July 25th, 
 1920. The former station was attacked by a 
 number of armed men shortly after mid-day. 
 Two of the raiders dressed in khaki rode up to 
 the station on military bicycles, and were allowed 
 to approach by the coastguardsman on duty, 
 who naturally took them for British soldiers. 
 
208 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 They suddenly held him up at the points of their 
 revolvers, whereupon their companions broke 
 cover and rushed in. Some attacked the 
 Divisional Officer with an axe, while others set to 
 work to find arms. After a sharp tussle the 
 raiders were driven off before any injuries had 
 been sustained by the garrison. One of the 
 raiders was subsequently found in the vicinity 
 with a broken leg, and was arrested. 
 
 Twenty minutes later the storm burst upon 
 Ballycrovane. Here there was no attempt at 
 surprise. A party of about 150 men rushed the 
 station and killed Chief Officer Snowden and 
 Petty Officer Brown while they were endeavour- 
 ing to defend the place against such overwhelm- 
 ing odds. The remainder of the garrison, eight 
 men in all, were compelled to surrender when 
 they had expended their ammunition. The 
 raiders, who are known to have suffered heavily, 
 carried off with them twelve rifles, four pistols, a 
 typewriter and some rockets. 
 
 The subject of attacks upon isolated 
 individuals or bodies of soldiers or police is dealt 
 with elsewhere, as in most cases the principal 
 object of these attacks was murder, and the cap- 
 ture of arms or equipment was only incidental. 
 But in many cases ambushes were laid for lonely 
 men or for small parties, apparently with the sole 
 purpose of disarming them or taking their 
 equipment. For instance, at 3 p.m. on 19th 
 September, 1920, a soldier on a bicycle conveying 
 a despatch from Mullinahone to Knockvilla, in 
 County Tipperary, was held up by a party of 
 
THE ARMING OF THE REPUBLIC. 209 
 
 armed and masked men who deprived him of his 
 bicycle and uniform. He was astute enough to 
 conceal his despatch from his assailants and 
 succeeded in delivering it intact. 
 
 During the morning of 15th September, 1920, 
 a train was held up at Morley's Bridge, Co. 
 Kerry, by a party of armed men. Two con- 
 stables of the R.I.C. who were travelling in the 
 train were disarmed. 
 
 It would be possible to cite many more 
 instances of the capture of arms by the Volun- 
 teers, but sufficient has already been said to 
 enable some idea to be gained of the methods by 
 which the Republicans endeavoured to augment 
 the stores of arms at their disposal in despite of 
 the efforts of the Grovemment. 
 
 o 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 
 
 Having now traced the organization and arma- 
 ment of the Republican forces, we are in a 
 position to deal with the campaign of outrage 
 carried out by them, a campaign which has 
 spread horror throughout the civilized world. 
 The point of view of the organizers of the out- 
 rage campaign is difficult to understand. It is 
 easy to imagine that the rank and file, and even 
 the junior officers, of the Volunteers, having been 
 carefully trained in military duties, might wel- 
 come the exhortations of An T'Oglac to carry out 
 a guerilla warfare against the British armed 
 forces. Throughout their history Irishmen have 
 shown a fighting spirit which could, by the arts 
 of skilful leaders of men, be turned into any 
 channel. The valour of the Irish regiments of 
 the British Army is proof enough of this. The 
 murder of policemen and soldiers is perhaps only 
 the perversion of this fighting spirit under the 
 influence of malignant leadership. The Volun- 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 211 
 
 teers have been laboriously trained to regard the 
 English as their natural enemies, and after a 
 time they have developed the instinct to slay these 
 enemies upon any favourable opportunity, by fair 
 means or foul. 
 
 But the same reasoning cannot apply to the 
 responsible leaders of the Republican movement. 
 They cannot have believed at any time that the 
 British Empire could be defeated by any methods 
 which they could adopt, or even be terrorised into 
 granting the status of an independent Republic 
 to Ireland at any cost of destruction and blood- 
 shed. In turning the country into a shambles 
 they have proclaimed their own incompetence to 
 rule, have made it the more impossible for 
 British troops and police to withdraw and leave 
 an intimidated population at the mercy of a 
 gang of murderers. They have preached a war 
 upon England, a war in which, as England has 
 refused to recognize it, they must take the offen- 
 sive in their own coimtry, which must therefore 
 suffer destruction at their own hands. If Eng- 
 land has not in the past been wholly innocent of 
 offence to Ireland, her guilt is as nothing com- 
 pared with the guilt of those who have in recent 
 years let loose every weapon of outrage upon their 
 unfortunate compatriots. It is indeed, in the 
 words of the Prime Minister, " a hellish policy," 
 and a policy that can have no shadow of justifica- 
 tion nor hope of condonation. 
 
 Although the outrage campaign has been in 
 operation for some years, it will be convenient to 
 deal with its manifestations in 1920 alone, in 
 
212 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 order that its relation to Irish administration in 
 that year may be more clearly understood. It 
 was in this year that the number and brutality 
 of the outrages committed by the Republicans 
 reached their climax, as the statistics and 
 examples that follow will indicate. 
 
 For the purposes of examination, the outrages 
 committed under the auspices of the Republican 
 organisations may be classified as follows. 
 
 Attacks on members of the police forces. 
 
 Attacks on members of the military forces. 
 
 Attacks on civilians. 
 
 Destruction of court-houses. 
 
 Destruction of police barracks. 
 
 Raids on mails. 
 
 Raids on coast-guard stations and lighthouses. 
 
 Raids for arms. 
 
 The last two forms of outrage have been dealt 
 with in the preceding chapter, and there is no 
 need to refer to them again here. 
 
 We may begin with an account of attacks on 
 members of the police forces. This heading 
 covers the ambushing of parties of police (a very 
 favourite form of Volunteer activity), police 
 casualties sustained during raids upon barracks 
 or in the course of riots, attacks upon solitary 
 policemen, and the deliberate murder of 
 particular members of the police forces. 
 
 During the period from the 1st January, 1920, 
 to 1st January, 1921, 165 members of the police 
 forces have been killed, 225 woimded, and a very 
 large number fired at in attempts at murder. 
 The nature of these outrages can best be demon- 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 213 
 
 strated by taking the records for a given week, 
 and also by describing certain particular cases. 
 For this purpose, the week from noon on Septem- 
 ber 25 to noon on October 2nd may be selected, 
 not because more attacks were made on police 
 during that week than during any other, but 
 because it was a fair average week as regards 
 outrage on the whole. 
 
 During this week 6 police were killed, 6 
 wounded, and 22 fired at without their sustaining 
 injury. Two other police died during the week 
 from the result of wounds previously received, 
 bringing the total police mortality up to eight. 
 Short details of the killings and woundings are 
 as follows. 
 
 At 9 p.m. on 25th September a party of five 
 police were fired upon in the village of Broad- 
 ford, in the Six-Mile-Bridge district of County 
 Clare, by a party of armed men. Constable 
 Brogan was shot dead, and Constable Brennan 
 was seriously wounded. The others escaped 
 injury. 
 
 During the afternoon of 29th September, 
 Constables Downey and O'Keefe were shot dead 
 beside the police barrack in a public-house 
 at O'Brien's Bridge, County Clare. The 
 assailants escaped. 
 
 At 1.30 p.m. on 29th September a police patrol 
 consisting of four men, while returning from 
 Borrisoleigh to Goldings Cross in the Temple- 
 more district of County Tipperary, was 
 ambushed midway between the two places. Two 
 of the patrol, Constables Flood and Noonan, were 
 
214 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 shot dead. Of the others, one was wounded and 
 one escaped injury. The police returned the 
 fire but it could not be ascertained whether the 
 assailants suffered any casualties. The body of 
 Constable Flood was found completely riddled 
 beside a hedge. 
 
 At 2,20 p.m. on 29th September a sergeant 
 and six constables were attacked and fired upon 
 by fifty armed and masked men near Waterville, 
 in the Cahirciveen district of County Kerry. 
 The police fought valiantly, and all escaped with 
 the exception of one man who was not very 
 severely wounded. The raiders took seven 
 bicycles, two rifles, and six police capes. 
 
 At 10 p.m. on 28th September Sergeant Dee 
 was fired at in the village of Drimoleague in the 
 Bantry district of County Cork. He was 
 seriously wounded, receiving five bullet wounds 
 in the body. 
 
 At 5.30 p.m. on 30th September a motor lorry 
 patrol was fired on at Leitrim, between Bunadden 
 and Tubbercurry, County Sligo. District 
 Inspector Brady was shot dead and Head Con- 
 stable O'Hara seriously wounded in the leg. 
 Constable Brown was slightly wounded in the 
 head. The police returned the fire, with what 
 result is not known. 
 
 Such, in the bald language of the police 
 reports, is the record of an average week of 
 murder and attempted murder by the Republi- 
 cans. In no single case is there any indication 
 of open warfare, the methods of the assailants 
 are those of common assassins, cfareful never to 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 215 
 
 act until they are in overwhelming numbers and 
 have covered their line of retreat. Fuller 
 accounts of the murders of policemen merely 
 emphasise the cowardly and brutal methods of 
 the ruffians who style themselves soldiers of the 
 Irish Republic. Of these, three instances will 
 be sufficient, the murders of District Inspector 
 Brady, mentioned above, of County Inspector 
 Smyth, and of Sergeant Mulherne. 
 
 The following is an extract from a report 
 (made on the spot) of the ambushing during 
 which District Inspector Brady was killed. 
 
 ** I beg to state that on 30th September Dis- 
 trict Inspector Brady, Head Constable O'Hara 
 and seven men from Tubbercurry went to Sligo 
 on duty per motor lorry by direct road. They 
 left Sligo for their station about 4 p.m. taking a 
 different route via Ballymote. 
 
 '* When they arrived at Leitrim, which is 
 about 2 miles from Tubbercurry on the road 
 between Bunadden and Tubbercurry, they were 
 fired on with rifles from an elaborately prepared 
 ambush behind loopholed walls situated on 
 elevated ground on each side of the road. The 
 spot was a regular death-trap and afforded no 
 chance of success to the police even if they had 
 been in a position to dismount and attack. 
 District Inspector Brady received three dreadful 
 wounds in the region of the kidneys, apparently 
 caused by expanding buUets. The calf of Head 
 Constable O'Hara's right leg was practically 
 blown away and the big toe of his left foot 
 shattered. Constable Brown received a slight 
 
216 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 superficial wound on the cheek. The lorry drove 
 on, under a heavy fire, to which the police replied 
 as well as they could. They could not see their 
 cowardly assailants, who were safely entrenched 
 in strong numbers behind their loopholed walls. 
 On their arrival at Tubbercurry they found the 
 telegraph wires to Sligo had been cut, and so a 
 party of police from Tubbercurry had to come 
 into Sligo by the motor lorry to inform the 
 County Inspector, arriving there at 9.15 p.m. 
 D. I. Russell of Sligo took a party of sixteen 
 police from Sligo, together with D. I. Dease 
 (who was returning to Tubbercurry off sick- 
 leave) and a party of ten soldiers under an officer, 
 and they all arrived at Tubbercurry shortly after 
 11 p.m. D. I. Russell and Dease went into the 
 R.I.C. Barracks and found that D. I. Brady 
 had died at about 8.30 p.m., and his naked body 
 was lying on the kitchen floor having just been 
 washed after death." (It is a peculiarly sad 
 feature of the case that D. I. Brady was to have 
 returned to his permanent station, Ballymoney, 
 County Antrim, on the next day). " Head 
 Constable O'Hara was lying in a room off the 
 kitchen, suffering intense pain. 
 
 *'An attempt to hold an inquest on the body of 
 D. I. Brady yesterday was abortive. Only 
 seven persons attended. The state of terrorism 
 which now prevails in the county generally 
 renders any attempt to hold an inquest on a 
 murdered member of the R.I.C. a pure farce and 
 waste of time. The remains of poor young D.I. 
 Brady were carried through the town of Tubber- 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 217 
 
 cnnry yesterday evening on the shoulders of the 
 local police. No outsider had the moral courage 
 to show any sympathy by joining in the little 
 cortege composed of the forces of the Crown. 
 This ostracism affects the men of the R.I.C. very 
 much. Living or dead they are social outcasts. 
 I went to the scene of the ambush with police and 
 a few soldiers and made a thorough search and as 
 much inquiry as time permitted of. There was 
 every evidence that a large gang took part in the 
 ambush and there is reason to believe the other 
 road by which this lorry might have returned was 
 also ambushed. Stone walls on each side of the 
 road had been loopholed and the raiders had 
 brought supplies of food and drink judging by 
 the bottles and paper littered about. They had 
 also made themselves temporary couches of straw 
 on which to lie. The military officer who was 
 with me says that a person with a good deal of 
 military knowledge must have selected the spot 
 and had something to do with the loopholing. 
 After the shooting a number of men carrying 
 rifles were seen retiring in a southerly direction, 
 so that there is a strong probability that Irish 
 Volunteers from South Sligo and the localities 
 of Gurteen, Mullaghmore, and the country west 
 of Lough Gara took a part. 
 
 ** The ambushing of small parties of R.I.C. 
 now appears to be a definite plan of campaign 
 of the Irish Volunteers, who select suitable spots 
 and plaoe fairly large forces in them to deal with 
 any forces of police passing that way. A party 
 of police passing through a wood near Tubber- 
 
218 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 curry on October 1st were fired at by a party 
 in ambush. So far, as a result of the activities 
 of the South Sligo Irish Volunteers, we have had 
 one District Inspector and two constables 
 murdered, and one Head Constable and four 
 constables wounded." 
 
 The murder of Colonel Smyth was an instance 
 of deliberate and cold-blooded assassination 
 carried out by emissaries of the Republicans. 
 The circumstances that led up to it are worthy 
 of a short description, for they form a remark- 
 able indictment of the methods of the Volunteers. 
 
 On the 10th July, 1920, a certain section of 
 the Irish Press published an extract from the 
 *' Irish Bulletin " (a multigraphed sheet issued 
 periodically by the propaganda department of 
 the Sinn Fein organisation). The gist of the 
 extract was that Colonel Smyth, Divisional Com- 
 missioner R.I.C., had, on the 19th June, 1920, 
 made an inflammatory speech to the men at Lis- 
 towel barracks, in County Kerry. It was 
 alleged that the speech was an incitement to 
 murder, and it was widely advertised as such by 
 the Republicans as an example of encouragement 
 given by the authorities to the police to murder 
 innocent Irish people. 
 
 Colonel Smyth gave a correct report of the 
 speech which he had made at Listowel on 19th 
 June, which report was subsequently published 
 in '* The Times " of 30th July, 1920. It was 
 evident that the original report of the speech, as 
 given by the " Irish Bulletin," had been a com- 
 plete misrepresentation of Colonel Smyth's 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 219 
 
 actual words, and was probably based upon the 
 verbal account of a disaffected constable who had 
 been present on the occasion. 
 
 A month later, on July 17th, Colonel Smyth, 
 who had just returned to Ireland from a three 
 days' visit to England, was sitting in the 
 smoking-room of the County Club at Cork with 
 County Inspector Craig. At 10.30 p.m. a 
 number of armed men forced their way into the 
 Club, overpowering the hall porter, and fourteen 
 of the party made their way into the smoking- 
 room. One of them pointed out Colonel Smyth, 
 who was promptly riddled with revolver bullets 
 and died within a few seconds. County Inspec- 
 tor Craig was also wounded. 
 
 Colonel Smyth was one of two gallant 
 brothers, both of whom had magnificent war 
 records, and both of whom had been wounded in 
 the service of their country. The second 
 brother, Major Smyth, was shot dead on the 11th 
 October by assassins whom he was endeavouring 
 to arrest in a house in Drumcondra, Dublin. 
 This murder is described below. 
 
 There is one feature in the case of the shooting 
 of Sergeant Mulherne which distinguishes it 
 from many other brutal murders which took 
 place during the year. The unfortunate man 
 was in the act of leaving the Roman Catholic 
 Church of Bandon, County Cork, at a few 
 minutes past eight in the morning of 25th July, 
 when he was shot dead actually in the porch of 
 the church by four or five armed men who had 
 been waiting for him. It is noteworthy that in 
 
220 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 this case the Bishop of Cork pronounced an 
 interdict against the murderers.* 
 
 It must be clearly realised that the cases cited 
 above are not mere isolated incidents, but are 
 chosen as representative of a series of murders 
 which have been carried out by Republicans 
 throughout the year. These cases illustrate two 
 forms of assassination : ambush by overwhelming 
 forces, and deliberate and carefully planned 
 murder of selected victims. It may be of interest 
 to note that at the time of the murder of Colonel 
 Smyth, at Cork, Terence McSwiney, then Lord 
 Mayor of Cork, was also Commandant of the 
 First Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican 
 Army. 
 
 Attacks upon members of the military forces 
 were carried out by much the same methods. 
 During the period from 1st January, 1920, to 
 1st January, 1921, 53 military were killed, 118 
 wounded, and a very large number fired at 
 ineffectually. The majority of these men were 
 attacked while making arrests in the execution of 
 their duty, or in the course of ambushes, or while 
 acting as sentries in exposed positions. An 
 example of each of these forms of attack will 
 sufificiently illustrate the methods employed. 
 
 During the night of October llth-12th, a party 
 of troops, commanded by Major G. O. S. Smyth, 
 and including Captain A. P. White, demanded 
 admittance to a house known as Fernside, in 
 Drumcondra, on the outskirts of Dublin, the 
 
 * Bee the statement printed at the end of this chapter 
 (page 236). 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 221 
 
 residence of Mr. John Carolan, with the object 
 of arresting a suspected person said to be lodging 
 there. Entry to the house was not opposed, and 
 the ordinary room-to-room search proceeded 
 normally until the top floor was reached. As 
 Major Smyth entered a room on this floor, he was 
 shot at point-blank range while opening the door, 
 and fell dead. A hail of fire was then opened 
 from the room down the narrow passage outside, 
 and Captain White, who had dashed to Major 
 Smyth's assistance, was so severely wounded that 
 he died shortly after. Corporal Worth, who was 
 on the stairs, was also seriously wounded. The 
 remaining members of the party, assisted by Mr. 
 Carolan, the owner of the house, made a gallant 
 attempt to enter the room, in the course of which 
 Mr. Carolan was seriously wounded. Two of 
 the party who had been guarding the rear of the 
 house rushed into the building when they heard 
 the firing. During their absence the assassins 
 are believed to have jumped from the window of 
 their room on to the roof of a glass-house in the 
 garden, and so to have made their escape. 
 
 At 6-15 p.m. on 20th July, 1920, a military 
 lorry going from Macroom to Ballyvourney, in 
 County Cork, was ambushed by a party of armed 
 men who fired two volleys into the lorry while it 
 was passing between high banks which overhung 
 both sides of the road. All the members of the 
 military party, together with a naval wireless 
 operator, were wounded, more or less severely. 
 Captain Airey subsequently died from the effects 
 of his wounds. 
 
222 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 The Volunteers, however, did not always find 
 the ambushing of troops a profitable occupation, 
 as the following account shows : — 
 
 At about a quarter to four in the afternoon of 
 8th September, 1920, a military lorry carrying 
 an officer and a party of eight men of the Essex 
 Regiment was travelling along the road from 
 Ballineen to Dunmanway, County Cork, when 
 the officer in charge noticed a band of about 
 twenty men collected on the road some three 
 quarters of a mile ahead. When these men saw 
 the lorry they jumped into the ditches that border 
 the road. The lorry prepared for action, and 
 drove slowly on. When it reached the point 
 where the band had first been observed, the 
 members of the latter were seen with arms in 
 their hands running for the cover of a wood 
 near by. Half of the military party gave chase, 
 and were promptly fired on, but without effect. 
 They returned the fire and wounded two of their 
 assailants. The other half of the party remained 
 to guard the lorry. They, too, were fired upon 
 by about thirty men and returned the fire. 
 
 Although in such overwhelming numbers, the 
 attackers thought better of the matter, and 
 decamped. On the scene of the ambush, and 
 about five yards from the road, a man, John 
 Murray, was found lying in the gorse. He 
 stated that he was told to lie there till he saw 
 the lorry and then to give a signal. He was 
 searched, but no arms were found on him, and in 
 order to keep him out of mischief he was 
 subsequently removed to the local workhouse. On 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 223 
 
 22nd of September he was tried by Court Martial 
 at Cork and acquitted. 
 
 Just previous to the firing, another man, 
 riding a skewbald horse, was seen about the spot. 
 He saluted the officer in charge, but subsequently, 
 when the latter was climbing the hedge to begin 
 his pursuit of the raiders, he fired two revolver 
 shots at him and rode away. 
 
 A fair was going on in the village of Ballineen 
 at the time, and this gave the attackers the 
 opportunity of concentrating unobserved. The 
 site of the attack is particularly adapted to the 
 purpose of an ambush, there being a hedge and a 
 deep ditch on either side of the road, which is 
 flariced by heavy undergrowth and a wood. 
 
 As an example of the murder of a soldier on 
 patrol that of Lance- Corporal Maddox, who was 
 shot dead at Bandon, County Cork, at 12-30 
 a.m. on 27th July, 1920, may be mentioned. 
 
 Attacks upon civilians by the Republicans are 
 usually in the nature of murders of marked 
 men whom the various organizations consider 
 dangerous, or of persons whom they suspect of 
 informing or of betraying their secrets. During 
 the period from 1st January, 1920, to 1st 
 January, 1921, 43 civilians were murdered, and 
 103 wounded. The most sensational murders of 
 marked men were those of Messrs. Alan Bell and 
 Frank Brooke and of Captain Lendrum. 
 
 Mr. Alan Bell was a Resident Magistrate, and 
 during March, 1920, he was engaged in Dublin 
 upon investigations into the relations between 
 certain Irish Banks and the Sinn Fein 
 
224 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 organizations. At about ten o'clock in the 
 morning of March 26th, 1920, he boarded a tram 
 at Monkstown on the outskirts of Dublin in order 
 to proceed from his home to his office in Dublin 
 Castle. When the tram reached a stopping place 
 at the end of Sandymount Avenue, a party of 
 about half a dozen men, who had evidently been 
 awaiting the arrival of the car on which Mr. 
 Bell was travelling, boarded the car. Two of 
 them stepped up to their victim and tapped him 
 on the shoulder, saying " Come on, Mr. Bell, 
 your time has come." They then dragged him 
 from the car on to the footpath beside the road, 
 and shot him dead with their revolvers. 
 
 It is important to note that this affair todc 
 place actually in Dublin itself during one of the 
 busiest periods of the day, when the inhabitants 
 of the suburbs were coming into the City to their 
 work; and the fact that no attempt was made 
 by any of the onlookers to prevent the crime or to 
 impede the escape of the murderers is a striking 
 illustration of the reign of terror established by 
 the Republicans even in the capital of the 
 country. 
 
 The case of Mr. Brooke was very curious. The 
 Right Honourable Frank Brooke, D.L., was 
 chairman of the Dublin and South Eastern 
 Railway Company. He was an Irish Privy 
 Councillor, and a member of Lord French's 
 Advisory Committee. For some time previous 
 to his murder he had received a series of 
 threatening letters, and he was under constant 
 police protection. At 12-30 p.m. on July 30th, 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 225 
 
 1920, he was seated in his office at Westland Row 
 Station, Dublin, when a small band of armed 
 men burst in and shot him dead. The motives 
 for the deed are obscure, but it is probable that 
 the part he had played in the railway dispute 
 was responsible for the murder. The verdict of 
 the Coroner's jury on the affair is interesting. 
 It is as follows : " Francis H. Brooke died on the 
 30th of July, 1920, from shock and haemorrhage 
 caused by bullets fired from a revolver by persons 
 unknown. We consider this a premeditated 
 wilful murder and we express our abhorrence of 
 the crime and tender our sincere sympathy with 
 the family and friends of the deceased." 
 
 Captain Lendrum, a Resident Magistrate for 
 County Clare, was ambushed on 22nd September 
 while motoring from Ennistymon to Ennis, in 
 County Clare. Nothing more was heard of him, 
 and the local police threatened reprisals unless 
 news of him was forthcoming. Some days later 
 two men interviewed the District Inspector and 
 informed him that Captain Lendrum had been 
 shot dead at the time of his ambush on the 22nd, 
 but that the Republicans would give up his body 
 if the police were withheld from the threatened 
 reprisals for a period sufficient to enable them to 
 obtain the body, as ** at present there were 
 difficulties in the way." The informants stated 
 to the District Inspector that they were compelled 
 to deliver the information under a threat from 
 the Irish Volunteers. Information was received 
 at 10 a.m. on 1st October, 1920, that a coffin had 
 been seen on the railway line at Kilmurray, and 
 
 p 
 
226 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 the police on proceeding to that place found the 
 body, which bore traces of immersion in sea- 
 water, and was wrapped in a sheet enclosed in a 
 rudely-constructed coffin of white wood. On the 
 lid of the coffin was pencilled in capital letters 
 " To Kilkee." The fact of the body showing 
 signs of having been in the sea for some days 
 would account for the ** difficulty in the way " 
 referred to by the informers. 
 
 The following is one out of the many instances 
 of the murders of men suspected by the 
 Republicans of having betrayed them : — 
 
 On the evening of 21st September, 1920, the 
 body of an unknown man with a bullet wound 
 in the head was found in a field of corn at 
 Knockroe, in the Bagenalstovm district of 
 County Car low. A label was attached to the 
 man's clothing, bearing the words " Spies and 
 Informers Beware! " 
 
 We may now turn from the consideration of 
 outrages upon the person to outrages upon 
 property. It has long been part of the policy of 
 the Republicans to destroy Government property 
 whenever possible, regardless of the fact that the 
 results of such destruction must inevitably be 
 borne by their own country, and would be most 
 severely felt by themselves if they succeeded in 
 forming the Republic they desire. 
 
 The first heading under this description of 
 outrage is the destruction of court houses. These 
 establishments besides being the centres of 
 justice usually contain the records of the district 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 227 
 
 and such public property as standard weights 
 and measures. It is easy to believe that criminals 
 such as those forming the ranks of the Irish 
 Republican Army would regard the destruction 
 of court houses with special delight, and it is 
 quite possible that certain sections of the general 
 populace would hesitate to interfere with them. 
 
 During the period from January 1st, 1920, to 
 January 1st, 1921, 68 court houses were 
 destroyed, mostly by the simple expedient of 
 burning them down. Three of these destructions 
 took place during the week from 28th August to 
 4th September, 1920, and the extracts from the 
 police reports for this week will illustrate them. 
 
 In the morning of August 31st, 1920, the 
 court house and vacated R.I.C. barracks at 
 Celbridge, County Kildare, were maliciously 
 destroyed by fire. 
 
 At 1 a.m. on September 3rd, 1920, the court 
 house at Ballinamore, County Leitrim, was set 
 on fire and completely destroyed. 
 
 At 3 a.m. on 4th September, 1920, the court 
 house and vacated R.I.C. barracks at Mount- 
 mellick, Queen's County, were maliciously 
 burned down. 
 
 Another example, showing the destruction of 
 records, is as follows : — 
 
 During the morning of 23rd August, 1920, a 
 party of men attacked Collooney court house, in 
 the Ballymote district of County Sligo. They 
 broke up the furniture and burned it, together 
 with the statutes and books. 
 
 Of perhaps more importance is the organised 
 
228 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 campaign of destruction of police barracks. It 
 was found, soon after the inauguration of the 
 outrage campaign, that it was impossible for the 
 police to defend themselves when they were 
 scattered in small parties all over the country. 
 A policy was therefore put into operation by 
 which the police were withdrawn from outlying 
 stations and concentrated at the larger and more 
 important centres, the vacated barracks being 
 thus left unoccupied. The Republican reply to 
 this policy was to begin a campaign of systematic 
 burning of vacated barracks, while at the same 
 time organizing attacks upon such occupied 
 barracks as they felt strong enough to capture 
 without much risk. 
 
 During the period between 1st January, 1920, 
 and 1st January, 1921, 507 vacated barracks 
 were destroyed and 114 damaged, mostly by 
 parties of armed and masked men who were able 
 to burn them down without much fear, of 
 interruption. But it frequently happened that 
 the Volunteers did not have things all their 
 own way. On more than one occasion the 
 vacated barracks were kept under observation, 
 and the destruction parties were routed with 
 considerable loss as soon as they started their 
 operations. 
 
 The figures of the destruction of occupied 
 barracks tell a very different tale. During the 
 period from 1st of January, 1920 to 1st January, 
 1921, 23 occupied barracks were destroyed and 
 49 damaged. The story is always much the 
 same : an overwhelming force of raiders arrives 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 229 
 
 upon the scene armed and equipped with 
 combustibles, and proceeds to lay regular siege 
 to the threatened barracks. A few results of 
 successful resistances are as follows : — 
 
 At 1-45 a.m. on 13th August, 1920, Castle- 
 bald win R.I.C. barracks were attacked by a large 
 party of armed men. The police garrison 
 returned their fire, and after three quarters of 
 an hour of ineffectual firing the attackers with- 
 drew. None of the police was injured. 
 
 Perhaps the best example is contained in the 
 reports on a series of attacks delivered within a 
 five mile radius in Coimty Donegal early in the 
 morning of the 30th August, 1920. The brief 
 reports speak for themselves. 
 
 At 1 a.m. on August 30th Bally shannon 
 R.I.C. barracks were attacked by a large party 
 of armed men. The attackers were driven off 
 without loss to the garrison. 
 
 At 1-50 a.m. on 30th August Bundoran R.I.C. 
 barracks were attacked by armed raiders for an 
 hour. The attackers were driven off without loss 
 to the garrison. 
 
 In the early hours of the morning of 30th 
 August Donegal R.I.C. barracks were attacked 
 by a large party of armed men. The attackers 
 were repelled. None of the police was injured. 
 
 Surely this night's work bears out the acid 
 comment in AnT'Oglac of June, 1920, that " no 
 fortified place was ever taken by firing rifle 
 shots at it from a distance 1 ' ' 
 
 An instance of the success of the Volunteers 
 
230 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 against an occupied barracks is contained in a 
 report as follows : — 
 
 At 10 a.m. on 5th September, 1920, a party of 
 armed men disguised as soldiers entered the 
 police barracks in Bellah, County Fermanagh. 
 Having gained entry through their disguise, they 
 overpowered the occupants and seized all the 
 arms and ammunition they could find. The 
 barracks were then set on fire and destroyed. 
 
 There is no doubt that in the case of attacks 
 upon occupied barracks, the balance of advantage 
 rests upon the side of the police, whose heroic 
 defence of their stations against overwhelming 
 numbers would in itself make a chapter of 
 history. 
 
 We now come to a form of outrage which 
 became extremely prevalent throughout the year, 
 namely, raids upon mails. These raids appeared 
 to be undertaken by the Volunteers on behalf of 
 their intelligence service. By examination of the 
 mails and the removal of official correspondence 
 they hoped to discover the counter-measures taken 
 by the authorities to deal with the campaign of 
 outrage. Further than this, they hoped to obtain 
 evidence of local feeling, to discover possible 
 informers and the sentiments of the population. 
 Their methods varied from the holding up of 
 trains to the stopping of solitary postmen. It is 
 obviously impossible to provide armed escorts for 
 every man or vehicle carrying the mails, and in 
 a country like Ireland, abounding in spots 
 favourable to ambush, there is no possibility of 
 guarding against a wholesale campaign of mail- 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 231 
 
 raiding. During the period from let January, 
 1920, to 1st January, 1921, there were 998 raids 
 on mails of various kinds, of which typical 
 examples are as follows : — 
 
 At 7-10 a.m. on July 15th, 1920, about twenty- 
 two armed men entered the sorting and mails 
 department of the Dublin General Post Office* at 
 the Rotunda Rink. They held up all the 
 officials and took away the following bags of 
 correspondence : a bag for the Secretary, G.P.O., 
 several bundles of letters for the Accountant, 
 G.P.O., a pouch for the Registrar-General, a 
 sorting box for the Engineer, G.P.O., a bag for 
 the Local Government Board, a bag for the 
 Surveyor of Taxes, a bag for the Under 
 Secretary's office, two bundles containing about 
 fifty letters for the R.I.C., about a hundred 
 miscellaneous letters for Dublin Castle, eighty 
 letters for the Vice-Regal Lodge, a bag for the 
 General Prisons Board, and a bag for the 
 Cashier Irish Command. 
 
 Three men carried the letters and bags to a 
 motor-car which was in waiting at the western 
 side of the Square outside the office. A large 
 bag containing the correspondence for the R.I.C. 
 was lying o.n the floor partly under a table in the 
 State Letter Department and was apparently 
 unnoticed by the raiders, who remained twelve 
 minutes in the building, leaving at 7-22 a.m. on 
 a signal given by their leader, who blew a whistle. 
 
 ♦The G. P.O. -building in Dublin was burnt out during the 
 Easter Week Rebellion, 1916. Since then the various poBtal 
 serviceB of the City have been carried out in various 
 temporary ofBces. 
 
232 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 He was the last to leave the premises, and 
 counted off his men as they left. The premises 
 are entered by gates at the eastern and western 
 sides of the Rotunda, and the raid was carried 
 out simultaneously at each side, the raiders 
 driving the officials before them into the centre 
 of the building at the point of their revolvers. 
 When the raiders entered they immediately took 
 possession of the telephones and emergency 
 switches in the building and so prevented any 
 information being conveyed until the raid was 
 completed. The superintendent was at his 
 post and immediately the raiders had left he 
 telephoned to the police. At the time of the raid 
 there were in all about a hundred and fifty 
 officials, including postmen and overseers, on the 
 premises. 
 
 Examples of other forms of raids on mails are 
 as follows : — 
 
 At 7 a.m. on 10th September a rural postman 
 from Monaghan to a neighbouring village was 
 held up about three miles from Monaghan by a 
 masked and armed man, and £47 in old-age 
 pension money was taken from him. 
 
 This form of robbery is extremely common. 
 It shows that the Republicans make war, not like 
 the highwaymen of old, upon the richer classes, 
 but upon rich and poor alike. 
 
 At 10-30 a.m. on 13th October, 1920, the mail- 
 car from Tipperary to Limerick Junction, 
 conveying the general night mail, was held up at 
 Bohercrowe in the Tipperary district by armed 
 and masked men, and the contents of the mail- 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 233 
 
 car, sixteen bags, were taken. On the morning 
 of the 14th the mailbags were found by a postman 
 with their seals broken about half a mile from 
 the scene of the raid. The letters were all open 
 and mixed up, and five registered letters were 
 missing. 
 
 On 30th August the 4-45 p.m. train from 
 Mountmellick, Queen's County, was held up by 
 four armed and masked men one mile outside the 
 town. Four mail-bags were rifled and two taken. 
 The passengers' luggage was also searched and 
 some of it taken. 
 
 Instances of mail robberies might be multiplied 
 indefinitely, but enough has been said to enable 
 the position to be realised. So serious did it 
 become that on 12th October, 1920, the Irish 
 Grovernment issued the following statement : — 
 
 "The Government has had under consideration 
 the constantly repeated attacks upon post offices 
 and mails imder conveyance in Ireland, and the 
 threatening letters which have been addressed to 
 individual post office servants in connection with 
 the performance of their duty. As these attacks 
 render it impossible for the Post Office to fulfil 
 its obligations to safeguard the secrecy of the 
 correspondence committed to its care, the 
 Government feels bound to issue a clear warning 
 to the public whose letters are liable to loss or 
 violation to an even greater extent than those of 
 the Government (seeing that the more important 
 Government mails do not go through the post), 
 that, if the practices above referred to are not 
 discontinued, postal services will be curtailed, or 
 
234 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 even altogether withdrawn, in the districts 
 affected." 
 
 Other forms of outrage which are not included 
 under the classification on page 212 have occurred 
 in great numbers, but these can only be very 
 briefly referred to on account of lack of space. 
 For instance, during the months of April and 
 May, 1920, 119 raids were made on Revenue 
 Offices, resulting in the destruction of many 
 official documents and much other public 
 property. A word must also be said upon the 
 subject of Republican war upon women. In 
 pursuance of their policy of boycott against the 
 Forces of the Crown, the Volunteers make a 
 practice of attacking those who are seen speaking 
 to members of these forces. In the case of women, 
 the favourite pimishment is the cropping of their 
 hair. Instances where this has occurred are as 
 follows : — 
 
 At 8-45 p.m. on 31st July, 1920, when two 
 soldiers and two girls were out walking near 
 Navan, Co. Meath, four men presented revolvers 
 at them, knocked down the girls, and cut off their 
 hair. 
 
 At 11 p.m. on 29th September, when Bridget 
 Wynne and Lily Colburn, resident in the Birr 
 district, were returning to their homes at 
 Banagher, King's County, accompanied by two 
 soldiers of the Somerset Light Infantry they were 
 set upon by a party of armed and disguised men, 
 some fifteen or twenty in number, and their hair 
 cut off. 
 
 At 12-30 a.m. on 5th October, 1920, the house 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF OUTRAGE. 235 
 
 of John Kean, at Shaurahan, in the Cahir 
 district of County Tipperary, was entered by 
 three masked and armed men who cropped his 
 daughter's hair. 
 
 Other brutal outrages upon women are 
 common. The following is a good example : — 
 
 At 10-30 p.m. on 14th September, 1920, a 
 barrack servant, sixty years of age, was taken 
 from her lodgings in a village in County Donegal 
 by armed and masked men. They gagged her 
 and took her to a field nearby, where she was 
 kicked in the body and her hair cut off. 
 
 Finally we may give an example of a type of 
 outrage which sufficiently exhibits the mentality 
 of the perpetrators. 
 
 On the morning of the 28th September, 1920, a 
 donkey, the property of Anne McEvoy, of 
 Portarlington, Queen's County, was stabbed in 
 the forehead by a masked man. The animal had 
 been employed in carting turf for the police. 
 
 A statement showing cases of police shot or 
 attacked on their way to or from their churches, 
 and cases where the absence of police at Mass has 
 been taken advantage of to attack barracks. 
 County, Cork. District, Ballincollig. 
 
 When Constables Michael Sweeney and 
 Michael Walsh were leaving Berrings 
 Chapel on 28th September, 1919, they were 
 attacked by a party of 12 men, knocked 
 down, and kicked. Two shots were fired at 
 Constable Sweeney, passing through hia 
 
236 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 body at the upper portion of his lung. The 
 other lodged in his body. 
 
 County, Tipperary. District, Nenagh. 
 
 Constables Jas. Rock and C. Healy, 
 Toomevara, were murdered on 16th 
 March, 1920, when returning from evening 
 devotions. 
 
 County, Clare. District, Kilrush. 
 
 Sergeant P. J. Carroll murdered and 
 Constable Collins seriously wounded on 18th 
 April, 1920, when returning from Mass at 
 Kilmihill. 
 
 County, Cork. District, Fermoy. 
 
 On 24th April, 1920, Arraglen Barrack 
 was raided by a party of 12 armed men while 
 the party (with the exception of the B.O.) 
 was at Divine Service. They overpowered 
 the B.O. after he had twice fired, wolinding 
 one. They blindfolded and bound him, 
 placed him in the lock-up, and took away 
 all arms and ammunition, also the official 
 books. 
 
 County, Cork. District, Bandon. 
 
 On 25th July, 1920, Sergeant Mulherne, 
 R.I.C., entering the R.C. Chapel in Bandon 
 was murdered in the porch of the chapel. 
 
 County, Cork. District, Bandon. 
 
 When Constable Walsh, Mountpleasant, 
 was going to Mass on 2nd May, 1920, he was 
 fired at, the bullet grazing his back. He 
 was also struck by some shots on the face. 
 
 County, Cork, District, Youghal. 
 
 Head Constable Ruddock was fired at 
 
THE CAMPAGN OF OUTRAGE. 237 
 
 and wounded when returning from Divine 
 Service on 1st August, 1920, at Youghal. 
 
 County, Fermanagh. District, Kesh. 
 
 A party of armed men dressed in soldiers' 
 uniform, in motor cars, entered the R.I.C. 
 Barracks, Belleek, at 10-15 a.m. on 5th 
 September, 1920. They overpowered the 
 occupants and seized the arms and 
 ammunition. Some of the police were at 
 Divine Service, and the raiders locked the 
 church door to prevent them coming to the 
 assistance of their comrades. The raiders 
 also burned the barracks. 
 
 County, Meath. District, Trim. 
 
 At about 9 a.m. on 26th September, 1920, 
 Trim R.I.C. Barracks was rushed by a party 
 of masked and armed men, during the 
 absence of five of the garrison at Divine 
 Service. They wounded the Head Constable, 
 took all the arms and ammunition, and 
 burned the barracks. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE TROOPS IN IRELAND AND THE RAILWAY 
 SITUATION. 
 
 Republican sympathisers in Ireland habitually 
 refer to the troops stationed in Ireland as an 
 Army of Occupation, as though the duties of 
 these troops were to keep in subjection a hostile 
 populace. A single fact is sufficient to prove 
 that the British Military forces in Ireland are in 
 no sense an Army of Occupation — the fact that 
 that country is not administered by martial law. 
 That martial law has been proclaimed at 
 different times in eight counties to deal with 
 temporary situations in no way alters the main 
 fact. British troops are maintained in Ireland 
 for the sole purpose of assisting the police to 
 maintain law and order, and they can act in 
 political matters only at the request of the police 
 authorities. 
 
 In a statement issued to the press by the 
 Irish Government in July, 1920, the facts were 
 set out as follows : — 
 
 " British troops are now stationed in Ireland 
 in greater strength than is usual in time of peace 
 for the sole purpose of assisting the Civil Power 
 in maintaining law and order, and in defence of 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 239 
 
 Ireland and the Irish. The policy of the Irish 
 extremists has been shown to be one of destruction 
 of life and property, and it is obvious that 
 whatever may be the future of the country the 
 burden of this destruction must fall upon the 
 shoulders of the Irish nation. It is in order to 
 check the ravages of the extremists that troops 
 are required in augmentation of the police forces. 
 The military in Ireland are in no sense an Army 
 of Occupation; military law has not been 
 proclaimed, and the mere presence of the troops 
 has been found to act as a check upon the 
 campaign of outrage. 
 
 " That the intervention of armed forces is 
 welcomed by the responsible body of Irish 
 opinion has been proved abundantly. Their 
 assistance was recently invoked by the authorities 
 of Londonderry, and their presence on that 
 occasion undoubtedly helped in preventing the 
 development of a still more serious situation. 
 The military precautions taken last week were 
 approved by both Nationalists and Unionists in 
 Ulster, and it is probable that these precautions 
 influenced the marked lack of disorder that 
 accompanied the celebrations of July 12th. 
 
 ** Finally, it would be impossible, by with- 
 drawing British troops from Ireland, to leave 
 the law-abiding majority of that country and the 
 peaceful agents of civil government at the mercy 
 of the forces of disorder, or to remove the sole 
 agency capable of keeping the peace between 
 rival sections of the community." 
 
 This statement sets out the position of the 
 
240 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 British Army in Ireland, and the reasons for its 
 presence. It must be remembered, also, that 
 Ireland has always been a training ground for 
 British troops, and 'that consequently the mere 
 fact of troops being in Ireland has nothing to do 
 with the political situation. The number of 
 troops in the country has necessarily been 
 increased, in order to cope with the activities of 
 the Republicans. These troops, composed mainly 
 of young soldiers, have behaved, under conditions 
 of extreme difficulty, in a manner that must 
 compel the admiration of the civilized world. 
 
 Their position is very similar to that of the 
 Royal Irish Constabulary, which was described 
 in the previous chapter. They are, to all intents 
 and purposes, living in a hostile country, without 
 the advantage of being confronted by a visible 
 enemy from whom they can seek vengeance for 
 injuries sustained. Their duties are perhaps 
 more arduous than those occasioned by active 
 warfare. They are called upon to furnish a 
 constant succession of guards, patrols, and search 
 parties, and when their tour of duty is over they 
 are compelled to spend the greater part of their 
 leisure in barracks. There is no single minute of 
 the day or night in which they can relax their 
 vigilance. They may at any moment be attacked 
 by overwhelming numbers, their barracks may be 
 stormed, each individual may be waylaid and 
 shot without warning. 
 
 Nor do the actions of the Republicans cease at 
 murder and bodily injury. Soldiers are insulted 
 every day in a thousand different ways. Every 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 241 
 
 effort is made by the Republicans to prevent them 
 from associating with the Irish population. 
 They are treated as pariahs and outcasts in the 
 country which it is their duty to defend. As a 
 consequence they dislike their surroimdings, are 
 forced to regard the Irish as their enemies, and 
 long for an opportunity of retaliation upon them 
 by legitimate means. 
 
 Yet in spite of this provocation, they have 
 maintained the traditions of the British Army, 
 have proved their steadiness and their discipline, 
 and with it all have kept up that wonderful 
 cheerfulness and spirit which were the 
 admiration of the world throughout the War. 
 There is abundant evidence that the troops are 
 popular with the Irish population where the 
 latter are not under the influence of Republican 
 terrorism, that in the more law-abiding parts of 
 the country they are welcomed and treated as 
 honoured visitors. But it is of course in the 
 disturbed areas that their qualities of discipline 
 have had the greatest chance of being displayed. 
 In Cork City, for instance, the troops have 
 suffered every possible form of outrage and 
 insult. It might well be imagined that their 
 self-restraint would have succumbed to the 
 provocation they have received, that they would 
 have seized the first opportunity of wreaking 
 their vengeance on their cowardly assailants. 
 Yet the incident of the attack on General Strick- 
 land on 24th September, 1920, revealed a state of 
 discipline almost unparalleled. The Chief 
 Secretary referred to the incident in the House of 
 
242 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Commons on 20th October, 1920, in the following 
 words : — 
 
 " The other day in Cork, General Strickland, 
 one of the most distinguished Commanders of the 
 late War, was motoring through the streets. He 
 was ambushed, many shots were fired at him, and 
 some pierced his car, but he came through the 
 fusilade owing to the courage of his driver. He 
 commands, let us say, ten thousand troops in the 
 Cork area. He drove at once to his headquarters 
 in his car, and he issued the most drastic 
 commands that every man in his command should 
 fall in, including officers. Why? Because he 
 did not want any reprisals in that force of his, 
 and there was not a sign or a suspicion of 
 reprisal. ... I want to point out to this 
 House what a strong discipline there must be 
 in an army that will allow its popular and 
 distinguished general to be ambushed, to be shot 
 at by assassins, and yet not strike back. No 
 other army under any other flag in the 
 world can boast, and rightly boast, of such stern 
 discipline. This is only one out of many instances 
 of the exercise of a restraint that is indeed 
 marvellous." 
 
 The position of the soldier in Ireland is very 
 well set out in a pamphlet entitled ** Sinn Fein 
 and the Irish Volunteers " published by 
 authority and issued to the troops in October, 
 1920. After giving an account of the origin and 
 history of Sinn Fein, and of the organization and 
 methods of the Republican forces, the pamphlet 
 proceeds to deal with the attitude of the Army 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 243 
 
 towards these forces in the following words : — 
 
 " As soldiers, we of the garrison of Ireland 
 have nothing to do with the political opinion or 
 differences of opinion of the Irish, but we are here 
 to ensure that law and order are maintained, 
 to support the police in maintaining order and in 
 suppressing violence, sedition, and disloyalty to 
 our King and Empire. 
 
 '* It will be seen . . . that the chief 
 disturbers of the peace in this country are the 
 extreme sections of Sinn Fein. These men are 
 mostly enrolled in, and many are leaders of, the 
 Irish Volunteers. There are considerable numbers 
 of these all over Ireland, and their organization 
 is good and complete. Their intelligence service 
 is good, and they are always anxious to obtain 
 information about military dispositions. They 
 want more arms, they want explosives, and they 
 want to commit outrages against the members of 
 the police or military and do all the damage they 
 can to Government property in Ireland without 
 running any risk to themselves. 
 
 " These are the reasons why so many guards 
 have to be mounted on Government property in 
 Ireland, why sentries have to be doubled, why 
 armed men are not allowed to go about in parties 
 of less than six. A soldier in Ireland must be 
 particularly careful that no military matters are 
 discussed in the presence of civilians and to 
 ensure that every precaution is taken that arms 
 and ammunition, or explosives, do not fall into 
 the hands of unauthorised persons. He must be 
 ready at all times to go to the assistance of the 
 
244 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 police if called upon. He must always be vigilant 
 and never allow himself to be lulled into a sense 
 of security by the apparently peaceful appearance 
 of his surroundings, and he must be well trained 
 in the use of his weapons so as to defend himself 
 should the necessity arise. 
 
 " Every soldier in Ireland must realise that 
 the most harmless looking civilian may be armed 
 and hostile, that he has cunning and desperate 
 men to deal with who will stop at nothing, and 
 are capable of committing any outrage — provided 
 the risk to themselves is not great, but who, if 
 stood up to, generally consider that discretion is 
 the better part of valour. 
 
 ' ' It may be taken for granted that every move 
 of military or police detachments on patrol, 
 escorts, etc., and every guard are carefully 
 watched at all times by the members of the Irish 
 Republican Army, and that the slightest slack- 
 ness is detected and leads to attack. The fact 
 that an attack is not made on a patrol, escort, 
 guard, etc., means not that the opportunity for 
 attack has not been sought, but that the military 
 precautions in such particular cases have been 
 such that an attack would be likely to entail 
 risk of life and limb to the attackers." 
 
 One of the methods employed by the 
 Republicans to harass the military authorities, 
 and also the police, in the execution of their 
 duties was to bring pressure to bear upon 
 railwaymen throughout Ireland in order to 
 induce them to refuse to work trains carrying 
 soldiers, members of the police force, or stores 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 245 
 
 intended for the use of the military or police. 
 As was to be expected, the effects of this policy- 
 were felt most strongly in the South and West of 
 Ireland, where the influence of the Republicans 
 was strongest. The usual tactics employed by 
 the intimidated railwaymen were to refuse to act 
 as soon as parties of soldiers or police entered the 
 trains. This policy began to take a serious turn 
 in June, 1920. The following examples of its 
 action during that month show the methods 
 employed. 
 
 On June 21st a party of police who were 
 proceeding to their headquarters for a course of 
 instruction boarded the 7-30 a.m. train from 
 Cloughjordan, County Tipperary. The engine- 
 driver refused to proceed until the police left the 
 train. The police received instructions to remain 
 in their carriages, and the train remained in the 
 station. This was the first symptom of direct 
 action in the matter, and it challenged the 
 maintenance of ordinary civil government. The 
 engine-driver was summoned to Dublin by the 
 officials of the G.S. and W. Railway Company, 
 and was dismissed. A suggestion was promptly 
 made by certain Republican sympathisers that 
 the deadlock was deliberately created by the Irish 
 Government with the view to producing a test 
 case, and forcing an issue upon a dispute that 
 was raging at the time over the carriage of 
 ammunition upon Irish railways. This dispute 
 had begun with the refusal of the L. and N.W. 
 Railway employees in Dublin to unload cargoes 
 of military stores from that Company's steamers 
 at North Wall, Dublin. 
 
246 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 The suggestion that the authorities had 
 provoked the situation was entirely unfounded, 
 as future events proved. On the 23rd the 
 situation was unchanged. No trains were 
 running through Cloughjordan Station, and the 
 station was guarded by troops. Traffic was 
 held up on the whole section of line between 
 Ballybrophy, the junction for Nenagh on the 
 main G.S. and W. line, and Nenagh. Would-be 
 passengers were obliged to travel by Limerick 
 Junction or to make use of such local facilities 
 for road transport as they could find. Later on 
 the same day the trouble spread to Limerick. A 
 party of police going from that city to Nenagh 
 were held up at Limerick Station by the railway- 
 men refusing to work the train. On the same 
 evening the night mail train from Cork to 
 Dublin was held up at Blarney at 9 p.m. The 
 two guards of the train were kidnapped and 
 removed to an unknown destination. The 
 telegraph wires in the vicinity were also cut. The 
 police remained in their train and were protected 
 there by other police who were not travelling. On 
 the 24th the railway deadlock spread still 
 further. No trains left Limerick in any 
 direction. An engine-driver at Athenry, in 
 County Gal way, on the M.G.W. Railway 
 refused to drive a train containing a party of 
 police from that station to Tuam. The police 
 refused to leave the train, and the line was 
 blocked. 
 
 The blocks at Cloughjordan, Blarney, and 
 Athenry isolated large parts of the south-west of 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 247 
 
 Ireland, and caused great hardship to the 
 innocent population. It has, however, always 
 been typical of the operations of the Republicans 
 that they have caused far more distress to the 
 civil population of the country than they have to 
 the Forces of the Crown. The latter, so far as 
 transport is concerned, can always fall back on 
 other means than those provided by the railways, 
 but the civil inhabitants are dependent upon an 
 uninterrupted railway service for their very 
 existence. 
 
 The full particulars of the Limerick incident 
 form a very good example of the procedure in 
 such cases. At 2-45 p.m. on June 23rd, 1920, 
 eight R.I.C. recruits boarded a train at Limerick 
 Railway Station en route for Nenagh. The driver 
 and guard refused to handle the train, and both 
 were dismissed. A second driver and guard were 
 procured, and at 4-30 p.m. another attempt was 
 made to get the train away, but the police refused 
 to leave, and the driver and guard, upon refusing 
 to handle the train, were also dismissed. A 
 similar occurrence at 6-15 p.m. resulted in a 
 third driver and guard being dismissed. No 
 further attempt was made on that day to run a 
 train on the line from Limerick to Nenagh. 
 Limerick Station was closed and locked, and the 
 police returned to barracks. 
 
 On the 24th, eight constables from Dundrum, 
 who had been to Tipperary Quarter Sessions, 
 entered the 6-15 p.m. train at Tipperary Station. 
 The engine-driver refused to work the train any 
 further while the police remained in it. The 
 
248 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 police refused to leave the train, and traffic was 
 therefore stopped. 
 
 The next day, six police with some prisoners 
 for trial boarded the 8-54 a.m. train from 
 Carrick-on-Suir to Waterford. The train was a 
 ' * mixed ' ' one, consisting of both passenger and 
 goods stock. The engine-driver shunted the 
 passenger carriages into a siding and took the 
 goods portion on to its destination, leaving the 
 police with their prisoners in occupation of the 
 carriages, where they were forced to remain for 
 the greater portion of the day. 
 
 On the same day (June 25th) the 2-45 p.m. 
 train from Cork to Dublin did not run, as the 
 guards refused to work it, giving as their reason 
 that as the two guards who had refused to work 
 the corresponding train from Tipperary to 
 Dundrum on the previous day had been 
 dismissed, they would be looked upon as blacklegs 
 if they worked the train. There was no question 
 in this instance of police or military being on the 
 train. The guards were dismissed. 
 
 Another incident occurred on the 25th. The 
 guard and the driver of the down day mail train 
 from Castlebar, County Mayo, refused to work 
 the train any further owing to the fact that a 
 small detachment of soldiers was travelling in 
 it. 
 
 It may be well to give at this stage some very 
 brief particulars of the Irish Railway System. 
 
 Four companies' lines radiate from Dublin : 
 the Great Northern of Ireland, running to 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 240 
 
 Belfast and Derry, with a terminus at Amiens 
 Street and a mileage of about 600 ; the Midland 
 Great Western, running to Sligo, Galway and 
 the West, with a terminus at Broadstone and a 
 mileage of about 500; the Great Southern and 
 Western, running to Cork and the South-west, 
 with a terminus at Kingsbridge and a mileage 
 of about 1,100; and the Dublin and South 
 Eastern, running to Wexford and the South 
 East, with termini at Westland Row and 
 Harcourt Street, and a mileage of about 156. 
 Two companies' lines radiate from Belfast, the 
 Belfast and County Down, with a terminus at 
 Queen's Quay and a mileage of about 80, and the 
 Northern Counties, now owned by the Midland 
 Company of England, with a terminus at York 
 Road and a mileage of about 250. In addition 
 to these, there are several small local railways 
 operating throughout the country. 
 
 Only those railways operating exclusively in 
 the six counties of Ulster have been unaffected 
 by the policy adopted by the Republicans. There 
 is very little doubt that the railwaymen them- 
 selves are bitterly opposed to a scheme which can 
 lead to nothing but dismissal for themselves and 
 acute distress for the inhabitants of the districts 
 served by the lines upon which the disturbances 
 occur. But such are the methods of intimidation 
 employed by the Republicans that they have no 
 option. A few instances of this intimidation 
 will make the matter clear. 
 
 A notice, printed on the back of a post-card, 
 has been widely circulated, apparently by hand, 
 
250 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 to railway servants throughout the country. 
 The notice is as follows : — 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC. 
 
 Acting under instructions, you are hereby 
 notified that after this date you are forbidden to 
 drive any train, or to assist in any way, the 
 transport of armed forces of the English 
 Government. 
 
 By Order, 
 
 MINISTRY OF WAR. 
 
 Date 
 
 A copy of this notice, addressed to " Mr. P. 
 Carty of Bundoran " bears the date 20/8/20. 
 
 In a very large number of cases loyal railway 
 servants who ignored this " order " were 
 waylaid by members of the Irish Volunteers and 
 illtreated. Examples of these cases are as 
 follows : — 
 
 At 9 a.m. on 17th July, 1920, on the arrival of 
 a train at Enniskeen Station, in the Carrick- 
 macross district of County Monaghan, the driver 
 and fireman were forcibly removed from the 
 engine by about twelve armed and masked men 
 and taken away in a motor-car in the direction 
 of Dundalk. 
 
 At 8-15 a.m. on 19th July, 1920, when an 
 engine-driver in the service of the Great Northern 
 Railway (of Ireland), in the Dundalk district, 
 was on his way to work, he was attacked by a 
 crowd of armed men, dragged into a side street 
 and tarred and feathered. He was left bound 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 251 
 
 with a rope which he eventually succeeded in 
 undoing. 
 
 At 12-45 on 2nd of July, 1920, a party of 
 armed and masked men raided five signal cabins 
 on the Great Northern Railway in County 
 Louth. They forced the signalmen on duty to 
 sign a declaration that they would not in future 
 signal any train which was carrying military or 
 police, and they also disconnected the telephone 
 wires. A shunter was also held up and forced 
 to sign a similar declaration. 
 
 At 10-35 a.m. on 30th July, 1920, on the 
 arrival of a train from Clones at Newbliss, 
 County MonaghaUj six men, four of whom were 
 armed, rushed the engine. The driver and fire- 
 man were dragged* off it and driven away in a 
 motor-car to an unknown destination. 
 
 At 9-30 p.m. on 1st August, 1920, two men 
 entered the house of an engine-driver in the 
 service of the Londonderry and Lough Swilly 
 Railway, in Londonderry City, and carried him 
 off in a motor-car to another district. He was 
 subsequently released after being compelled to 
 promise that he would not in future drive trains 
 containing military or police. 
 
 At 1 a.m. on 15th of August, 1920, an engine- 
 driver in the Dundalk district was fired at and 
 wounded in the leg. 
 
 At about 10 p.m. on 15th September, 1920, a 
 fireman in the employ of the Great Northern 
 Railway in County Armagh was held up by 
 masked and armed men who took him to a field 
 and made him sign a declaration that he would 
 
262 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 not drive " objectionable " trains in future. On 
 the same night and in the same district two 
 engine-drivers in the service of the same company 
 vrere held up by a party of about twelve or 
 fourteen armed and masked men, who took them 
 to a field and tarred one of them. 
 
 It will be noticed that all these incidents 
 occurred in localities where the population 
 was comparatively free from Republican 
 intimidation. In other parts of Ireland the mere 
 threat of danger to themselves was sufficient to 
 induce the men to carry out the policy of the 
 Volunteers. 
 
 The Republican campaign against the use of 
 the railways for the conveyance of the Forces of 
 the Crown and of military stores did not end 
 with the refusal of the railwaymen to work trains 
 and with the intimidation and illtreatment of 
 loyal men. Stations and trains have been raided 
 and military stores destroyed during transit, 
 and in some cases deliberate attempts have been 
 made to derail trains, regardless of the loss of 
 innocent life which might be entailed. Examples 
 of the destruction of public property are as 
 follows : — 
 
 At 1-5 p.m. on 19th July, 1920, separate 
 parties of armed men converged upon Kings- 
 bridge railway terminus in Dublin. Some of 
 the men arrived in two motor-cars, some came up 
 on foot, and others gained access to the station 
 by hanging on to a wagon which was being 
 shunted. Three wagons loaded with military 
 stores were standing in the goods yard. The 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 253 
 
 raiders, who numbered in all about fifty, held 
 up, at the point of their revolvers, the two 
 sentries who were on guard, and disarmed them. 
 They then saturated the wagons with petrol and 
 set them on fire. On their departure they took 
 with them 9 rifles, 450 rounds of ammunition, 
 and the equipment of the guard, which consisted 
 of nine men. The fire brigade upon its arrival 
 on the scene refused to act. 
 
 At about 3 a.m. on 19th August, 1920, the 
 goods shed at Swinford Railway Station, County 
 Mayo, was broken into, and two wagons 
 containing ten tons of coal and foodstufis 
 belonging to the military were removed and 
 burned. 
 
 At 11-30 p.m. on 24th August, 1920, a party 
 of armed men entered the railway station at 
 Mullingar, County Westmeath, and destroyed a 
 consignment of asbestos sheeting consigned to 
 the Royal Air Force at Oranmore, County 
 Galway. 
 
 Examples of sabotage are as follows : — 
 
 On the night of 12th July, 1920, about ten 
 yards of the rails on the Letterkenny and Burton- 
 port Railway in County Donegal were torn up, 
 and the telegraph wires on the Donegal Joint 
 Committee Railway and on the Lough Swilly 
 Railway were cut. 
 
 On 15th July, 1920, the watchman at Meigh 
 railway crossing, in the Bessbrook district of 
 County Monaghan, was held up by armed men, 
 who prevented him from opening the gates until 
 a goods train ran through and broke them. 
 
254 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Fortunately no damage was done to the train and 
 no one was injured. 
 
 At 4 a.m. on 22nd July, 1920, an attempt was 
 made to derail a goods train travelling from 
 Cavan to Redhills, in County Cavan, by a party 
 of men estimated to number about eighty. 
 Railway sleepers and the trunks of eleven trees 
 were placed across the line,. but the driver dashed 
 through and reached Ballyhaise junction in 
 safety. The engine of the train was damaged. 
 
 On 4th of August, 1920, the railway line 
 between Letterkenny and Dungloe was torn up 
 for a distance of thirty yards. 
 
 The attitude of the Irish Administration 
 towards the railway situation can best be shown 
 by a series of extracts from official reports upon 
 these matters. Before quoting them, however, a 
 short account of the difficulties to be met must be 
 given. 
 
 The policy of the Railway Companies was to 
 dismiss every railway servant who refused to 
 work trains on the ground that military, police, 
 or munitions were being carried. This policy 
 was perfectly logical, as the men had obviously 
 disobeyed orders. But if the Government were 
 to insist that members of the Forces of the Crown 
 should claim the right to travel upon the 
 railways, the consequent dismissals of staff 
 would so deplete the numbers available that 
 the operation of the railways would become 
 impossible, as indeed actually happened in 
 certain cases. This would punish the whole of 
 the land, and not merely the minority who sympa- 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 255 
 
 thised with outrage. On the other hand, it is 
 obvious that all means of public transport must 
 be equally available to all members of the 
 community, whether they be servants of the 
 Crown or private citizens. Mobility of military 
 and police forces is essential if order is to be 
 kept throughout the country and if assistance is 
 to be rendered to local authorities petitioning for 
 forces to avert threatened disturbances. It must 
 be borne in mind that very frequently it is 
 authorities of declared Sinn Fein sympathies 
 who call for protection, as in the case of Derry 
 during the month of July, 1920. If the attitude 
 of the rail waymen were to be tolerated, the effect 
 would be that the movement by rail of extremists, 
 such^ for instance, as members of the outrage 
 gangs, would remain unrestricted, whilst the 
 forces of law and order would be compelled to 
 rely upon such road transport as could be 
 improvised. 
 
 In a report dated 12th July, 1920, the situation 
 is expressed as follows : 
 
 ' * The Railway situation is developing steadily 
 in the direction of a general deadlock, but it has 
 not yet been necessary to have recourse to 
 emergency measures to deal with essential traffic. 
 . . . The police and military have been 
 instructed to exercise their ordinary rights to the 
 use of the railway service, both on the main and 
 branch lines, without taking any steps with a 
 view to precipitating a crisis. On the M.G-.W. 
 Railway no trains have run during the week 
 westward from Castlerae, Athenry, and Castle- 
 
256 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 bar. On the G.S, & W. Railway the Limerick- 
 Ballybrophy branch is blocked by a train held up 
 at Cloughjordan since the 5th instant* and the 
 use of the Limerick to Charleville line f»r 
 passenger traffic has been discontinued. The 
 passenger service on the Drimoleague and Bantry 
 Extension has been suspended, but a goods train 
 operates each way daily. The G.N. Railway 
 maintained a normal service until the 9th instant, 
 when it was found impossible to find a substitute 
 for a driver who refused to convey a party of 
 military from Drogheda, and the Drogheda-Kells 
 branch of the line has been closed in consequence. 
 No hold-up has been reported on the D. & S.E. 
 Railway, which is running a normal service. 
 
 ' ' The dismissals resulting from the local dead- 
 locks have considerably depleted the staff of 
 drivers and firemen on the M.G.W. and G.S. &- 
 W. Railways, and has caused a general curtail- 
 ment of the passenger service throughout the 
 whole extent of these lines, and some irregularity 
 in the goods traffic. Reports from the various 
 holiday resorts of the South and West show that 
 the tourist season is being very adversely affected 
 and is likely to be one of the worst on record." 
 
 The report for 26th July, 1920, contains the 
 following. 
 
 '* The railway situation stands very much 
 where it did a week ago. . . .A number of 
 further dismissals occurred on the G.S. & W. 
 Railway, in consequence of the drivers refusing 
 
 * See page 245. 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 257 
 
 to convey a party of R.I. C. from Kingsbridge to 
 Kildare on the 2l8t and the 22nd instant, for the 
 purpose of attending rifle practicje at the 
 Curragh. The Constabulary were instructed to 
 travel on any train that might be available, and 
 accordingly boarded the race specials for the 
 Curragh races when drivers of the ordinary 
 trains refused to proceed. This action had the 
 effect of causing a stoppage of all race trains for 
 the Curragh Meeting and the unavoidable 
 infliction of a considerable amount of annoyance 
 to the racing public. Owing to the lack of train 
 facilities the Powerstown Park Meeting fixed for 
 the 24th instant was abandoned." 
 
 On 4th August, 1920, the following remarks 
 appear. 
 
 " Owing to intimidation and attempts to 
 derail trains the staff of the Londonderry and 
 Lough Swilly Railway have refused to operate 
 the branch line between Letterkenny and 
 Strabane which has accordingly been closed since 
 the 30th ultimo. In consequence of the numerous 
 seizures of petrol on the M.G.W. Railway during 
 the early part of last month it has been necessary 
 to issue a general prohibition on the carriage of 
 petrol on that line, but steps are being taken to 
 arrange for transport under Military escort of 
 the amount necessary to meet immediate civil 
 needs." 
 
 This last sentence once again emphasises the 
 fact that it is for the care of the civil population 
 that the troops are in Ireland. The hardships 
 resulting from these thefts of petrol will be seen 
 below. B 
 
258 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 On 8th August, 1920, the Report states that 
 " An extension of the area of stoppage on the 
 M.G.W. system took place on the 2nd instant, 
 when the passenger service on the Athlone, 
 Castlerea, and Claremorris branch was taken off 
 owing to shortness of staff. " 
 
 On 15th August, 1920, it is reported that 
 " The only incident of note . . . was the 
 temporary hold-up at Fermoy on the 13th instant 
 of a party of unarmed soldiers belonging to the 
 Buffs, who were proceeding on leave prior to 
 embarkation for India. This is the first instance 
 of a refusal to drive unarmed members of mili- 
 tary and police forces, and the action of the 
 railway men was inconsistent with their declared 
 policy, which prohibits the carriage of armed 
 forces only." On 10th September, 1920, the 
 Report says " The hardships caused by the dis- 
 location of cross country traffic (on the M.G.W. 
 system) is being severely felt in the western 
 districts. The frequent raids on petrol con- 
 signed for purely commercial purposes have 
 necessitated the imposition of restrictions on the 
 carriage of this article on the M.G.W. line. 
 
 ' ' The resulting shortage of petrol has inflicted 
 serious loss and inconvenience on farmers and on 
 traders engaged in the salmon fishing industry. 
 Large quantities of salmon intended for the 
 English markets have perished owing to the want 
 of petrol for its conveyance by road from out- 
 lying places where rail transport is not avail- 
 able." 
 
 During September still more pressure was 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 259 
 
 brought to bear upon those rail way men who 
 remained loyal. On the 10th a G.N. railway 
 driver was attacked by a crowd of railwaymen 
 in Dublin, and having been gagged and hand- 
 cuffed was chained to a lamp standard in Amiens 
 Street and exposed to public ridicule for half an 
 hour until released by the police. By the 23rd 
 the shortage of staff necessitated the closing of 
 three more branch lines on the G.N.R. : the 
 Dundalk to Enniskillen line, the Carrickmacross 
 branch, and the Cootehill branch. 
 
 On the 6th October, however, the following 
 significant passage occurs in one of the official 
 reports : 
 
 " There is reason for believing that the long 
 protracted struggle is being maintained with 
 increasing difficulty by the recalcitrant section 
 of railwaymen. It is reported that subscrip- 
 tions have practically ceased and that the strike 
 funds are now very low." On the 10th October 
 Sir Eric Geddes, the Minister of Transport, 
 crossed over to Dublin, and conferences were held 
 at Dublin Castle as to the measures to be adopted 
 to deal with the refusal of the railwaymen to 
 handle military and police traffic. During the 
 previous days several further cases of refusal to 
 convey troops and military stores had occurred, 
 these resulting in the suspension of a number of 
 employees and the closing of yet another branch 
 line (the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Rail- 
 way between Buncrana and Carndonagh, which 
 ceased working on the 7th). 
 
 The Railway situation at this time may 
 
260 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 be summarised as follows : The Government 
 have agreed, as in the case of English Railways, 
 to subsidise the Irish Companies to an extent 
 sufficient to enable them to pay their pre-war 
 dividends. Owing to the action of the railway- 
 men in refusing to convey troops, police and 
 munitions, the Government is imable to make use 
 of the railways for its own traffic. There is no 
 question of the Government acquiescing in this 
 state of affairs. Whenever the necessity arises, 
 soldiers" and police present themselves as passen- 
 gers by train. If they are carried, well and 
 good, if not, the defaulting railwaymen are 
 suspended, and a shortage of staff ensues, result- 
 ing eventually in a curtailment of services. It 
 is obvious that sooner or later complete paralysis 
 must overtake the Irish Railway system. When 
 this occurs, it will be impossible to institute an 
 alternative road transport service such has been 
 improvised in England during railway strike 
 periods. In the first place, the necessary lorries 
 and drivers are not available; and in the second, 
 it is unlikely that the Republicans would allow 
 such a service to operate without interruption. 
 The final result would be that large parts of 
 Ireland would be deprived of the supply of the 
 necessities of life, and the action of the Volun- 
 teers would culminate in acute distress, if not 
 actual famine, throughout large areas of the 
 country. 
 
 This is merely another example illustrative of 
 the fact that the whole tendency of the Sinn Fein 
 movement is not to produce prosperity, but, in the 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 261 
 
 course of its striving after an end undesired by 
 all but a turbulent minority, to ruin the very 
 country which it professes to wish to render free, 
 independent, and thriving. 
 
 During the later months of the year the railway 
 situation became still worse. Early in November 
 the M.G.W. railway warned its employees that 
 owing to the drain upon its staff it would be com- 
 pelled to discharge its men and to close its entire 
 system on the 14th November. On the 12th 
 November a new Regulation was published under 
 the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act, giving 
 the competent naval and military authority 
 power to make orders " regulating, requiring, 
 restricting, or prohibiting the carriage of passen- 
 gers and articles on railways in Ireland." An 
 order under this regulation may be made to apply 
 either generally in relation to all railway under- 
 takings in Ireland, or to any particular railway 
 or part of it, and it may be made to apply to the 
 carriage of all passengers and articles or to 
 certain specified passengers and articles. For 
 the purpose of securing compliance with the 
 provisions of any order made imder this regu- 
 lation, the competent naval or military authority 
 may take possession of any railway undertaking, 
 or any part of it. 
 
 On 15th November the Chief Secretary summed 
 up the situation in the following words in the 
 House of Commons : 
 
 " The Railway situation in Ireland is clear. 
 For many months past certain drivers, guards 
 and signalmen on the railway-lines running West 
 
262 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 and South from Dublin have refused to carry- 
 Irish Policemen, British Soldiers and their 
 munitions. All Railways in Ireland are sub- 
 si-dised by the British Government, and the 
 increased wages of Irish railwaymen and the 
 dividends of shareholders are made certain 
 because of these subsidies. As a result of their 
 refusal to carry Government traffic many of these 
 railwaymen have been dismissed from time to 
 time. So many of the key men have been dis- 
 missed because of their refusal, that certain Irish 
 railways must now cease operating, as they 
 cannot carry -on. The railway running North 
 from Dublin and the lines in North-East Ireland 
 are running normally, and with few exceptions 
 their railwaymen have not refused to do their 
 duty. 
 
 " The refusal to carry police and soldiers is 
 due to two causes. First, because some extreme 
 Sinn Fein railwaymen hoped by their refusal 
 to embarrass the Government. Second, the Sinn 
 Fein murder gang terrorised other railwaymen 
 into a refusal to do their duties. Loyal railway- 
 men have been shot, tarred and feathered, 
 assaulted and terrorised by Sinn Feiners. 
 
 ' ' The Government have insisted and will insist 
 on the carriage of Government traffic on Irish 
 Railways. The stoppage of these railways, as 
 I pointed out months ago, will mean economic 
 disaster to part of Ireland, but the responsibility 
 for that, among many other disasters, is on the 
 shoulders of the leaders of the Sinn Fein move- 
 ment. They, in their murderous endeavour to 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 263 
 
 smash the British Empire and weaken the Anglo- 
 American friendship, are bringing the South and 
 West of Ireland to political anarchy and 
 economic ruin. As a result of the stoppage of 
 the railways there will follow the stoppage of the 
 mails and the stoppage of the payment of Old 
 Age and other Pensions that now depend upon 
 mail deliveries. The Irish Government and the 
 British Government are naturally most anxious 
 to restore Ireland and Irish railways to normal 
 conditions, but no Government can allow railway- 
 men subsidised out of the pockets of the tax- 
 payers to refuse to carry police and soldiers. ' ' 
 
 The reply of the Republicans to the new Regu- 
 lation was the commencement of a campaign of 
 sabotage. On the night of 14th November rail- 
 way lines were torn up in the Counties of Cavan 
 and Monaghan, causing in the latter case damage 
 to a passing train. Fortunately this tendency 
 did not spread. 
 
 On the Ist December the position on the 
 railways was thus described in detail in answer 
 to a question in the House of Commons : 
 
 ** Passenger and goods trains have ceased to 
 run on the under-mentioned sections : 
 
 ** Great Southern and Western Railway : 
 Limerick to Waterford; Limerick to Tralee; 
 Ballingrane Junction to Foynes; Patrickswell to 
 Charleville; Killonan to Nenagh; Birdhill to 
 Killaloe; Clara to Banagher. 
 
 " Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway: 
 Kinsale Junction to Kinsale; Clonakilty Junc- 
 tion to Clonakilty. 
 
264 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ' * BaUinascarthy and Timoleague Railway and 
 Timoleague and Courtmacsherry Extension Rail- 
 way : BaUinascarthy to Courtmacsherry. 
 
 * * Great Northern (Ireland) Railway : Dun- 
 dalk to Enniskillen ; Inniskeen to Carrickma- 
 cross; Ballybay to Cootehill; Ballyhaise to Bel- 
 turbet; Bundoran Junction to Bundoran. 
 
 " Londonderry, Lough Swilly and Letter- 
 kenny Railway and Burtonport and Carndonagh 
 Extensions : Tooban Junction to Burton port; 
 Buncrana to Carndonagh. 
 
 ' ' Passenger services have ceased to run on the 
 imder-mentioned systems or sections, but a goods 
 service is maintained, in almost every case a 
 reduction from the normal and in some cases a 
 reduction of considerable magnitude : 
 
 ''Great Southern and Western Railway: 
 Roscrea to Nenagh; Kildare to Kilkenny, via 
 Carlow; Limerick to Sligo; Mallow to Tralee. 
 
 ' ' Midland Great Western Railway : Athlone 
 to Achill; Manulla Junction to Killala. 
 
 " Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway : 
 Drimoleague Junction to Ban try; Cork to Skib- 
 bereen. 
 
 " Cork a/nd Macroom Direct RoUwoaj. 
 
 " Cork and Muskerry Light RailwaAj and 
 Donoughmore Extension. 
 
 " Tralee and Dingle Railway. 
 
 " West and South Clare Railways. 
 
 " The following systems or sections have been 
 affected, but a passenger and goods service has 
 been maintained with varying degrees of reduc- 
 tion from the normal : 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 265 
 
 '* Great Southern and Western Railway : 
 Tralee to Valentia Harbour; Roscrea to Birr; 
 Maryboro' to Waterford; Sallins to Tullow; 
 Mallow to Waterford; Waterford to Wexford 
 and Rosslare Harbour; Wexford to Rosslare 
 Harbour; Clonmel to Thurles; Kingsbridge to 
 Cork. 
 
 " Midland Great Western Railway : Broad- 
 stone to Clifden; MuUingar to Sligo; Inny Junc- 
 tion to Gavan; Clonsilla to Kingscourt; Eden- 
 derry Branch; Killeshandra Branch; Athboy 
 Branch; Ballinrobe Branch. 
 
 * ' Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway/ : 
 Londonderry to Buncrana. 
 
 *' Listowel and Ballyhunion Railway." 
 
 This represents the utmost extent which the 
 railway strike attained. 
 
 It soon became evident, however, that a strong 
 desire for the return to work of the railway-men 
 was growing in every part of the country. On 
 December 15th the following advertisement 
 appeared in the Irish Press : — 
 
 IRISH LABOUR PARTY & TRADES 
 UNION CONGRESS 
 
 NATIONAL EXECUTIVE. 
 
 TO THE RAILWAY AND DOCK WORKEES. 
 
 Over six monthB ago, responding to a patriotic 
 impulse, you decided that you would not handle 
 
266 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Munitions of War or drive trains containing armed 
 men. In this protest you were supported by aJll right- 
 thinking Irish men and women; and when, after the 
 struggle began, you asked this National Executive for 
 advice and guidance, we readily gave you all the 
 support within our power. 
 
 In response to our appeal for funds to support the 
 dismissed men, the country has subscribed most 
 generously. 
 
 In the eariy stages of the struggle it became evident 
 that the British Government's design was to force a 
 quick close-down of the railway services, while at the 
 same time seeking to make it appear that the Railway 
 workers were responsible. We advised you to frustrate 
 this plan by refusing to strike, but rather to accept 
 individual suspension. We assured you then that every 
 new development would be watched and would be met 
 by new tactics, .when such were called for. 
 
 As a result of your loyal acceptance of the advice 
 given, the country has been spared much hardship and 
 loss, and your protest for six months has been unique 
 in the annals of the Labour Movement. 
 
 Notwithstanding the defeatist campaign in the Press, 
 inspired by that section of the trading community which 
 reckons National well-being in terms of £ s. d., we 
 have, during the past few weeks, received ample 
 evidence of the willingness of the Railwaymen, and 
 workers generally, to suffer whatever loss and sacrifice 
 the National interest may require. 
 
 We have been well aware that the cessation of Rail- 
 way transport would necessitate a drastic re-organisa- 
 tion of the country's economic life, calling for consider- 
 able sacrifice and entailing a great organising effort 
 which would require the unimpeded activities of the 
 Nation's best brains. 
 
 The British Authority, which assumes governmental 
 power in Ireland, has, with deliberate intent, sought 
 to interfere with and destroy the preparations being 
 made to cope with the problem of providing food, milk 
 and f ue^l for the people ; they have seized the papers 
 and records of our Food Committee, have arrested and 
 imprisoned without charge the members of these Com- 
 mittees, and have placed a barrier against the 
 
RAILWAY SITUATION. 267 
 
 organisation of the Motor Transport service for the 
 distribution of food supplies. 
 
 These acts have been followed by the proclamation 
 of Martial Law, accompanied by Mr. Lloyd George's 
 insulting offer to allow the elected representatives of the 
 Irish people to meet together under police protection for 
 the purpose of denouncing their colleagues and dis- 
 cussing subjects strictly defined beforehand by himself. 
 Not to be niggardly in his insolence, he couples this 
 so-called " peace offer " by a threat to intensify the 
 campaign of frightfulness. His cue is immediately 
 taken up in the City of Cork; the published threats to 
 utterly destroy the city beipg carried a long way 
 towards fulfilment. 
 
 In the light of the foregoing, the National Executive 
 has given careful thought to the position as it lies 
 before us to-day; changed conditions require a change 
 of tactics, and we have decided to advise the Railway 
 and Dock Workers to alter the position, and to offer 
 to carry everj'thing that the British Military 
 Authorities are willing to risk on the trains. Whatever 
 the risks that may be involved in carrying out this 
 advice, we feel confident that the Railwaymen are not 
 less willing to face them than the travelling public. 
 
 We ask the Railwaymen to continue to hold them- 
 se^lves ready to respond on the instant to any call that 
 may be made by this Executive in pursuance of our 
 policy, assuring them that no call will be made without 
 the fullest consideration, and only when vital National 
 interests justify it. 
 
 SIGNED FOE. THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE, 
 
 THOMAS FORAN, Chairman. 
 THOMAS MacPARTLIN, V ice-Chairman. 
 WILLIAM O'BRIEN, Treasurer. 
 THOMAS JOHNSON, Secretary. 
 32, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin, 14th December, 1920. 
 
 Finally, on 21st December, a Conference of 
 Irish railwaymen was held in the Mansion 
 House, Dublin, at which a resolution in favour 
 
268 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 of unconditional resumption of work was carried 
 unanimously. By the end of the year consider- 
 able progress had been made towards a resump- 
 tion of normal conditions upon all the lines 
 affected. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE POLICE FORCES. 
 
 In the year 1787 the Irish Parliament, more 
 usually known as Grattan's Parliament, passed 
 an Act for the policing of Ireland, which set up 
 a primitive body of constables for the purpose of 
 enforcing order in the country. This Force 
 never achieved any measure of success, although 
 a further Act was passed in 1792, designed to 
 render it more efficient. With the Union the 
 Force became practically obsolete, and nothing 
 further was done until 1814, when an Act was 
 passed by the Parliament at Westminster which 
 empowered the Lord Lieutenant to appoint a 
 Chief Magistrate, a Chief Constable, and fifty 
 constables for each county. These appointments 
 were knovm as the * * Peace Preservation Force, ' ' 
 and as such remained in existence until the Act of 
 1836. Meanwhile, in 1822, Sir Robert Peel had 
 founded the Irish Constabulary, consisting of 
 an Inspeotor-Greneral for each Province, con- 
 trolling between them a force of between five and 
 six thousand officers and men. These men were 
 dressed in a dark green uniform, and were armed 
 with flint-lock carbines. 
 
270 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Although the Irish Constabulary of Sir Robert 
 Peel were undoubtedly the forerunners of the 
 present R.I.C., it was not until " Drummond's 
 Act " of 1836 that the Force took on anything 
 like its present shape. This Act is worth quot- 
 ing somewhat fully, for it still forms the basis 
 of the constitution of the Force. It consolidated 
 and placed under a central control the whole of 
 the police of the country, except in the City of 
 Dublin, both the Peace Preservation Force and 
 the Irish Constabulary, and was entituled " An 
 Act to consolidate the Laws relating to the Con- 
 stabulary Force in Ireland." The Act repeals 
 certain previous Acts of the reigns of George III. 
 and George IV., which gave powers to appoint 
 constables " in certain cases." Constables pre- 
 viously appointed are to be merged in the new 
 force now created. Power is given to the Lord 
 Lieutenant to appoint an ' ' Inspector-General of 
 Police throughout Ireland, who shall reside in 
 Dublin and shall be charged and invested with 
 the general Direction and Superintendence of the 
 Force to be established under this Act," also 
 " One or Two fit and proper persons to be 
 Deputies to the said Inspector-General." 
 
 " And in order to provide for one uniform 
 System of Rules and Regulations throughout the 
 whole Establishment of Police in Ireland, be it 
 enacted. That it shall and may be lawful for such 
 Inspector-General . . . from time to time 
 to frame . . . Rules, Orders, and Regula- 
 tions for the general Government of the several 
 Persons to be appointed under this Act." 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 271 
 
 Power is also given for the appointment of 
 County Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors. Finally, 
 power is given for the appointment of the actual 
 rank and file of the Force. 
 
 " And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful 
 for the Lord Lieutenant or other Chief Governor 
 or Governors of Ireland to appoint from time to 
 time at his Will and Pleasure, in and for each 
 County of a City and County of a Town, except 
 the said County of the City of Dublin, One Chief 
 Constable, Two Head Constables, and any such 
 Number of Constables and Sub- Constables, not 
 exceeding One hundred, as may be deemed by him 
 or them to be necessary and sufficient for the 
 Preservation of the Peace therein, and in and 
 for each Barony*, Half Barony, or other 
 division of Barony in each County at large. One 
 Chief Constable, Two Head Constables, and any 
 Number of Constables and Sub- Constables, not 
 exceeding Sixteen. 
 
 " And be it enacted, That no Person shall be 
 appointed to be a Chief or other Constable or 
 Sub- Constable under this Act unless he shall be 
 of a sound Constitution, able-bodied, and imder 
 the Age of Forty Years, able to read and write, 
 of a good Character for Honesty, Fidelity, and 
 Activity; and that no Person shall be appointed 
 to be such Chief or other Constable or Sub-Con- 
 stable who shall be a Game-keeper, Wood-ranger, 
 Tithe Proctor, Viewer of Tithes, Bailiff, 
 
 ♦ The Baronies are the most ancient territorial divisions of 
 Ireland, and they existed under other names prior to the 
 introduction of Christianity. The Census of 1901 enumerates 
 327 Baronies, varying in extent from 310,386 to 1,693 acres. 
 
272 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Sheriff's Bailiff, or Parish Clerk, or who shall be 
 a hired Seryant in the Employment of any Person 
 whomsoever, or who shall keep any House for the 
 Sale of Beer, Wines, or Spirituous Liquors by 
 Retail. 
 
 " And be it enacted, That no Person appointed 
 under this Act . . . shall be capable of 
 holding the said Office or of acting in any way 
 therein, until he shall take and subscribe the Oath 
 here following ; (that is to say) 
 
 "I, A .B., do swear. That I will well and truly 
 serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Office 
 of (Inspector, Constable, etc.), without Favour of 
 Affection, Malice or Ill-Will ; that I will see and 
 cause His Majesty's Peace to be kept and pre- 
 served, and that I will prevent to the best of my 
 Power all Offences against the same; And that 
 while I shall continue to hold the said Office I 
 will, to the best of my Skill and Knowledge, dis- 
 charge all the Duties thereof, in the execution of 
 Warrants and otherwise, faithfully according to 
 Law ; and that I do not now belong, and that I 
 will not, while I shall hold the said Office, join, 
 subscribe, or belong to any political Society what- 
 soever, or to any secret Society whatsoever, unless 
 to the Society of Freemasons. So help me 
 GOD. 
 
 " And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for 
 the Lord Lieutenant ... to fix and appoint 
 such annual Salaries as to him , . . may 
 from Time to Time seem proper, not exceeding 
 the several Sums herein-after specified . . . 
 (that is to say) to the Inspector-General of Police 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 273 
 
 an annual Salary not exceeding One thousand 
 five hundred Pounds, to each Deputy Inspector 
 an annual Salary not exceeding Eight hundred 
 Pounds ... to each County Inspector an 
 annual Salary not exceeding Five hundred 
 Pounds, to each Sub-Inspector an annual Salary 
 not exceeding Two hundred and fifty Pounds 
 , . . to each Chief Constable an annual 
 Salary not exceeding One hundred and fifty 
 Pounds, to each Head Constable an annual 
 Salary not exceeding Seventy Pounds, to each 
 Constable an annual Salary not exceeding 
 Thirty-five Pounds, to each Sub- Constable an 
 annual Salary not exceeding Twenty-five 
 Pounds." 
 
 It is interesting to note that the saving clause 
 in the Oath, permitting membership of the 
 Society of Freemasons, has now been withdrawn. 
 The original rates of pay have, of course, been 
 considerably improved. 
 
 Such are the main provisions of the Act setting 
 up the Irish Constabulary, and the Force may be 
 said to date its foundation from this Act. Since 
 its establishment the Force has been the back- 
 bone of law and order in Ireland, through all 
 the troubled years that have elapsed since that 
 date. A Special Correspondent of the MomiTig 
 Post of 17th November, 1920, in the course of an 
 article dealing with the Force, states the matter 
 in a nutshell. 
 
 ** From the first the Irish Constabulary have 
 had semi -military duties to perform. Crisis 
 after crisis has brought them into collision with 
 
 s 
 
274 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 a brave and excitable populace. The clash of 
 creeds, the war of races, the conflict of rival 
 policies and interests, the intrigues of exiles and 
 aliens, have kept the island in a chronic state of 
 unrest; and all the time the police have been 
 expected to keep order. The crushing of two 
 other rebellions stands to their credit, and in the 
 wild days of the Emancipation movement, of 
 the Tithe War, of the Young Ireland rising, of 
 the Fenian outburst, and of the Land League 
 War, it was the police who had to bear the brunt 
 of the struggle. It is no wonder, then, that the 
 R.I.C. is a semi-military force, armed and 
 drilled and concentrated in those little barrack 
 forts that are the blockhouses of Imperial rule in 
 Ireland." 
 
 The Force acquired its designation "Royal " 
 from Queen Victoria in 1867, in recognition of 
 the conspicuous bravery and loyalty displayed 
 by the Force in the suppression of the Fenian 
 Rising. . 
 
 The condition of the country during 1920 was 
 no new experience for the Force, it was merely 
 an extreme aggravation of a condition which was 
 almost chronic. The Republicans had the wit to 
 see that if they were to succeed in their mad 
 scheme of driving the British out of Ireland the 
 R.I.C. was the first obstacle to be removed from 
 their path. During the latter months of 1919, 
 therefore, they began a campaign of murder 
 directed against the members of the Force, which 
 was pursued with the utmost rigour. 
 
 It is obvious that the campaign of outrage and 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 275 
 
 intimidation carried out by the Volunteers was 
 bound to have a prejudicial effect upon the 
 recruitment of the Force. It was not so much 
 that prospective recruits feared for their own 
 safety, notwithstanding the number that 
 suffered outrage at the hands of their cowardly 
 assailants. The campaign of intimidation 
 stretched out far beyond the recruit himself. A 
 man might be able to protect his own person, but 
 he could not always protect his family. The 
 Volunteers made a practice of concentrating 
 their forces against the relations of a recruit, 
 proclaiming a boycott of them and even assault- 
 ing those whom they suspected of being able to 
 bring influence to bear upon him to resign. 
 Threatening letters have been received by rela- 
 tives of constables, the surrounding population 
 has shunned them, fearing to incur the wrath of 
 local sympathisers with the Republicans; in fact 
 their position has become virtually that of lepers. 
 And not only the relatives of men in the Force, 
 but anyone suspected by the Volunteers of inter- 
 course with the police has been made to suffer. 
 For instance, on the 4th July, 1920, a party of 
 armed men raided a house in County Sligo and 
 fired at the occupant with a shot-gun, giving as 
 their reason the suspicion that he was " not 
 sufficiently unfriendly with the police." 
 
 Tl^e measures adopted by the Volunteers 
 against the police are sufficient indication of the 
 efficieiicy of the Force and of the consequent fear 
 and hatred it inspires among the ranks of the 
 Republicans. In the edition oi An T'Oglac 
 
276 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 dated the 15th July, 1920, appears an article 
 which, in speaking of ' the enemy,' that is to say 
 the British Government, mentions " his first 
 instrument of executive power, his eyes, ears, and 
 right arm, theR.I.C." 
 
 A ' General Order ' of Oglaich na h'Eireann 
 (the Irish Volunteers), numbered 1920 (New 
 Series) No. 6, and issued from ' General Head- 
 quarters ' on the 4th June, 1920, is headed 
 BOYCOTT OF R.I.C., and is as follows. 
 
 " Volunteers shall have no intercourse with 
 the R.I.C., and shall stimulate and support in 
 every way the boycott of this force ordered by 
 the Dail. 
 
 " Those persons who associate with the R.I.C. 
 shall be subjected to the same boycott, and the 
 fact of their association with and toleration of 
 this infamous force shall be kept public in every 
 possible way. Definite lists of such persons in the 
 area of his command, shall be prepared and re- 
 tained by each Company, Battalion and Brigade 
 Commander. 
 
 By Order 
 
 ADJUTANT GENERAL." 
 
 But the campaign of the Volunteers against 
 the police is not limited to measures of boycott. 
 In a previous chapter some account has been given 
 of the constant succession of murders of police 
 which have disgraced Ireland. The men of the 
 R.I.C. have been harassed in every conceivable 
 way. They have been murdered, boycotted and 
 illtreated ; their families have been made to suffer 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 277 
 
 for their loyalty in every possible way. The 
 very barradc servants have been beaten and 
 insulted, the policy of violence has been extended 
 even to those whose only offence is that of 
 having been seen speaking to a policeman. 
 Threatening letters have been sent to members of 
 the Force by the score, letters which usually only 
 serve to show the futility of their opponents' 
 methods. It is scarcely to be wondered at that 
 under these circumstances Irishmen, however 
 loyal they might be, hesitated to enlist in the 
 Force, knowing the dangers and inconveniences 
 which they would bring upon themselves and 
 their acquaintances by so doing. 
 
 The result was that the supply of recruits 
 failed to keep pace with the demand, and the 
 Grovernment decided to draw upon a fresh 
 source of supply. Recruiting for the Force was 
 therefore opened in England on 1st January, 
 1920, and it soon became obvious that service in 
 the Constabulary had great attractions for a 
 large number of young Englishmen. Ex-service 
 men in particular found the life congenial and 
 attractive, and so great was the flow of recruits 
 that the authorities found themselves enabled to 
 exercise considerable choice in the selection of 
 candidates. In fact, far from Republican 
 intimidation being able to deplete the ranks of 
 the Force, so many recruits were obtained that 
 hy October, 1920, the total strength of the 
 R.I.C., not including the Auxiliary Division, to 
 which reference will be made later, was greater 
 than at any time einoe 1912. During this time 
 
278 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 the rate of increase was such that approximately 
 sixteen recruits were added to the Force for every 
 three losses caused by resignation or otherwise. 
 The actual figures for a typical week in this 
 month are as follows : — 
 
 Regular Force (not including Auxiliary Division). 
 
 Total strength on 3rd October, 1920 10,208 
 
 Deaths during week ... 2 
 
 Retirements ... ... 4 
 
 Resignations ... ... 66 
 
 Dismissals ... ... 8 
 
 Tot^l Wastage ... 80 
 
 Recruits during week 
 
 Ireland ... ... 6 
 
 Great Britain 329 
 
 Total Recruitment 335 
 
 Net Increase ... 255 
 
 Total strength on 10th October, 1920 10,463 
 
 The total strength on 31st December, 1920, 
 was 12,755. 
 
 With recruits coming in at this rate, it was 
 impossible for a time to secure sufficient 
 quantities of the dark green uniform of the 
 Force with which to clothe them. The R.I.C. 
 was therefore compelled to look for some other 
 source of uniform with which to equip its 
 recruits imtil the temporary deficiency of its own' 
 clothing could be made good. The most natural 
 source of supply was the store of service dress 
 in the possession of the military authorities. 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 279 
 
 The recruits were fitted out with Constabulary 
 uniform as far as possible, and any shortcomings 
 were made good with service dress. The result 
 was that they appeared in a strange medley of 
 khaki and dark green, with perhaps a khaki 
 tunic and trousers, a dark green cap, and black 
 accoutrements. This hybrid dress acquired for 
 the recruits their now familiar nickname. At 
 Limerick there was once a famous pack of 
 hounds known locally as the ' Black and Tans,' 
 and upon the appearance of the first members of 
 the R.I.C. dressed in their unfamiliar costumes, 
 the inhabitants promptly applied to them the 
 familiar title. 
 
 But the mixture of military and police uniform 
 had another result, and perhaps a more serious 
 one. It gave the impression that the men were 
 not members of the R.I.C, in the sense of being 
 regular constables as heretofore. It was thought 
 by some that their uniforms indicated that they 
 were a quasi-military force, half soldiers, half 
 policemen, and that they were under the control 
 of the Military Authorities. This impression 
 died hard, and there is no doubt that it still 
 exists in many of the country districts of Ireland, 
 although by the end of the year all deficiencies of 
 uniform had been made good, and the men had 
 been equipped with the standard kit. It is quite 
 possible that this belief was the cause of a certain 
 amount of distrust displayed towards the men by 
 well-disposed but ignorant people, who had 
 always been on excellent terms with the members 
 of the Force until this time. 
 
280 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 On Tuesday, 12th October, 1920, the Chief 
 Secretary inspected a draft of some three 
 hundred R.I.C. recruits at Grormanstown Depot, 
 some twenty-five miles north of Dublin, and on 
 this occasion they certainly presented an 
 extraordinary appearance, wearing a mixture of 
 dark green and khaki, with, in some cases, 
 civilian head-gear. But beneath this curious 
 dress they were a very fine body of men, showing 
 intense enthusiasm for their new profession, and 
 a degree of intelligence that was a distinct 
 menace to the criminal designs of the 
 Republicans. Here is an extract from the Chief 
 Secretary's speech on this occasion : — 
 
 * ' Your first duty will be to prevent crime, and 
 your second to detect the criminal. You know as 
 well as I do the difficult times through which 
 Ireland is now passing, and I would urge each 
 one of you to do his best to live up to the 
 traditions of the different units in which you have 
 so honourably served during the late great war. 
 
 *' I also urge you to remember that it is your 
 duty and mine, and the soldiers who are assisting 
 us, to serve to the best of our ability the well- 
 diepoeed and loyal people. The great majority 
 of Irish people throughout this island want 
 peace, need peace, and pray for peace. But there 
 is a small minority who are prepared to murder 
 you, and murder me, and murder everyone who 
 wants to restore peace and maintain order in 
 this splendid old country. It is our duty to 
 prevent them from committing crime, to detect 
 them, to arrest them according to the law of this 
 land." 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 281 
 
 Side by side with the regular R.I.C. a body 
 of Temporary Cadets has been formed into an 
 organisation known as the Auxiliary Division 
 of the Royal Irish Constabulary. It was found 
 that the Volunteers, in pursuance of their policy 
 of, making war upon the Force, had embarked 
 upon an organised campaign of attacks upon 
 their barracks. These barracks had not originally 
 been built with a view to their withstanding 
 such attacks in force, and it became necessary to 
 put them into a suitable state of defence, by the 
 employment of barbed wire, steel shutters, and 
 other strictly military devices. The materials 
 for this purpose were procured, but it was found 
 that the regular members of the R.I.C. (which, it 
 must always be borne in mind, is primarily a 
 police, as opposed to a military, Force) had no 
 experience in the proper utilisation of this 
 material. In July, 1920, therefore, the 
 authorities decided to enrol five hundred 
 ex-officers, of the highest military and personal 
 records, to act as the advisers of the regular 
 members of the Force on matters of defence. 
 These men were enlisted as Temporary Cadets, 
 on a short service system, and were given pay at 
 the rate of £1 per day, with certain allowances 
 in addition. They were also awarded the 
 standing of Sergeant in the R.I.C. The 
 experiment proved extremely successful, and the 
 original establishment of five hundred was 
 enlarged. At the same time the value of a 
 mobile force of specially trained police was 
 recognised, and the Temporary Cadets were 
 
282 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 organised into companies, commanded by their 
 own officers, and equipped with the form of 
 transport which had been found so useful by the 
 Royal Air Force, namely, Crossley tenders. 
 These consist of a Crossley motor chassis fitted 
 with a wagonette body, and they are capable 
 of carrying eight to ten men with their 
 equipment. 
 
 The Auxiliary Division may be regarded as 
 a striking force, kept in reserve for use in 
 disturbed areas in aid of the regular police, and 
 operating in Companies under the orders of the 
 District and County Inspectors. The new body 
 became exceedingly popular among ex-officers, to 
 such an extent that the recruiting authorities 
 were enabled to select their men very carefully. 
 The Auxiliaries became, in fact, a corjps d'ilite, 
 composed only of such officers as could show the 
 highest credentials. For this reason they became 
 the terror of evil-doers, whose sympathisers did 
 their best to discredit them by every sort of 
 malicious misrepresentation. But in spite of its 
 calumniators, the Auxiliary Division grew and 
 prospered to an extraordinary extent. The 
 figures of its enlistment for the last week of 1920 
 are instructive. They are as follows : — 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 283 
 
 Stren^h on 26th December, 1920 ... 1,154 
 Resignations ... ... 8 
 
 Discharged on medical 
 
 grounds ... ... 2 
 
 Dismissed ... ... 1 
 
 Total Wastage ... 11 
 
 Recruits during the week 84 
 
 Net Increase ... 73 
 
 Strength on 2nd January, 1921 ... 1,227 
 
 A typical illustration of the Auxiliary 
 Division is afforded by the following account of 
 an inspection, by the Lord Lieutenant, of a 
 Company of the Division at the Vice-regal 
 Lodge, Phoenix Park, Dublin, on the morning of 
 the 14th October, 1920. 
 
 ** The unit marched through Dublin headed 
 by the R.I.C. band, and made a very favourable 
 impression. Their uniform and equipment is 
 novel, but is admirably adapted to the needs of 
 the Division. The men wear large tam-o-shanter 
 scotch bonnets, on which is the crowned harp, 
 the badge of the R.I.C. Their tunics, breeches 
 and puttees are khaki, and their accoutrements, 
 of black leather, consist of a bandolier worn 
 across the chest, a belt, with bayonet and 
 scabbard, and a revolver, carried not on the belt 
 but in the American manner, in an open holster 
 lying on the right thigh. The men in the ranks 
 are armed with rifles, and a machine-gun section 
 is attached to each Company. The men made an 
 excellent and soldier-like appearance on parade. 
 
284 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Many of them had decorations in addition to 
 war medals, and special distinctions of all kinds 
 were in evidence. His Excellency inspected the 
 men, who then formed a hoUow square while he 
 addressed them. The proceedings terminated 
 with a march past, at which His Excellency 
 took the salute." 
 
 Lord French's speech on this occasion was as 
 follows : — 
 
 " I wish to say a few words to express the 
 pleasure it has given me to see you here to-day, 
 and to congratulate you upon the very fine 
 appearance which you present. You have all 
 served as officers in that magnificent Army which 
 saved the Empire from destruction in the most 
 critical and dangerous years of its history, and 
 I am personally proud to know that I can claim 
 many of you as comrades in the field during the 
 earlier period of the war. Arduous and perilous 
 as that splendid service was, you have once more 
 offered yourselves for service which is not free 
 from either hardship or peril. You have taken 
 up the duty of assisting and supporting the 
 Royal Irish Constabulary in putting down 
 rebellion and re-establishing law and order 
 throughout Ireland. To strengthen and support 
 such a magnificent Force as the Royal Irish 
 Constabulary is a task worthy of soldiers who 
 have proved their prowess and mettle on many 
 a bloodstained field of battle. I have myself 
 many times in the last two or three years 
 acknowledged publicly the bravery, skill and 
 discipline of the Royal Irish Constabulary, and 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 285 
 
 their work was eloquently and worthily eulogised 
 by the Chief Secretary only a week or two ago,* 
 and I wish to say how heartily I concur with 
 every word which fell from him then. 
 
 ** The work which lies before you is arduous 
 and difficult, because it demands the exercise of 
 so many different qualities. You have all shown 
 yourselves to be possessed of courage, energy, 
 skill and discipline, in a very high degree, but 
 in the performance of the duties which lie before 
 you tact, judgment and self-restraint are also 
 required, and I feel sure that you will in this 
 respect as in all others act up to the glorious 
 record you have established in the field. You 
 may resft assured that in carrying out that work 
 you will have the good- will, sympathy, and active 
 support of every loyal subject of the King, in 
 Ireland or elsewhere. ' ' 
 
 Some idea of the conditions under which the 
 police lived in Ireland during the year may be 
 gathered from the account which has already 
 been given of the outrages committed upon them. 
 It would be hard to imagine any type of existence 
 which could be more trying to morale, or more 
 wearing to the nerves of individuals. A few 
 indeed have found themselves unable to endure 
 the strain, and have resigned in consequence. 
 But, as has already been mentioned, the flow of 
 recruits has been far more than sufficient to 
 make good this wastage. It is the finest possible 
 tribute to the traditions of the Force and to the 
 
 * On the occasion of the presentation of medals to members 
 of the R.I.C. in Phoenix Park on 30th September, 1920. 
 
286 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 character of its members that the morale of the 
 R.I.C. is as good if not better now, after an 
 unexampled period of murderous persecution, 
 than it has been during any other period of its 
 existence. 
 
 The following circular letter shows how 
 carefully the republican conspiracy against the 
 Force was thought out : — 
 
 OGLAIG NA h'EIREANN. 
 
 General Headquarters, 
 Dublin. 
 1st November, 1919. 
 " To Brigade Commandant, 
 
 ' ' In order better to organise and supervise the 
 getting of all information, Brigade Com- 
 mandants will have appointed at once a 
 Brigade Captain of Intelligence, and Battalion 
 Lieutenants of Intelligence, for each of his 
 Battalions, and Company Captains will appoint 
 a Volunteer to co-ordinate the Company 
 information for him. 
 
 " Forms Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 ( copies of 
 
 each) are sent you herewith. Their use will 
 standardise the form of record of information 
 which at present in different Brigade Areas is 
 kept in different forms. Together with a copy 
 of this instruction, they should be placed 
 without delay in the hands of all your Company 
 Captains, and of your Outpost men in such 
 Parishes or Church Areas in which a Company 
 has not yet been formed. 
 
 " Company Captains and Outpost men should 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 287 
 
 be made responsible for the complete compilation, 
 without delay, of the information of their own 
 Areas, and Brigade Commandants, will be 
 responsible that the compilation is complete for 
 their whole Brigade Areas. 
 
 *' Forms 1, 2, 3 and 4 should be prepared by 
 Captains and Outpost men in triplicate, and the 
 copies should be filed by the Brigade and 
 Battalion Commandant, who should make proper 
 arrangements for having their records kept up 
 to date and summarised. 
 
 *' Form 1 is intended to indicate a comparison 
 between the available material of military age, 
 and Volunteers, and Enemy Forces. 
 
 " Form 2 is intended to indicate in a simple 
 way full particulars of the Military Forces. 
 
 " Form 3, ditto for Police Force. N.B. — 
 Where such is not done already, one good man 
 should be allocated to each Barracks or Station, 
 and his duty should be to get plans of the 
 Barracks, etc, and details of its whole internal 
 life. 
 
 *' Form 4 is intended to indicate those persons 
 other than the Military and Police who go to 
 form the actual machinery of oppression in the 
 country, i.e., R.M's, J.P's, Crown Solicitors, 
 and all Agents and spies of the English 
 Government, Official or Unofficial, active or 
 inactive. 
 
 ** Form 5 indicates the form of a record which 
 should be kept in respect of (1) every policeman, 
 and (2) every person classed as hostile or 
 aggressive in Form 4. The record should be kept 
 
288 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 in Book Form, loose leaf if possible, ruled as 
 indicated in the form. This record should be 
 made retrospect ire. 
 
 ' * Company Captains and Outpost men should 
 make a review of the population in their Area, 
 and note and record all persons capable of helping 
 them in any way. In this connection it is 
 remarked that all young men are potential 
 Volunteers, and any of them who have influence, 
 or ability, or qualification likely to make them 
 useful to us, should be specially kept under 
 notice. Reference should be made to the ' Voters' 
 Lists ' in this connection. 
 
 " The standardising of information records 
 has been unduly delayed and this instruction 
 should be given effect to at once. 
 By Order, 
 
 DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF." 
 
 The only one of these forms which need 
 concern us here is number 3. The headings of 
 this form are interesting. They are as follows : — 
 " Date. 
 Name of Company or Outpost Area. 
 Name of Barracks or Station. 
 Number of Constables. 
 Number of other officers. 
 Beats or Patrols. 
 Time. 
 From. 
 To. 
 
 Number in Patrol. 
 Area covered. 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 289 
 
 Plans filed (yes or no). 
 
 Espionage arranged (yes or no). 
 
 Remarks. ' ' 
 It is obvious from this that the murder of 
 police was part of a deliberate and well thought 
 out scheme. 
 
 Let us try to form a mental picture of the life 
 of the average constable at the height of the 
 outrage campaign. He lived in a fortified 
 barrack, probably overcrowded owing to the 
 concentration of the Force, and certainly never 
 designed to resist determined assault with 
 modern weapons. He was surrounded by a 
 populace which, if not definitely hostile, was at 
 all events so intimidated that the members of 
 the civil population hardly dare be seen speaking 
 to him. Lurking throughout the countryside 
 were the members of the Republican Army, who, 
 instigated by their leaders, regarded him as an 
 enemy not to be faced in the open but to be 
 persecuted by every means from petty annoyance 
 to treacherous murder. His life was spent in 
 constant apprehension of danger. His barracks 
 might be attacked at any hour of the day or night, 
 but usually the latter, by overwhelming numbers 
 of callous rufiians, who would use every weapon 
 of brutality against him. If he would go out of 
 barracks, he was compelled to do so as one of a 
 party operating in practically an enemy's 
 country. He could never predict the moment 
 when a hail of bullets would burst upon him from 
 a carefully prepared ambush, his assailants being 
 the apparently harmless citizens who surrounded 
 
 T 
 
290 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 him every day. Every means v^^as employed to 
 tempt him from his allegiance. Letters reached 
 him warning him to resign if he wished to 
 escape the death penalty, and in some cases 
 guaranteeing him employment under Republican 
 auspices if he did so. 
 
 In this connection the following circular, 
 which was widely distributed through the post 
 during the latter days of September, 1920, is 
 interesting : — 
 " A Chara, 
 
 " At the present moment a large number of 
 R.I.C. have left the Force owing to their 
 repugnance to the outrages that are taking place 
 and in which they are required to take part. 
 Some of these men have narrowly escaped with 
 their lives. In one case, of which I have the 
 details, a man was dismissed for refusing to 
 participate in sacking a town, and was fired at 
 on leaving the barracks. 
 
 ' ' These men, whether they were dismissed for 
 refusing to carry out instructions or whether they 
 resigned as a protest, are now without any means 
 of support. 
 
 " I am addressing this to you as I believe you 
 to be one who would object on principle to the 
 outrages on the people that are taking place, 
 and that you would view with horror the burning 
 of creameries and homesteads, and burning and 
 looting towns, and the daily terrors the people 
 have to suffer from the callous shootings from 
 which so many have lost their lives. 
 
 * ' In expectation of your being willing to come 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 291 
 
 to the aid of men victimised because they would 
 not allow themselves to be used for such work, I 
 vrrite to ask you to co-operate with me in finding 
 work for these men, and I would ask you, if there 
 are any vacant jobs under your patronage for 
 which they would be suitable, to communicate 
 with me. 
 
 " The majority of these men seek employment 
 as clerks, agricultural workers, stewards, watch- 
 men, agents, motor drivers, caretakers, etc. 
 Miso do Chara, 
 
 CONSTANCE DE MARKIEVICZ. 
 
 " Please reply to the Secretary, General 
 Employment Agency, 61, Highfield Road, 
 Rathgar, Dublin." 
 
 This document is headed *' Dublin, September, 
 1920," and was presumably signed by Countess 
 Markievicz in her capacity as ' Minister of 
 Labour ' of Dail Eireann. 
 
 In commenting upon this circular the Morning 
 Post remarked : " A circular . . . which is 
 in reality designed as an appeal for funds in aid 
 of Sinn Fein, though it appears on the surface to 
 be a benevolent effort on behalf of the Royal 
 Irish Constabulary. The signature is apparently 
 impressed by a rubber stamp. Nobody but a 
 member of Sinn Fein will believe that the. 
 constables are ordered by their officers to commit 
 outrages on pain of dismissal ; and the suggestion 
 that men ostensibly resign because they cannot 
 face the strain of organised ambush and murder, 
 but really as a protest against these ' orders,' is 
 just the kind of false statement which is so 
 
292 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 sedulously spread in America and in the 
 Dominions. Its authors apparently rely on the 
 short memory of the average man. Yet scarcely 
 anybody who reads the newspapers can be 
 ignorant of the fact that the declared policy of 
 the Irish ' Republic ' is to deprive every 
 constable of his life or of his livelihood. More- 
 over, Countess Markievicz is a woman who was 
 condemned to death for her share in the Dublin 
 Rebellion of 1916, when wounded soldiers back 
 from France were butchered in the streets of 
 the Irish capital ; is a prominent member of Sinn 
 Fein, which is responsible for so many murders 
 of policemen; and has never by a single word 
 indicated that she disapproves of these crimes. 
 If she is so desirous to recompense men of the 
 R.I.C. who have been driven to resign by Sinn 
 Fein terrorism she has a ready means of showing 
 it. Sinn Fein is itself abundantly provided with 
 funds and could easily spare money to aid the 
 victims of its murderous methods." 
 
 The suggestion that men were dismissed or 
 called upon to resign for refusing to take part in 
 reprisals is of course absurd. Such dismissals 
 as took place were for misconduct alone, and 
 resignations have been due to a variety of causes, 
 mainly personal. 
 
 One result of the state of disturbance existing 
 in Ireland was that the police, practically 
 confined to their barracks in many districts, were 
 unable to obtain news except through the medium 
 of local newspapers, whose descriptions of events 
 were almost always tinged with the colour of 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 293 
 
 hostility towards the Forces of the Crown. In 
 order to provide them with an unbiased summary 
 of news, the police authorities produced a news- 
 sheet of four pages, know as the Weekly 
 Summary, consisting almost entirely of extracts 
 from the leading British and Irish newspapers. 
 This publication was purely for free and private 
 circulation in police barracks, and was not for 
 sale. The first number is dated 13th August, 
 1920. 
 
 This paper was eagerly welcomed by the 
 members of the Force, and has been of 
 considerable value in providing them with a 
 wider range of information than that contained 
 in the local Irish Press. A single extract from 
 it must sufiSce as an illustration, and for that 
 purpose we may select its * leader ' of 1st 
 October, condemning reprisals : — 
 
 ** POLICE AND PUBLIC. 
 
 The Police Force is the guardian of the law. 
 
 The * Irish Republican Army ' is a criminal 
 organisation. 
 
 It has declared war on the law. 
 
 Its first aim is avowedly the destruction of the 
 Police Forces in Ireland. 
 
 The Police, who see their friends and comrades 
 foully murdered, sufier intense provocation, but 
 they must continue to maintain, in spite of 
 this provocation, that self-control which has 
 characterised them in the past. 
 
 The Police will thus earn the respect and 
 admiration of Ireland and the world at large. 
 
294 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 The Police exists for the welfare of Ireland 
 and to lift her from the terror of the pistol. 
 
 The destruction of factories, houses, and other 
 buildings only impoverishes Ireland. 
 
 Do not hurt Ireland. 
 
 Put out the ' murder gang ' and free her from 
 the thraldom of terror. 
 
 To hunt down the murderers is the paramount 
 duty of the Police. 
 
 The Police Force is the guardian of the law." 
 
 This staccato admonition is typical of the 
 general tone of the little paper. For the rest, 
 each number consists of interesting extracts from 
 other papers, such as might be expected to 
 interest the members of the Force. 
 
 In addition to the Royal Irish Constabulary, 
 there are two other Police Forces in Ireland. 
 
 It will have been observed that the Act of 
 William IV. (Drummond's Act) already quoted 
 (page 270) specifically excludes Dublin from the 
 territory in which the Constabulary of Ireland 
 was to operate. A separate Act (6 and 7 William 
 IV. Cap 29) of 4th July, 1836, provides for the 
 setting up of a Police Force for the City of 
 Dublin. This Act is very similar in its terms to 
 the Act setting up the Constabulary of Ireland. 
 
 " Whereas it is expedient to substitute a new 
 and more efficient System of Police within the 
 limits of the District of Dublin Metropolis, and 
 to constitute an Office of Police, which, acting 
 under the immediate Authority of the Chief 
 
THE POLICE FORCES. 295 
 
 Secretary of the Lord Lieutenant shall direct and 
 control the whole of such new System of Police 
 within those limits . . . Be it enacted, That 
 a sufficient Number of fit and able Men shall from 
 Time to Time, By the Directions of the Chief 
 Secretary of the Lord Lieutenant ... be 
 appointed as a Police Force for the whole of such 
 District, who shall be sworn in ... to act 
 as Constables for preserving the Peace, and 
 preventing Robberies and other Felonies, and 
 apprehending offenders against the Peace. 
 
 " And be it enacted, that it shall be lawful 
 for any Man belonging to the said Police Force, 
 during the Time of his being on Duty, to 
 apprehend all loose, idle, and disorderly Persons 
 whom he shall find disturbing the public Peace, 
 or whom he shall have just Cause to suspect of 
 any evil Designs." 
 
 The form of oath to be taken and subscribed 
 by every person under this Act is similar to that 
 to be taken by members of the Constabulary of 
 Ireland. 
 
 The Force so set up is knovsn as the Dublin 
 Metropolitan Police. The Dublin Police District, 
 which comprises the City of Dublin and part of 
 the County of 'Dublin, is divided into six 
 Divisions, each under the charge of a superin- 
 tendent of Police. The population of * Greater 
 Dublin,' approximating to the Police District, 
 was 371,936 at the time of the last census (1911). 
 
 The Dublin Metropolitan Police is maintained 
 at a more or less constant strength, with very 
 small fluctuations. Typical weekly figures of 
 recruitment are as follows : — 
 
296 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Strength on 19th October, 1920 ... 1,133 
 
 Retirements ... ... 3 
 
 Recruits : 
 
 Great Britain ... 5 
 
 Ireland ... ... 8 
 
 — 13 
 
 Net increase ... ... 10 
 
 Strength on 26th October, 1920 ... 1,143 
 
 During September, 1920, it was decided to 
 form a Special Constabulary in Ireland in order 
 to assist in dealing with the abnormal situation 
 then existing. An announcement was made 
 during that month that the Government would 
 enroll well-disposed citizens for this purpose. 
 On 22nd October a statement was issued outlining 
 the scheme and the conditions of service. The 
 terms of this statement were as follows : — 
 
 The scheme, which applies to the whole of 
 Ireland, will be brought into operation area by 
 area as circumstances may require. The hrst 
 Class of constable is Class A — that is to say a 
 whole-time man enlisted to serve for a minimum 
 period of six months, during which he will serve 
 in the regular Royal Irish Constabulary, but only 
 within the divisional area wherein he is 
 recruited. These men get uniform, quarters (or 
 an equivalent rent allowance), pay at 10s. a day, 
 and sundry other allowances, making the total 
 weekly pay £3 17s. 6d. Married men, if 
 required to live in barracks, get a separation 
 allowance of 14s. a week, and sundry rent 
 
THE POLICE FOECES. 297 
 
 allowances a(3Cordiiig to the conditions under 
 which they serve. After approved service, a 
 bounty at the rate of £25 for each year's service 
 in lieu of pension rights is also given, and in 
 case of death or injuries due to the execution of 
 his duties a special constable or his legal 
 representatives will be entitled to claim 
 compensation under the Criminal Injuries 
 (Ireland) Act, 1919, payment of the award being 
 guaranteed by the Government. Arms and 
 equipment will be similar to those borne by the 
 Royal Irish Constabulary. 
 
 Membership of Class B entails occasional duty, 
 usually one evening per week, exclusive of 
 training drills, in an area convenient to the 
 member. Day duties will not be required except 
 in emergency. These services will be unpaid, 
 but a £5 allowance will be paid for each six 
 months of service, to cover wear and tear of 
 clothes and boot-leather. Caps and armlets will 
 be provided, but arms and equipment will be 
 determined by the authority of the county. They 
 will usually be the same as those borne by the 
 regular police of the district at the time. For 
 each drill attended in excess of one per week 
 2s. 6d. will be paid. This class will be under its 
 own officers, but these will be under the police 
 authority of the area in which they serve. Class 
 C is a reserve. Members will serve in a district 
 convenient to themselves, and will be called on 
 only in case of an emergency. They draw no 
 pay or allowances, and do only occasional drills. 
 
 During the year 1920 this new Force of Special 
 
298 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Constabulary was established only in Ulster, but 
 there it performed most useful service, and the 
 experience in police duties gained by its members 
 will no doubt be of great service to the 
 authorities of the Ulster Government when the 
 latter is set up under the Government of Ireland 
 Act, 1920. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 
 
 The question of ' * reprisals, ' ' as they have been 
 universally termed, is one that caused a good deal 
 of discussion during the latter months of 1920. 
 Reprisals in this case may be defined as 
 unauthorised measures taken by members of the 
 Forces of the Crown in revenge for injuries 
 inflicted upon them by disorderly elements of 
 the Irish population. 
 
 The Press has devoted considerable space to 
 the question, and the occurrence of these reprisals 
 has been widely condemned throughout the world. 
 In many cases a wholly false inference has been 
 drawn from such instances of reprisals as can 
 be substantiated. Ireland has been described as 
 suffering under a terror brought about by the 
 police and the troops; the Government of Ireland 
 has been accused of actual complicity in this 
 terror, even of creating and encouraging it. It 
 has been represented that the discipline of the 
 Royal Irish Constabulary and British Army in 
 Ireland has completely disappeared, that savage 
 acts by members of these forces are the order of 
 the day. The Republican murder-gangs are 
 eulogised as patriots, struggling to defend their 
 
300 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 country against the tyranny of brutal English 
 oppressors. In short, Republican sources of 
 information have so distorted the facts of such 
 reprisals as have occurred that they are beyond 
 recognition and even credence. 
 
 Now let us examine the facts. Enough has 
 been placed on record in preceding chapters to 
 show the conditions obtaining in Ireland during 
 the year 1920 and the outrages there committed. 
 We have considered the objects and the 
 achievements of the Republican organisations, 
 and we have touched upon the constitution and 
 the duties of the forces of law and order. We 
 are therefore in a position to form an idea of the 
 state of Ireland during 1920, and to estimate the 
 value of reports emanating from Republican 
 sources. 
 
 Reprisals have occurred, and cannot be 
 sufficiently deplored. There can be no legitimate 
 grounds for the condonation of the undisciplined 
 acts of a disciplined force. No member of the 
 Irish Administration has at any time approved 
 or condoned these acts, and every possible 
 measure has been taken to prevent their 
 recurrence. But the matter of reprisals goes 
 deeper than condemnation, than orders and 
 punishment. It goes to the root of human 
 nature. However perfect discipline may be, 
 however rigorous the punishment meted out to 
 those who err against it, there must always be a 
 certain number of men in every Force whose 
 self-control is insufficient to restrain them from 
 taking vengeance under certain circumstances. 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 301 
 
 In the following pages an attempt has been made 
 to deal with the whole question of reprisals, and 
 of the circumstances which have led up to them. 
 
 One of the most widely published stories of 
 " reprisals " dealt with the occurrences in the 
 three villages of Milltown Malbay, Ennistymon 
 and Lahinch, all in the extreme west of County 
 Clare, on September 22nd, 1920. Reports were 
 published of the " sacking " of these towns by 
 the police, and of the general misery that had 
 been caused in consequence. The actual facts 
 are as follows : — 
 
 By the morning post on 22nd of September the 
 police at Ennistymon received an anonymous 
 letter which ran as follows : — 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I am giving you a warning to 
 make your men look out for themselves for the 
 S.F. is going to make a raid on them some day. 
 Let your men look out and the two officers that is 
 going by themselves in the black motor. They 
 will give them a downfall as sure as you are 
 reading this. They would want to look out for 
 themselves : we cannot stop our young innocent 
 sons. Sure the leading man of them all is John 
 O'Loughlin the man that is going to all the 
 races, why he has plenty of powder and fire- 
 arms. We would have an easy mind if you would 
 frighten those murderers. They want more 
 blood. . . ." 
 
 The letter is in itself one of the most valuable 
 lights that could have been thrown upon the^ 
 situation in Ireland. It shows how the older 
 generation regards the operations of the 
 
302 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Republican Army, and the impossibility of 
 controlling the younger men. But we must leave 
 it in order to continue the account of the events 
 that followed. 
 
 At eleven o'clock in the morning a military 
 non-commissioned officer in Ennistymon was 
 given a hint that a police car was to be ambushed. 
 He went straight back to barracks and reported 
 what he had heard, whereupon a party of troops 
 was dispatched along the Milltown Malbay road 
 with instructions to examine likely positions for 
 ambushes. Shortly after passing a place called 
 Lahinch, where the roads to Milltown and 
 Liscannor separate, shots were heard ahead. 
 The party pushed on and came into touch with 
 the rebels as the latter were scattering inland. 
 The troops came under fire from both flanks and 
 the driver of a motor lorry was wounded. But a 
 Lewis gun was brought into action and a few 
 minutes later a second small party of troops came 
 up in support, whereupon the rebels scattered 
 and fled. The rebels took skilful advantage of 
 cover behind banks, whins and hedges. 
 
 The troops now came back to the road, and at 
 a point where the road is about twenty-five yards 
 from the railway line found the bodies of the 
 victims and the wrecked car. It was easy to 
 re-construct the tragedy. Between the railway 
 line and the road the ambush had been prepared 
 with boughs and other cover to conceal the 
 assailants. Behind the cover hay was strewn, 
 and there were signs of a regular bivouac which 
 had clearly been occupied from before dawn. 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 303 
 
 Hay was strewn about and there were a few 
 haversacks and coats as well as some bread and 
 some meat tins. Empty rifle and shot-gun 
 cartridges lay about and also sharp-nosed bullets 
 whereof the points had been carefully filed, 
 converting them into dumdums. The car, which 
 was travelling slowly uphill at the time of the 
 assault, had been hit by a bullet which put out 
 of action the two front cylinders and must have 
 stopped it at once. At the same time fire was 
 opened on the police from some fifty rifle and 
 shot-guns. Twelve-bore cartridge cases and wads 
 showed the ammimition used. The original 
 wounds caused by the dumdum bullets were bad 
 enough, but the bodies showed that after the men 
 had fallen the criminals had further fired at 
 their victims at short range with shot-guns. 
 The evidence of this bestiality was indisputable. 
 Search was made for the body of a missing 
 constable, but it was not found until next 
 morning. The wounded man had managed to 
 crawl nearly four hundred yards, but as the 
 tracks showed had been hunted down and 
 butchered in cold blood. The arrival of the 
 troops had been too late to save him. 
 
 It has been said that the murderers took cover 
 and kept up a fusillade for some time, under the 
 impression of course that the first military party 
 to arrive on the scene consisted only of a few 
 men in a car. During the fight the rebels fired 
 from two houses, and it is certain that the 
 occupants of these houses not only were fully 
 aware of the ambush (they could not have avoided 
 
304 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 noticing it) but also deliberately refrained from 
 giving any notice thereof as they certainly could 
 have done. However, they did not get off scot- 
 free, for the houses were set on fire and burned 
 to the ground. 
 
 There were other people who could have given 
 warning and did not do so and who are therefore 
 accessories to the murders. Two trains passed 
 within from six to ten feet of the ambush, every 
 detail of which must have been visible from the 
 line. The guard and driver of each train must 
 have known of the ambush, and it is impossible 
 that some of the station officials at Milltown 
 should not have been informed. It is worth 
 noting that a priest wearing what appeared to be 
 military medals was reported to have formed one 
 of the ambush party. 
 
 The murder of District Inspector Brady near 
 Tubbercurry on 30th September, 1920, has 
 already been dealt with (page 215). Some 
 quotations from a report made at the time are 
 there given. The report continues as follows : — 
 
 ' * The police who had come from Sligo entered 
 the barracks and saw the dead officer on the floor. 
 D.I. Russell was getting details of what 
 happened when the police were ambushed, when 
 he suddenly heard shots being fired outside the 
 barracks and battering of doors. D.I. Russell 
 took a carbine and ran out, together with D.I. 
 Dease and Lieutenant Morrison. He found that 
 a shop next the barracks belonging to a Mr. 
 Howley had been broken into and that some of 
 the police and soldiers were wrecking it and 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 305 
 
 preparing to set it on fire. D.I. Russell 
 challenged them and ordered them to desist and 
 leave the premises, and the military officer called 
 on his men to do the same. The men obeyed the 
 order very reluctantly and sullenly. D.I. Russell 
 then collected his men and told them there was 
 no damage to be committed to property. This 
 quietened the men for a few minutes but there 
 was a good deal of murmuring and grumbling, 
 and after a short interval some of the men broke 
 away and were followed by the rest. The D.I. 
 tried to get them back but his efforts were of no 
 avail. A large general store owned by a Mr 
 Cooke was set fire to. At this time the men had 
 scattered in all directions and there was a great 
 amount of rifle firing and throwing of bombs 
 and shouting by the men to the Irish Volunteers 
 to come out and fight them. The town and 
 surrounding country is a hot-bed of Iri^ 
 Volunteers of the worst type. Other houses were 
 set on fire. The D.I. appealed to the men over 
 and over again to desist, but the men were simply 
 mad with passion and all restraints of discipline 
 were thrown to the winds. The turmoil continued 
 for about three hours. Finally D.I. Russell 
 managed by appealing to some of the police who 
 had been fired at to get their comrades to desist, 
 to regain control, and got his men into the motor 
 lorries. He then went to give some directions 
 to D.I. Dease who was remaining in Tubber- 
 curry, and while he was doing so the lorries 
 started off and went to Tubbercurry Creamery, 
 which is about half a mile from the town, and it 
 
 u 
 
306 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 was burned down. The military lorries came 
 back shortly after the lorries left Tubbercurry 
 and went on to Sligo, but the police lorries did 
 not return for about an hour. D.I. Russell then 
 managed to get started to Sligo at about 5 a.m. 
 He was in the rear car. When the first car 
 reached Achonry Creamery about four miles from 
 Tubbercurry the two cars pulled up, and in spite 
 of the D.I's efforts the creamery was burnt down. 
 After a great deal of persuasion the D.I. 
 managed to get his men to resume the journey to 
 Sligo. I visited Tubbercurry on morning of 2nd 
 instant with C.I. Neylon who returned off leave 
 on 1st instant. 
 
 " The following shops were completely 
 destroyed : E. J. Cooke's, publican, draper and 
 grocer; Patrick J. Gallagher's, publican and 
 grocer; John Coleman's, grocer. The licensed 
 premises of Kate Armstrong, Philip Durkan and 
 M. J. Howley were partly burned. 
 
 ** Windows were broken in the shops and 
 houses of the following : J. Mullorkey, H. 
 Crydn, Gallagher Brothers, Elizabeth Morran, 
 Bernard Madden, and M. J. Howley, and Miss 
 Sheridan. The reason these particular houses 
 w^ere attacked appears to have been because 
 either the owner or the shop boys employed by 
 him were active in the Sinn Fein or Jrish 
 Volunteer Organisations. So far as I could 
 learn no person in the town suffered any personal 
 injury." 
 
 The Chief Secretary for Ireland referred to 
 both these cases in a speech in the House of 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 307 
 
 Commons on 20th October, 1920. His words are 
 worth quoting as being the sanest and most 
 reasonable comment upon the question of 
 reprisals that has yet appeared. 
 
 The quotations are from Hansard. Dealing 
 with the Ennistymon case, he said : 
 
 ** Five policemen, in the course of their duty, 
 were operating in the western part of Clare near 
 two villages called Ennistymon and Lahinch. 
 They were ambushed by a large number of men, 
 probably fifty. Shots were fired that at once 
 stopped the car. Expanding bullets rained on 
 them. Four of the men were killed instantly as 
 a result of the bullets, and the car was 
 bespattered with blood and the mutilated remains 
 of the four. The fifth, though badly wounded, 
 managed to crawl away from the car for 400 
 yards. He was pursued. Shot-guns were used 
 within a foot of him to blow his body to pieces. 
 The car was on the road, with these men 
 mutilated beyond recognition, when, within ten 
 minutes, another car containing soldiers and 
 police came along. They lost their heads. They 
 went to the villages of Ennistymon and Lahinch. 
 I am sure the House, whatever their opinion may 
 be as to this Resolution,* will, at any rate, give 
 
 * The Reaolution, moved by Mr. Arthur Henderson, was 
 defeated by 346 votes to 79. It was as follows : " That this 
 House regrets the present state of lawlessneBS in Ireland and 
 the lack of discipline in the armed forces of the Crown, result- 
 ing in the death or injury of innocent citizens and the destruc- 
 tion of property; and is of the opinion that an independent 
 investigation should at once be instituted into the cause, nature 
 and extent of reprisals on the part of those whose duty is the 
 maintenance of law and order. 
 
308 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 me their sympathy in trying to bring peace out 
 of chaos in Ireland. It is true that reprisals 
 followed the murder of these five gallant men. 
 Sixteen houses and shops were destroyed — houses 
 that were considered to be occupied or owned 
 by notorious Sinn Feiners. 
 
 " Here, again, I am convinced that the people 
 of these two villages knew of this ambush. (An 
 Hon. Member: ' How do you know? ' The 
 Chief Secretary : ' On the evidence.' The Hon. 
 Member : ' Let us have the evidence.*) I will. 
 The place of ambush covered a long stretch on 
 both sides of the road, and from the evidence of 
 the bandoliers, haybeds, haversacks, coats, 
 blankets, meat tins, and so on, it was clear that 
 the bivouac had been there at least twelve hours, 
 and possibly twenty- four hours. The place was 
 within sight of many houses. I am admitting 
 what is called a reprisal. I am putting to you 
 the provocation that comes to brave men . 
 I hope I have shown that the ambush must have 
 been present to many people in the vicinity. The 
 Irish Republican Army is particularly strong in 
 that area. We have lists of the members. We 
 have the muster roll in that area. We know 
 exactly, as far as it is humanly possible to know, 
 the persons who connived at and helped in that 
 ambush, which resulted in the mutilation and 
 death of five members of the Royal Irish Con- 
 stabulary." 
 
 Dealing with the case of District Inspector 
 Brady, the Chief Secretary in the same speech, 
 said : " District Inspector Brady served through- 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 309 
 
 out the war as an officer in the Irish Guards, and 
 won the approval of his superiors for his courage 
 in the field. He became a District Inspector in 
 the Royal Irish Constabulary in Monaghan, 
 which was looked upon, as things go in Ireland, 
 as rather a peaceful county. He volimteered to 
 go into a disturbed area to exchange with a 
 married man with a family. He was a real 
 Irishman of the best sort. He was travelling 
 in the front seat, the seat of danger, in a patrol 
 lorry in the ordinary course of his duties towards 
 a village called Tubber curry, in Sligo. He and 
 his men were ambushed just before they arrived 
 at the village. The ambush was carefully 
 planned. Over fifty men waited hour after 
 hour for this lorry to come along. Shots — 
 expanding bullets — were fired into the lorry. 
 Poor Brady was seriously wounded in three 
 places. . . . The motor driver brought the 
 car into the yard. Brady, dying, was taken out 
 by his men. I want to show two things in this 
 ghastly chapter of Irish History, not reflecting 
 the real Irishman, but the grossest form of brutal 
 assassination. Brady's clothes were cut off him. 
 He was wounded horribly in three places by 
 expanding bullets, and anyone who knows 
 anything about the effect of expanding bullets 
 can visualise that gallant District Inspector a 
 ghastly mass of mutilation on the floor of the 
 barracks. Another policeman had the calf of 
 his leg blown off by an expanding bullet, and, 
 unconscious, was groaning in pain. A third 
 had his face full of gun-shot pellets. That was 
 
310 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 the scene that met some soldiers and policemen 
 who came on afterwards. They saw Brady on 
 the floor. They knew him. They loved him. 
 Soldiers and policemen trained under the British 
 flag love their oSicers. They so love them that 
 they go to their death for them. I admit that 
 when they saw Brady's form on the ground they 
 saw red. I admit there was a reprisal. They 
 went out and they burnt three shops of three 
 notorious Sinn Feiners. They smashed several 
 other shops all owned or occupied by notorious 
 Sinn Feiners, and I am convinced, on the 
 evidence, that every one of those persons who 
 suffered through the reprisal connived at, 
 possibly helped, and certainly all condoned that 
 murder of District Inspector Brady." 
 
 Perhaps of all the cases of reprisals which 
 occurred during 1920, that of Balbriggan is most 
 widely known. The circumstances that led up 
 to this incident were as follows. 
 
 Balbriggan is a village of over two thousand 
 inhabitants, lying on the east coast of Ireland 
 some twenty miles north of Dublin. On the 20th 
 September, 1920, Head Constable Burke, of the 
 Phoenix Park R.I.C. Depot, Dublin, accom- 
 panied by his brother Sergeant Burke, went out 
 to Balbriggan for a day's leave. Head Constable 
 Burke had taken a prominent part in the defence 
 of a barracks in County Clare, for which he had 
 received special promotion, and was undoubtedly 
 regarded by the Republicans as a marked man. 
 While he was in the bar of an Hotel, he was 
 recognised by members of the Irish Volunteers, 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 311 
 
 and shot in cold blood, his brother being wounded 
 at the same time. 
 
 The news of this outrage spread to Gormans- 
 town Camp, some four miles distant, which had 
 recently been converted into a R.I.C. depot, and 
 was therefore occupied by men who had all passed 
 through Burke's hands during their training. 
 Burke was exceedingly popular with these men, 
 and upon the news of his murder reaching them 
 they got completely out of hand. Burning with 
 a thirst for revenge against the murderers and 
 the village which sheltered them, they broke out 
 of barracks and proceeded to Balbriggan. There 
 they seized two prominent Republicans, officers 
 in the local Irish Volunteers, and shot them dead. 
 Subsequently damage was inflicted upon the 
 village to the extent of 1 factory, 4 public-houses, 
 and 19 private houses being burned and 30 
 private houses wrecked. The damage was esti- 
 mated at between £130,000 and £150,000. 
 
 It cannot be denied that these outbreaks by the 
 Forces of the Crown were indefensible. The 
 authorities have never attempted to defend or 
 condone them. In a statement to the Press on 
 28th September the Chief Secretary said : 
 " There is no truth in the allegation that the 
 Government connives at or supports reprisals. 
 The Government condemns reprisals and has 
 issued orders condemning them and has 
 taken steps to prevent them.*' Nothing could 
 be clearer than this. In the speech that has ' 
 already been quoted the Chief Secretary referred 
 to the Balbriggan episode in the following terms : 
 
312 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 " I will face Balbriggan as all these casee, 
 because in the present abnormal state of Ireland 
 those persons, generally of an anaemic and it may 
 be hysterical disposition, who expect things to 
 work on the lines of the ordered routine you will 
 find in this favoured country, expect too much, 
 and are dealing not with facts but with visions. 
 Take Balbriggan. This case has been stated, I 
 think, by the right hon. Gentleman, the Member 
 for Paisley (Mr. Asquith), to be comparable with 
 a Belgian town in the war. I believe the right 
 hon. Gentleman said he had seen some of these 
 places. So have I. Has he seen Balbriggan? 
 (Mr. Asquith : ' No.') I have. I claim to be an 
 authority on Balbriggan. I will give the case as 
 it is, and I will admit at the start it is a case 
 which I, more than anyone else, have every right 
 to regret, because it did mean a certain break in 
 the splendid discipline of the Irish police. But 
 when the right hon. Gentleman or anybody else 
 compares Balbriggan with a village at the front, 
 at the Belgian front or any other place in the 
 War, the statement has no relation to facts, 
 either in the cause which led to destruction or in 
 the amount of destruction which resulted. 
 Head Constable Burke, who had recently been 
 decorated for his gallant defence of a barracks, 
 became a marked man for the assassins in 
 Ireland. Everyone in Ireland who gets the 
 Royal Irish Constabulary Medal for courage, or 
 who does anything out of the ordinary in his 
 loyal devotion to duty, is a marked man by the 
 terrorists in Ireland. Head Constable Burke 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 313 
 
 was in Balbriggan with his Brother Sergeant 
 Burke of the Royal Irish Constabulary. It is 
 true they had gone into a public-house. But the 
 suggestion that the murder of Head Constable 
 Burke and the dangerous wounding of his brother 
 the sergeant was due to the effort of the Irish 
 Volunteers to bring about peace, as my right hon. 
 friend the Member for Widnes suggested, is 
 really so remote from the fact that it is in the 
 dark. This head constable, unarmed, and his 
 brother, unarmed, were surrounded by what I 
 call assassins — I know no other name for them — 
 and the head constable was shot dead. The 
 brother was shot and dangerously wounded. 
 Then the assassins fled. Head Constable Burke 
 was not only a man of great courage but a very 
 popular man with the police. In two depots, 
 miles away from Balbriggan, when they heard 
 of this murder they came in lorries to Balbriggan. 
 When they saw the bodies of Burke and his 
 brother they — I admit it — they saw red. I 
 admit it with regret. I always view these 
 actions with the profoundest regret. In 
 Balbriggan that night 19 houses of Sinn Feiners 
 were destroyed or damaged, 4 public-houses 
 were destroyed, and 1 hosiery factory, which 
 employed 200 hands, was also destroyed. I 
 admit at once that it is difficult to defend the 
 destruction of that factory. (Lieut. -Commander 
 Ken worthy : ' Two men were also killed.') And 
 two men were killed. (Mr. Asquith : ' Mur- 
 dered.') If the right hon. Gentleman the Mem- 
 ber for Paisley gets any satisfaction out of it I 
 
314 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 will say ' murdered.' I myself have had the 
 fullest inquiry made into the case. I will tell 
 the House what I found. I found that from lOQ 
 to 150 men went to Balbriggan determined to 
 avenge the death of a popular comrade shot at 
 and murdered in cold blood. I find it is 
 impossible out of that 150 to find the men who did 
 the deed, who did the burning. I have had the 
 most searching inquiry made. I have laid down 
 a code of still more severe discipline for the 
 Royal Irish Constabulary, and I shall be glad to 
 know that it will meet with approval. I myself 
 had a parade of a large number of the Royal 
 Irish Constabulary. I addressed them. I saw 
 that what I said was published in nearly every 
 paper in Ireland. I do not want to weary the 
 House with a repetition of my speech, but I put 
 the matter in as strong words as I could command 
 that their business, and mine, was to prevent 
 crime and to detect criminals, and when there 
 was great provocation they must not give way. 
 But I cannot in my heart of hearts — and, Mr. 
 Speaker, I say this — it may be right or it may- 
 be wrong — I cannot condemn in the same way 
 those policemen who lost their heads as I 
 condemn the assassins who provoked this 
 outrage. My quarrel with the right hon. 
 Gentleman the Member for Paisley and his 
 friends is that they put all the emphasis on 
 reprisals in Ireland. I put it on the provocation. 
 (Mr. Mills : 'Look at Ulster !') The best and the 
 surest way to stop reprisals is to stop the murder 
 of policemen, soldiers and loyal citizens. I 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 315 
 
 regret these reprisals beyond words. It is a 
 reflection on the discipline of a famous force. 
 It is a reflection on my administration as political 
 head of that force. But if I could bring to the 
 minds and hearts of every member of this House, 
 I do not care on what Benches they sit, the two 
 years of agony, of the intolerable provocation 
 that these policemen, and in some cases soldiers, 
 have gone through, the situation would be better 
 understood, and reprisals, whilst condemned, and 
 properly condemned, would also be understood." 
 
 The address to the Royal Irish Constabulary 
 referred to by the Chief Secretary in this speech 
 was delivered at the Depot in Phoenix Park on 
 30th September, 1920. It contains the follow- 
 ing passages. 
 
 " You are a disciplined force, and I con- 
 fidently count upon you to maintain that dis- 
 cipline, no matter what the provocation. 
 Accounts of reprisals in certain newspapers are 
 always misleading, and frequently misrepresent 
 acts of justifiable self-defence as reprisals, but 
 there are cases in which unjustifiable action has 
 undoubtedly been taken. These cases are being 
 carefully investigated. Meanwhile it is neces- 
 sary to repeat and to emphasise that reprisals 
 will ruin the discipline of the force, and cannot 
 be countenanced by those in authority. The 
 great provocation under which men suffer who 
 see their comrades and friends brutally mur- 
 dered is fully recognised, and by no one more 
 than myself; but the police are urged to main- 
 
316 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 tain, in spite of this, that self-control that has 
 characterised the force in the past." 
 
 Both police and military authorities have 
 repeatedly made it clear to the forces under their 
 command that reprisals would not be tolerated, 
 and there is every evidence that the measures 
 taken by them have been successful in putting a 
 stop, so far as is humanly possible, to the evil. 
 The measure of their success is to be gauged not so 
 much by the reprisals which have taken place, 
 which in all cases have been due to hasty local 
 action taken under intense provocation, but by 
 the number of woundings and murders of mem- 
 bers of the Forces of the Crown which have not 
 been followed by the slightest suggestion of a 
 reprisal. After all, the whole spirit of any 
 organised force lies in its esprit de corps, and it 
 is only natural for a man who realises the whole 
 meaning of that phrase to seek revenge on a 
 cowardly enemy who has inflicted injury upon 
 his comrades. There is only one way of ensuring 
 that reprisals shall cease for good in Ireland, 
 and that is to stop the campaign of outrage 
 carried on by the Republicans. If those who 
 protested against the occurrence of reprisals were 
 sincere, they would refrain from encouragement 
 of the Republicans and lend their influence to the 
 suppression of outrage. 
 
 The following Order, issued from the Royal 
 Irish Constabulary Office, Dublin Castle, on 28th 
 September, 1920, and headed " Alleged acts of 
 reprisals by police and soldiers " is only one of 
 the many examples of the orders that have been 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 317 
 
 issued on the subject, by both military and police 
 authorities. It begins with the words of the 
 Chief Secretary already quoted, and goes on : 
 
 " The police exist to restore and maintain 
 order in the country. Destruction of buildings 
 and institutions cannot but impoverish the 
 country and increase want and disorder. It 
 must however be made clear to all ranks that the 
 effective use of weapons when threatened or 
 attacked is only legitimate self-defence, and that 
 it is their duty to hunt down murderers by every 
 means in their power. The power of the 
 Government to bring to justice those who commit 
 crimes is increasing every day. The police will 
 be fully supported and protected in the discharge 
 of their duties by every means available." 
 
 The Order is signed '* G. A. Walsh, Deputy 
 Inspector-General," and was circulated to all 
 Divisional Commissioners, County Inspectors, 
 District Inspectors, and to all stations. 
 
 As has already been stated, both the number 
 of reprisals which have occurred and the damage 
 done has been greatly exaggerated in certain 
 quarters. On 29th September, 1920, a list, 
 supplied from Republican quarters, appeared in 
 certain sections of the British and Irish Press, 
 giving what purported to be the dates and locali- 
 ties of reprisals carried out by the Forces of the 
 Crown. Ninety -eight out of the total of 101 
 incidents were alleged to have taken place during 
 1920. It would be impossible to give the facts 
 underlying each one of these allegations, but we 
 
318 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 can examine the figures, and take a few typical 
 examples. 
 
 Of the 98 cases alleged, 18 were genuine 
 reprisals, and a brief note of the circumstances 
 attending them follows. The remaining 80 may 
 be divided up as follows. 
 
 In 17 cases, mostly accusations of towns being 
 ** shot up " by police, there is no foundation 
 whatever for the allegation. 
 
 In 11 cases, no record or information can be 
 obtained of the alleged occurrence. 
 
 In the remaining 52 cases, activity of some 
 kind took place at the place and date alleged, 
 such activity being due to legitimate action on 
 the part of the Forces of the Crown, or to 
 unknown individuals. In no one of these cases 
 did any form of ' ' reprisal ' ' take place, nor was 
 there any action by police or military beyond the 
 lawful execution of their duty. Instances of the 
 allegations and the corresponding facts will be 
 given below. 
 
 Dealing first with the cases in which 
 ** reprisals " actually took place : 
 
 On 22nd January it is alleged that the town of 
 Thurles, in the County Tipperary, was sacked by 
 troops. The facts are that following the murder 
 of Constable Finnegan on the 20th, the local 
 police attacked the houses of twelve prominent 
 Sinn Feiners. 
 
 On 27th April, it is alleged that many houses 
 in Limerick City were wrecked by troops. The 
 facts are that some slight damage was committed 
 
THE QUESTION OF EEPRISALS. 319 
 
 by troops as a reprisal for the murder of a 
 soldier. There was no shooting. 
 
 On 27th June, it is alleged that Fermoy, 
 County Cork, was sacked by troops. The facts 
 are that £18,000 worth of damage was committed 
 by troops as a reprisal for the kidnapping of 
 General Lucas. 
 
 On 20th July, it is alleged that Tuam, County 
 Galway, was sacked by police. The facts are as 
 follows. On the night of 19th July a R.I.C. 
 motor-van returning from Galway Assizes was 
 ambushed three miles from Tuam, and two con- 
 stables were shot dead. At 4.30 a.m. the follow- 
 ing day a party of military and police arrived at 
 Tuam to assist the local police in their search 
 for the murderers. When these police saw the 
 bodies of their fallen comrades lying dead on the 
 floor of the mess-room their pent-up feelings 
 overcame them and they broke loose in a fierce 
 attack upon the town of Tuam, and committed 
 much destruction of property. The Town Hall 
 was burnt to the ground. No person was 
 attacked or injured in this outbreak. 
 
 On 31st July, it is alleged that Tipperary 
 Town was partially sacked by troops. The 
 facts are that about twelve windows were broken. 
 A soldier had been murdered on the previous day. 
 
 On 8th August, it is alleged that Kildorrery, 
 County Cork, was wrecked and looted by police. 
 The facts are that on the 7th a police constable 
 was shot dead. During the night some shops in 
 the village were wrecked. 
 
 On 26th August, it is alleged that Shana- 
 
320 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 golden, County Limerick, was partially sacked 
 by police. The facts are as follows. On 26th 
 August, two sick constables, one in plain clothes 
 and the other in uniform, were partially stripped 
 and were marched through the streets surrounded 
 by jeering and insulting crowds. Later in the 
 day shots were fired on a police patrol. The 
 creamery and several shops were burned down 
 during the night, probably by either the police or 
 soldiers or both, but it has not yet been possible 
 to say with certainty that either of these Forces 
 carried out the reprisal. 
 
 On 26th August, it is alleged that Naas, 
 County Kildare, was " shot-up " by police. 
 The facts are that a boot shop was burned and 
 shots fired by persons whom the police believe 
 were " ' Black and Tans ' or persons dressed as 
 such." No provocation is assigned. 
 
 On 27th August it is alleged that Queenstown, 
 County Cork, was sacked by troops. The facts 
 are that sixty shops were damaged by troops and 
 five looted as a reprisal for an attack upon them 
 two days previously, when an oflficer of the 
 Cameron Highlanders was killed and one soldier 
 of the same regiment was killed and another 
 wounded. 
 
 On 2nd September it is alleged that Inniscarra, 
 County Cork, was partially sacked by police. 
 The facts are that on the 1st a military patrol was 
 fired upon and one soldier wounded. One house 
 was burned as a reprisal. The police report 
 states that this was done by the military. 
 
 On 10th September it is alleged that Tullow^ 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 321 
 
 County Carlow, was sacked by police. The facts 
 are that two shops were burned. It is stated 
 that the perpetrators were military, probably 
 assisted by local police. If this is so, it was in 
 the nature of a reprisal for the murder of two 
 constables shot dead on patrol. The dead bodies 
 of the constables were found by their comrades 
 at the scene of the attack about an hour later. 
 
 On 20th September, it is alleged that Bal- 
 briggan, County Dublin, was sacked by police. 
 This is the " Balbriggan incident " previously 
 described. 
 
 On 21st September, it is alleged that Balbrig- 
 gan was " shot-up " by police. The facts are 
 that a few shots were fired, but no person was 
 injured and no damage was done. 
 
 On 22nd September, it is alleged that Ennis- 
 tymon. County Clare, was sacked by police. 
 
 On 22nd September, it is alleged that Lahinch, 
 County Clare, was sacked by police. 
 
 On 22nd September, it is alleged that Milltown 
 Malbay, County Clare, was sacked by police. 
 
 (These refer to the " Ennistymon incident," 
 see page 301. The damage done amounted to the 
 burning of 8 houses in Ennistymon, 9 in Lahinch, 
 and 9 in Milltown Malbay. Four civilians sus- 
 pected of complicity in the ambush were killed.) 
 
 On 9th September it is alleged that the Galway 
 police ran amok, resulting in three deaths. The 
 facts are that a constable was attacked and 
 murdered at the railway station about midnight. 
 In self-defence he killed a civilian who was one 
 of the attackers. Two hours later the police 
 
 V 
 
322 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 attacked several houses and killed a leading 
 Sinn Feiner, whom they suspected of complicity 
 in the murder of their comrade. 
 
 On 20th September, it is alleged that two 
 civilians were shot dead and their houses burnt 
 at Abbey feale, County Limerick. The facts are 
 that two civilians were shot dead by a police 
 constable who stated that they ran when called 
 upon to halt. A military Court of Inquiry was 
 held upon the matter, and found that there was 
 not sufficient evidence to enable them to decide as 
 to the circumstances in which the shots were fired 
 by the constable. 
 
 It will be observed that these cases occurred 
 between 1st January, 1920, and 22nd September, 
 1920, and that as a result of reprisals by the 
 Forces of the Crown seven civilians are admitted 
 to have been killed, one was shot by a constable in 
 self-defence (at Galway on 9th September), and 
 two were shot under unexplained circiunstances 
 (at Abbeyf eale on 20th September) . The murder 
 of these seven civilians is imjustifiable, although 
 great provocation can be urged on behalf of the 
 men who did the deeds. 
 
 Now let us glance at the other side of the 
 picture. During the period between 1st 
 January, 1920, and 22nd September, 1920, 84 
 policemen and 12 soldiers were murdered by the 
 Republicans without provocation of any kind. 
 Well might the Chief Secretary point the moral 
 in the House in the course of his speech already 
 quoted ! 
 
 '* I have a right to complain of reprisals. 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 323 
 
 because I am responsible for the discipline of the 
 Irish Constabulary. The Commander-in-Chief 
 has a right to complain of reprisals, because he is 
 responsible for the discipline of the British Army 
 in Ireland. But these men who acquiesced in, 
 connived at, condoned or supported the murder 
 of District Inspector Brady, or members of the 
 Royal Irish Constabulary, have no right to com- 
 plain of reprisals. They are members of the 
 Irish Republican Army that is pledged by force 
 of arms to set up an independent Republic in 
 Ireland, to defy the authority of this House, and 
 to claim the right to assassinate the ofifioers of 
 the Crown." 
 
 A passage in An T'Oglac of 15th August, 
 1920, explains the last words of the above 
 quotation. It is as follows : " We realise that it 
 is far more profitable to kill for Ireland than to 
 die for her." 
 
 To return to the 52 cases of alleged reprisals, 
 in which activity took place at the place and date 
 alleged. Space does not permit of our dealing 
 with each of these, but we may take 6, typical 
 of all the rest. 
 
 On 1st March it is alleged that Thurles, 
 County Tipperary, was partially wrecked by 
 troops. The facts are that eleven panes of glass 
 in the Sinn Fein Hall were broken, also two plate- 
 glass windows in shops. One of the injured 
 persons, who is a loyalist, attributed the damage 
 to the work of Sinn Fein. 
 
 On 28th June it is alleged that Limerick City 
 was partially sacked by police. The facts are 
 
324 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 that malicious damage, which consisted of the 
 breaking of nine windows and injury to the doors 
 and floor of the Railway Hotel and the burning 
 of a business premises, was committed by persons 
 unknown. There was no looting, and it is 
 thought that the motive was personal spite 
 against the owner of the properties. 
 
 On 15th July it is alleged that Tralee, County 
 Kerry, was partially sacked by police. The facts 
 are that a shot was fired by a sentry who thought 
 he saw some persons trying to get through the 
 barbed wire entanglement in front of the Court- 
 house, where the Assizes were being held. 
 
 On 17th and 18th July it is alleged that Cork 
 City was " shot-up " by police. The facts are 
 as follows. The only firing on the I7th was in 
 self-defence. The police were fired at and 
 returned the fire. No person was injured and no 
 damage was done. On the 18th attacks were 
 made on parties of soldiers. The military were 
 turned out to clear the streets. General firing 
 took place throughout the city and considerable 
 damage was done. The police were not fired 
 upon and did not fire during that night. 
 
 On 22nd July, it is alleged that Leap, County 
 Cork, was sacked by police. The facts are that 
 a mixed party of military and police were fired 
 upon from the Sinn Fein Hall. The police 
 returned the fire and broke into the Hall. Some 
 damage was done in the process. The houses of 
 local suspects were searched. 
 
 On 21st August, it is alleged that Oranmore, 
 County Gal way was sacked by police. The facts 
 
THE QUESTION OF REPRISALS. 325 
 
 are that a police patrol was fired on. Earlier in 
 the day a constable from Oranmore had been shot 
 dead when proceeding to Galway. The police in 
 searching for the assailants of the patrol bombed 
 and burned the house of a leading Sinn Feiner in 
 which the assailants had taken refuge. The 
 Coimty Inspector, reporting the following day, 
 stated that the discipline of the men was admir- 
 able. 
 
 From the above examples, chosen at random but 
 all typical of the allegations emanating from 
 Republican sources, the facts underlying the 
 majority of the accounts of " reprisals " which 
 have appeared may be adequately gauged. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 
 
 The Province of Ulster consists of the Counties 
 of Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Donegal, Down, 
 Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan, and 
 Tyrone, with a population, according to the 
 census of 1911, of 1,581,696. But geographical 
 Ulster has ceased to have a separate political 
 existence, and in speaking of Ulster the *' Six 
 Counties," and these alone, are usually implied. 
 This new division of Ireland is defined by the 
 Government of Ireland Bill in the following 
 words : 
 
 " For the purposes of this Act Northern 
 Ireland shall consist of the Parliamentary coun- 
 ties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, 
 Londonderry, and Tyrone, and the Parliamen- 
 tary boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry; and 
 Southern Ireland shall consist of so much of 
 Ireland as is not comprised within the said 
 Parliamentary counties and boroughs." 
 
 The population of Northern Ireland as thus 
 defined was 1,250,531 at the time of the census 
 of 1911, or rather more than 28% of the popula- 
 tion of the whole of Ireland at that time. This 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 327 
 
 population differs from that of the rest of the 
 country in being, generally speaking, industrial, 
 " Unionist," and Protestant, rather than agri- 
 cultural, *' Nationalist," and Roman Catholic. 
 As illustrating the first two of these distinctions, 
 it may be said that in 1912 Belfast claimed to 
 handle seventy per cent of the whole export trade 
 of Ireland, and that in the present Parliament 
 the Six Counties are represented by 23 Unionist 
 members out of a total of thirty. 
 
 It is the existence of these differences- that has 
 caused the people of the Six Counties to take up 
 a different attitude from that assumed by the 
 people of the rest of Ireland. Finding them- 
 selves to be in a numerical minority, they have 
 been forced to combine to resist absorption into 
 the majority. They have felt that their needs 
 would never be served, or their conditions under- 
 stood, by a Parliament of All Ireland, in which 
 the majority would legislate for the needs of a 
 community differing from themselves in every 
 respect. Racially and economically they have 
 felt themselves to be more closely allied to the 
 British people than to the Irish, and they have 
 resolutely set their faces against political incor- 
 poration with the latter, preferring union with 
 Great Britain or some form of self-government 
 for themselves. The history of this tendency is 
 practically the history of Ulster in recent years. 
 
 The agitation to resist Home Rule, by which is 
 meant the institution of a single Parliament for 
 the whole of Ireland, was from its inception until 
 the outbreak of war, controlled and guided by the 
 
328 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Ulster Unionist Council. That body first came 
 into existence on 2nd December, 1904. On that 
 date a conference of delegates from the various 
 Unionist organisations was held in Belfast, at 
 which it was resolved " That an Ulster Council 
 be formed, and that its objects shall be to form 
 an Ulster Union for bringing into line all local 
 Unionist Associations in the Province of Ulster 
 with a view to consistent and continuous political 
 action; to act as a further connecting link 
 between Ulster Unionists and their Parliamen- 
 tary representatives; to settle in consultation 
 with them the Parliamentary policy, and to be 
 the medium of expressing Ulster Unionist 
 opinion as current events may from time to time 
 require, and generally to advance and defend the 
 interests of Ulster Unionism in the Unionist 
 Party." The first meeting of the Council was 
 held in the Ulster Hall, Belfast, on 3rd March, 
 1905. 
 
 The intention to oppose Home Rule by armed 
 resistance appears to have first taken shape in 
 December, 1910, ,when the following Manifesto 
 was issued to the Orange Lodges in Ireland. 
 
 MANIFESTO FROM THE GRAND LODGE 
 OF IRELAND. 
 
 BROTHER ORANGEMEN, 
 
 We address you at a grave crisis in the 
 history of Ireland. Mr. Redmond and the party 
 servants of the American Fenians have procured 
 for their schemes the help of the Socialists and 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 329 
 
 Radicals of England. Under cover of an attack 
 on the House of Lords they are striking a deadly- 
 blow at the Union. If they obtain a majority at 
 this election, Home Rule may be carried over the 
 veto of the Second Chamber in two years. In 
 these circumstances you have two duties to per- 
 form. You must use every effort to defeat them 
 at the polls, neglecting no opportunity of 
 influencing votes in Great Britain. But you are 
 equally bound to prepare for a struggle in this 
 country if we should fail to carry the Elections. 
 Already steps are being taken to enrol men to 
 meet any emergency. Orangemen must set the 
 example to other Unionists by volunteering their 
 services. Be well assured that if we do our duty 
 now, and show ourselves worthy of our liberties, 
 the God of our fathers will give us strength to 
 hand down those liberties to our children. 
 
 Signed on behalf of the Grand Orange Lodge 
 of Ireland, 
 
 ERNE, G.M. (Grand Master) 
 
 R. H. WALLACE, G.s. (Grand Secretary). 
 
 Dublin, 7th December, 1910. 
 
 This was followed by a letter from the Grand 
 Secretary, Colonel R. H. Wallace. 
 
 Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, 
 
 Secretary's Office, Grand Orange Hall, 
 
 10, Rutland Square East, 
 
 Dublin. 
 
 December, 1910. 
 Worshipful Sir and Brother, 
 
 In pursuance of a resolution passed by tlie 
 
330 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland at the half- 
 yearly meeting on the 7th December, 1910, I beg- 
 to forward to you a Form of Particulars as 
 regards the Members of your Lodge who, in the 
 event of Home Rule becoming law, are willing 
 to take active steps to resist its enforcement. 
 Please take the greatest care in filling in this 
 form, and see that each Brother signs his name 
 in the column headed " Signature," returning 
 the same to me at this address at your very 
 earliest convenience. It would be advisable to 
 mention this subject in the summons for your 
 next regular meeting in order to ensure as large 
 an attendance as possible. 
 
 Your fraternally, 
 
 ROBERT H. WALLACE, 
 
 Grand Secretary. 
 
 GRAND ORANGE LODGE OF IRELAND. 
 
 Return from L.O.L. No 
 
 District of .''.... Countv of 
 
 Name 
 
 Address. 
 
 (2) 
 
 Age. 
 
 Whether 
 
 erer 
 enrolled, 
 and, if so, 
 in what 
 Force and 
 
 rank 
 attained 
 
 What 
 branch t.*. 
 whether 
 Cavalry, 
 Infantry, 
 Artillery, 
 etc. 
 
 Lenjfth 
 
 of 
 Service. 
 
 Transport, 
 
 if what 
 
 Carts, 
 
 Horses, etc. 
 
 could you 
 
 supply. 
 
 (7) 
 
 If fit 
 
 for 
 
 Service. 
 
 (8) 
 
 a' 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 in 
 
 (1) 
 
 (3) 
 
 (4) 
 
 (5) 
 
 (C) 
 
 (9> 
 
 About the same time the Standing Committee 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 331 
 
 of the Ulster Unionist Council took steps to 
 resuscitate the Unionist Clubs in Ulster which 
 had been formed in 1893 to oppose Mr. Glad- 
 stone's Home Rule Bill. 
 
 The first muster of the Unionist Forces in 
 Ulster to protest against Home Rule was held at 
 Craigavon, near Belfast, on Saturday, 23rd 
 September, 1911. The police stated that not less 
 than 300,000 travelled on the road to Craigavon 
 from the City to attend the meeting. 
 
 A series of demonstrations was held through- 
 out the Province, all leading up to the signing, 
 on " Ulster Day " — Saturday, 28th September, 
 1912, of a solemn Covenant to resist Home Rule. 
 This Covenant was as follows : — 
 
 ulster's solemn league and covenant. 
 
 "Being convinced in our consciences that Home 
 Rule would be disastrous to the material well- 
 being of Ulster as well as of the whole of Ireland, 
 subversive of our civil and religious freedom, 
 destructive of our citizenship, and perilous to 
 the unity of the Empire, We, whose names are 
 underwritten, men of Ulster, loyal subjects of 
 His Gracious Majesty King George V., humbly 
 relying on the God whom our fathers in days of 
 stress and trial confidently trusted, do hereby 
 pledge ourselves in solemn Covenant throughout 
 this our time of threatened calamity to stand by 
 one another in defending for ourselves and our 
 children our cherished position of equal citizen- 
 ship in the iJnited Kingdom, and in using all 
 
332 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 means which may be found necessary to defeat 
 the present conspiracy to set up a Home Rule 
 Parliament in Ireland. 
 
 And in the event of such a Parliament being 
 forced upon us, we further solemnly and 
 mutually pledge ourselves to refuse to recognise 
 its authority. 
 
 In sure confidence that God will defend the 
 right we hereto subscribe our names. 
 
 And, further, we individually declare that we 
 have not already signed this Covenant, 
 
 The above was signed by me at , 
 
 " Ulster Day," Saturday, 28th September, 1912. 
 
 GOD SAVE THE KING." 
 
 The signing of the Covenant was preceded in 
 most places by religious services in the Protestant 
 places of worship. It was reported that the 
 Covenant was signed by 219,206 men in Ulster, 
 and by 19,162 Ulster men resident elsewhere, 
 making a total of 238,368. 
 
 As showing the zeal with which the Unionist 
 Club movement was taken up, the number of these 
 clubs by May, 1913, was 315, with a membership 
 of 61,454. Their distribution was as follows : — 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 333 
 
 County. 
 
 Number of Clubs 
 
 Membership 
 
 Antrim 
 
 42 
 
 11,953 
 
 Armagh 
 
 35 
 
 5,188 
 
 Belfast 
 
 25 
 
 16,628 
 
 Cavan 
 
 16 
 
 1,949 
 
 Donegal 
 
 6 
 
 483 
 
 Down 
 
 66 
 
 12,190 
 
 Fermanagh 
 
 17 
 
 1,405 
 
 Londonderry . 
 
 29 
 
 3,894 
 
 Monaghan 
 
 15 
 
 1,779 
 
 Tyrone 
 
 74 
 ..315 
 
 5,985 
 
 Totals 
 
 61,454 
 
 It will be observed that over 93 per cent, of this 
 membership was derived from the 'Six Counties.' 
 
 During the month of December, 1913, 1,742 
 drill practices were held, in which 29,979 persons 
 took part. These drillings varied in character 
 from the most elementary to practice with 
 wooden rifles. Throughout the years 1911, 1912, 
 and 1913 large numbers of rifles, mainly of a 
 discarded Italian Army pattern, were imported 
 into Ulster. 
 
 In pursuance of the policy adopted at a private 
 meeting in December, 1912, by the Unionist 
 Council in Belfast, persons who had signed the 
 Covenant were called upon to enrol themselves 
 for either military or political service in the cam- 
 paign against Home Rule. For the former it 
 was decided to enrol a body to be known as the 
 Ulster Volunteer Force, and, at the same time. 
 
334 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 to raise a Volunteer Force of two thousand men 
 to act as police under the proposed Provisional 
 Government for Ulster in the event of its being 
 called into existence. 
 
 During April, 1913, the movement to resist 
 Home Rule was concentrated on the organisation 
 of the Volunteer Force. The invitation to join 
 the Force met with a good response, and at the 
 end of April it was reported that 41,000 people 
 had agreed to join— 20,000 in Belfast and 21,000 
 in the rest of Ulster. At the same time it was 
 stated that rifles had been purchased to some 
 extent by Unignist Clubs and private indi- 
 viduals. The Orange Order took up the Volun- 
 teer movement and urged its members to join; 
 and the City of Belfast was divided into sections, 
 over which commanders were appointed in order 
 to mobilise the Force quickly. 
 
 In August the organised hostilities of Union- 
 ists towards the Home Rule Bill became more 
 marked. The Home Rule question, to a large 
 extent a religious one, aroused a very bitter 
 sectarian feeling, which was further accentuated 
 by rioting which broke out at Londonderry on 
 12th August, the anniversary of the Relief of 
 Derry in 1689. A large number of Orangemen 
 and " 'Prentice Boys " went by special train 
 from Belfast and other places to take part in the 
 celebration. These excursionists on their way 
 through the country kept up an almost continuous 
 fusilade of revolver shots from the train, though 
 happily this feu-de-joie was unaccompanied by 
 fatalities. In the riot in Londonderry firearms 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER.^ 335 
 
 ^ere freely used by the crowd, and a constable 
 received a dangerous bullet wound. The dis- 
 turbance was renewed on the night of 14th 
 August, when a citizen named Armstrong was 
 shot dead. Nearly all the Unionists of every age 
 in Londonderry carried revolvers at this time, 
 and it was believed that the Nationalists were 
 also arming themselves with modern weapons. 
 
 The Ulster Volunteer Force was now being 
 organised on a military footing, with a General 
 Officer and Headquarters Staff at Belfast. 
 Efforts were made in the City to enlist the hooli- 
 gan element, as the leaders of Unionism were 
 anxious to acquire a disciplinary control over 
 that class. The strength of the Ulster Volunteer 
 Force on 30th September, 1913, was 56,651, dis- 
 tributed as follows : 
 
 County. Strength. 
 
 Antrim 
 
 10,067 
 
 Armagh 
 
 5,447 
 
 Belfast 
 
 10,700 
 
 Cavan 
 
 2,730 
 
 Donegal 
 
 1,178 
 
 Down 
 
 11,611 
 
 Fermanagh 
 
 2,090* 
 
 Londonderry 
 
 4,510 
 
 Monaghan 
 
 1,209 
 
 Tyrone 
 
 7,109 
 
 Total 56,651 
 
 Including the Enniskillen HorBe of 230 men. 
 
336 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Party feeling could hardly be more intense 
 than it was at this period, but at the same time 
 the Commissioner of Police at Belfast reported 
 that anything in the nature of compromise would 
 be a relief to both sides; for although deeply 
 determined, neither party looked forward with 
 any pleasure to the prospect of riot and blood- 
 shed. 
 
 On 23rd September a conference of the Irish 
 Unionist Parliamentary Party was held at 
 Craigavon, near Belfast, when arrangements 
 were completed for the meeting of the Ulster 
 Unionist Council on the following day. This 
 meeting took place as arranged. The gathering 
 numbered between 500 and 600, and every dis- 
 trict of the Province was represented. The 
 meeting was conducted in private, but an <^cial 
 report of the proceedings was subsequently sup- 
 plied to the Press, according to which a 
 Provisional Government Executive and a number 
 of Committees were appointed to carry on the 
 government of Ulster in the event of the Home 
 Rule Bill becoming law. It was also decided to 
 raise an Indemnity Fund of £1,000,000 to 
 indemnify the members of the Ulster Volunteer 
 Force and their dependents in respect of any 
 personal injury or loss of life sustained by them 
 in the execution of any order of the Provisional 
 Government. 
 
 Towards the end of January, 1914, steps were 
 taken in Belfast to organise a Corps of 3,000 
 men specially selected from the Ulster Volunteer 
 Force. The members of this Corps were to 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 337 
 
 receive £1 per week, free mess and uniform. The 
 decision to organise this Corps was come to, it 
 was understood, at a meeting of the Standing 
 Committee of the Ulster Volunteer Force on 20th 
 January. The objects for which this Corps was 
 raised were not definitely known at the time, but 
 it was probably intended for use in policing Bel- 
 fast in the event of a Provisional Government 
 being established. 
 
 The members of the Ulster Volunteer Force 
 were observed by the police to be particularly 
 active on the night of 19th March and for a short 
 time subsequently. Generally throughout Ulster 
 there were some steps taken for a quick mobilisa- 
 tion on the night of 20th March, and in several 
 districts considerable numbers of the Volunteers 
 answered to the call for mobilisation. In the 
 County of Tyrone it is stated that the total num- 
 ber of men assembled at the various centres 
 amounted to upwards of 7,500. 
 
 During the month of March the organisation of 
 the Ulster Volunteer Force went steadily on. 
 Considerable quantities of military equipment — 
 uniforms, haversacks, bandoliers, etc. — were im- 
 ported into Ulster and served out generally 
 throughout the Province. Medical stores in 
 considerable quantity were also imported and 
 distributed among the branches of the Ambu- 
 lance and Nursing Corps, of which sixteen were 
 formed during the first three months of the year. 
 In addition, it was stated that a number of 
 private houses had been placed at the disposal 
 of the organisation for use as hospitals in the 
 
 w 
 
338 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 event of their being required as such, many of 
 these houses being the residences of leading 
 Unionists in the Province. 
 
 On several occasions about this time members 
 of the Despatch Riders and Signalling Corps of 
 the Volunteer Force were observed to be engaged 
 in carrying despatches on motor-cycles through- 
 out the Province. These despatch-riders had in 
 many cases maps of their routes with the houses 
 on the road marked ' Protestant ' or ' Catholic ' 
 as the case might be, for the guidance of the 
 riders in case of accident. Protestant houses 
 were marked * friendly ' or ' doubtful ' accord- 
 ing to the politics of their occupants. 
 
 The following table shows the strength of the 
 Ulster Volunteer Force in the several Counties 
 of Ulster on 31st March, 1914, and the number 
 of rifles believed to be in the possession of 
 Unionists on that date : — 
 
Coanty 
 
 Name of Begiment 
 
 No. of 
 Battal'ns 
 
 strength 
 
 Total 
 
 County 
 Strength 
 
 No. of 
 Bifles 
 
 Antrim 
 
 South Antrim 
 Central „ 
 North „ 
 
 Armagh 
 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 4,009 
 5,118 
 
 2,461 
 
 11,588 
 
 5,740 
 
 Armagh 
 
 
 7,378 
 
 3,010 
 
 Belfast 
 
 North Belfast 
 South „ 
 East „ 
 West „ 
 
 Cavan 
 
 7 
 7 
 7 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 7,596 
 6,400 
 9,113 
 1,400 
 
 24,509 
 
 4,528 
 
 Caran 
 
 
 3,406 
 
 2,676 
 
 Donegal 
 
 Donegal 
 
 4 
 
 
 3,099 
 
 1,299 
 
 Down 
 
 North Down 
 East „ 
 West „ 
 South „ 
 
 Fermanagh ... 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 2 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 2,715 
 3,783 
 1,603 
 2,820 
 
 10,921 
 
 4,120 
 
 Fermanagh . . . 
 
 
 2,920 
 
 183 
 
 Londonderry ... 
 
 Derry City 
 „ Coanty 
 
 Monaghan 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 3,475 
 5,630 
 
 9,105 
 
 655 
 
 Monaghan 
 
 
 2,070 
 
 561 
 
 Tyrone 
 
 Tyrone 
 
 5 
 
 
 9,544 
 
 2,107 
 
 Totals 
 
 19 
 
 73 
 
 
 84,540 
 
 24,879 
 
340 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Tension in Ulster increased rapidly until 
 ' The Curragh Incident,' and it is difficult to 
 say what might have been the outcome had not 
 the outbreak of war changed the whole aspect of 
 affairs. The war averted all chance of a Home 
 Rule Bill, unacceptable to Ulster, becoming law ; 
 and consequently Unionist activity in the 
 Province diminished. The anniversaries of the 
 Battle of the Boyne (July 12th) and the Relief 
 of Derry (August 12th) have always been the 
 occasions for a certain show of party feeling, and 
 as the Home Rule issue became less urgent, so 
 disturbance in Ulster tended to partake more and 
 more of the nature of a faction fight. The old 
 feud between Nationalists and Unionists became, 
 during the war and after it, obscured by 
 religious differences between Protestants and 
 Catholics. Sinn Fein has done its best to increase 
 its footing in Ulster, with a view to the 
 conversion of that Province to its policy of an 
 Irish Republic. The result has been that the 
 Protestant element has tended to regard all the 
 Catholics of Ulster, whether they proclaim them- 
 selves Unionists or Nationalists, as being 
 in reality secret agents of the Sinn Fein 
 propaganda. The outcome of this is seen in the 
 serious outbreaks which took place in 1920. 
 These outbreaks caused widespread destruction 
 and loss of life, especially in the cities of Belfast 
 and Londonderry, and they have led on the one 
 hand to an economic boycott of Ulster by Sinn 
 Fein, and on the other to the expulsion of the 
 Catholic workers from the shipyards of Belfast. 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 341 
 
 These matters are dealt with at greater length 
 below. 
 
 At the General Election of 1918 the Sinn Fein 
 party put forward a candidate in each of the 
 nine divisions of the City of Belfast, as well as 
 at Queen's University, and the party polled 
 nearly nine thousand votes in all. Sinn Fein had 
 joined with the Nationalists in the activities of 
 the anti-conscription crusade, and gained some 
 support in consequence, but the fact that the 
 Nationalist candidate for the Falls Division 
 secured a majority of over five thousand at the 
 General Election showed that Sinn Fein had not 
 made as much progress as might have been 
 expected, even in a quarter most favourable to its 
 development. On two occasions, however, signs 
 were visible of the dangerous nature of the 
 Sinn Fein element, in June and December 
 1918 respectively, when numbers of Sinn Fein 
 prisoners in Belfast prison gave troubfe. During 
 the December outbreak the prisoners gained 
 access to the roof of the gaol, and were promptly 
 stoned by the Unionist population. 
 
 In County Londonderry, and especially in the 
 City, Sinn Fein made considerable progress 
 during 1918. The strength of the Sinn Fein 
 party, taking the County and the City together, 
 was not so great as that of the Irish 
 Parliamentary Party; but in the case of the 
 Election in the City the Parliamentary Party 
 voted for the Sinn Fein candidate, who was 
 elected. In North Derry also the Parliamentary 
 Party voted with Sinn Fein, but a Unionist was 
 
342 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 elected. In South Deny the three parties voted 
 independently, and a Unionist was elected, with 
 the Sinn Fein candidate at the bottom of the poll. 
 
 During 1919 the Unionist political organisa- 
 tions were most active in Belfast in renewing 
 their pre-war machinery to combat any attempt 
 which might be made to coerce Ulster or any part 
 of it into any form of Home Rule. The chief of 
 these organisations were the Unionist Clubs, and 
 as they w^ere quiescent during the war, steps were 
 taken to have them reorganised, new and active 
 officers being appointed to bring them up to their 
 pre-war state of activity. The general effect of 
 these Clubs was to bring together the forces 
 of Unionism into a compact body which, from 
 its weight and power, secured a controlling 
 influence as far as the North of Ireland was 
 concerned. 
 
 No attempt was made during 1919 to revive 
 the Ulster Volunteer Force, or any other armed 
 Force, nor could it be said that there was any- 
 thing like the same number of Unionists so deadly 
 in earnest in their attitude towards self- 
 government for Ireland as there were before the 
 war. On the other hand Sinn Fein, in spite of 
 every effort, failed to improve its holding in 
 Belfast to any appreciable extent. 
 
 During June, 1920, there was serious rioting 
 in Derry City. The trouble began on the 19th, 
 and quickly assumed grave proportions. The 
 population of the City is approximately equally 
 divided into Nationalists and Unionists, and the 
 City has always been a danger-spot for the out- 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 343 
 
 break of sectarian disturbances. By the 21st 
 trade and business were at a standstill, and the 
 citizens were afraid to appear in the streets, 
 owing to the activities of the rival mobs, who 
 used their weapons indiscriminately. The 
 magistrates and representative citizens sent an 
 urgent message to the authorities requesting 
 further military protection, and the proclamation 
 of martial law. The attitude of the authorities, 
 however, was that while they were willing to 
 send as many troops and police as might be 
 necessary to preserve order, the proclamation of 
 martial law could be no remedy for a constantly 
 recurring state of disorder. The proper course 
 was for joint action by responsible leaders on 
 both sides to enforce order upon their followers. 
 During the early morning of the 22nd two 
 civilians were killed and two wounded in 
 desultory firing which continued until the after- 
 noon of the 23rd. The position in the City at 
 this time was that sniping was being carried on 
 from various points of vantage, together with 
 burning and looting of shops. The magistrates 
 again communicated with the authorities, 
 receiving the reply that further troops had been 
 sent and that every effort was being made to get 
 the situation in hand. On the 24th the state of 
 affairs improved somewhat, although parties of 
 police and troops were fired upon at intervals, 
 and on the 25th the original suggestion of the 
 authorities was acted upon. A meeting was 
 held at which the two joint Under-Secretaries, 
 clergymen of all denominations, members of the 
 
344 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Chamber of Commerce and of the Harbour 
 Board, and representatives of all the commercial 
 interests of the City were present. It was 
 decided that business in the City should be 
 resumed at once, and the members of the meeting 
 pledged themselves to use their influence to bring 
 about a spirit of peace and goodwill between all 
 classes and parties in the City. A Committee 
 was formed to carry out this policy, and b/ its 
 good offices peace was gradually restored. 
 
 On 27th June symptoms of disorder again 
 appeared in Belfast. Shops and houses belonging 
 to Catholics were attacked and looted, and 
 considerable firing and stone- thro wing took place 
 in the streets. The situation appeared very 
 threatening for a time, but the excitement 
 subsided before any great damage was done. A 
 significant symptom was the appearance on the 
 waUs of houses of threats against Sinn Feiners, 
 ordering them to leave the City before the 1st 
 July. 
 
 The celebrations of the July Anniversaries of 
 1920 in North East Ulster were attended by no 
 disorder, and the leaders of both political parties 
 contributed material assistance to the Police and 
 Military Authorities in the maintenance of order 
 in that district. A striking instance of this 
 occurred at Lurgan on 14th July, when rival 
 crowds assembled in the vicinity of the barracks, 
 where a Sinn Fein prisoner had been lodged. A 
 serious riot appeared to be in prospect but was 
 averted by the prompt action of the District 
 Inspector of Police, who at once obtained Police 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 345 
 
 and Military reinforcements, and with the 
 assistance of men of both political parties 
 succeeded in dispersing the crowds before a 
 collision occurred. 
 
 Unfortunately, however, events proved that 
 disorder was only postponed. Rioting on an 
 extensive scale broke out in Belfast about noon 
 on 21st July, and continued without intermission 
 for three days and nights, resulting in the loss of 
 many lives and much destruction of property. 
 The origin of the trouble was a meeting of 
 Unionist workmen during the dinner hour of the 
 21st, at which it was decided to expel all 
 Catholics from the shipyards. It was alleged 
 that a few Sinn Feiners on the outskirts of the 
 meeting indulged in provocative and seditious 
 remarks. At 3 p.m. attacks began to be made 
 upon Catholics in the yards, several men being 
 thrown into the water, and others badly beaten. 
 These attacks continued until about 4-30, when 
 police and troops arrived on the scene. 
 
 In consequence of this outbreak and of wild 
 rumours that a number of Catholics had been 
 killed, party feeling throughout the whole of the 
 City soon reached a state of intense excitement, 
 and fierce rioting began about 6 p.m. The Police 
 were unable to separate the crowds, who attacked 
 each other with bricks and stones. The troops 
 were called upon to intervene about 8-15 p.m., 
 and later a party of troops and Police, going to 
 assist a body of workers who were unable to 
 leave a workshop in the Falls Road, were 
 heavily stoned by a Nationalist crowd, who also 
 
346 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 fired several revolver shots. After a number of 
 the police and military had been injured, the 
 troops found it necessary to fire, and one man 
 was killed. The firing had the effect of quieting 
 matters for a short time, but rioting was again 
 resumed with fierce stone-throwing and revolver 
 shots, and the troops were again called upon to 
 fire, with the result that two men were killed, 
 both members of the attacking Nationalist crowd. 
 Later, after dusk had set in, a band of hooligans 
 extinguished the street lamps and fired revolver 
 shots at the police and troops, who were once more 
 compelled to fire, with the result that a woman 
 was killed. 
 
 During the night a large part of the City was 
 given over to looting and considerable damage 
 was done to property, mainly spirit-grocers and 
 public-houses. Matters quieted down the follow- 
 ing day, but gangs of Unionists visited a number 
 of industrial establishments on the look-out for 
 Catholic workmen whom they wanted to expel 
 from the works, and sporadic outbreaks of looting 
 and rioting took place. The situation again 
 became serious towards evening, when a large 
 Unionist crowd, many of whom were heavily 
 intoxicated, made an attack on the Roman 
 Catholic Church of St. Matthew. The troops 
 and police endeavouring to protect the church 
 were fired on by the crowd, and a soldier and 
 several policemen were badly wounded. In 
 order to dislodge the crowd the troops were 
 compelled to open fire with Lewis guns, and 
 several people were killed. In the district 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 347 
 
 between Shankhill Hoad and Falls Road, hostile 
 crowds assembled and fired at one another and at 
 the troops. After several persons of both parties 
 had been killed and a large number wounded, 
 the troops were eventually compelled to use 
 machine-guns to disperse the crowds. 
 
 On the following day (23rd July) the state of 
 the City was much quieter, but about 10 p.m. a 
 huge crowd attacked and set fire to a convent in 
 the vicinity of St. Matthew's Church; the flames, 
 however, were quickly extinguished by the fire- 
 brigade. The crowd then fired at the troops, 
 who returned the fire and soon restored order. 
 No further dangerous riots occurred, and 
 although looting continued, there were no serious 
 incidents. The total number of deaths recorded 
 for the three days was eighteen, and it is believed 
 that several others occurred. Over two hundred 
 arrests for assaults and looting were effected. 
 
 The clergy of all denominations assisted in 
 organising peace patrols on the 24th, and these 
 were of great assistance to the police in 
 preventing further disturbances. A proclamation 
 issued by the Lord Mayor on the 26th called upon 
 all citizens to devote their best efforts to the 
 restoration of law and order, and stated that the 
 authorities would take the most drastic measures 
 to deal with disorders of any kind. 
 
 On the 22nd, 23rd and 24th attacks were made 
 on the houses and shops of Catholic residents in 
 the neighbouring towns of Dromore, Banbridge 
 and Bangor. Two civilians were killed and 
 several injured, and a considerable amount of 
 
348 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 destruction of property and looting took place. 
 Disturbances of a less serious nature also took 
 place in Lisburn and Ballymena. 
 
 A special meeting of the City Council of 
 Belfast was held on 31st July, on the requisition 
 of a small number of Nationalist and Labour 
 members, to consider a resolution calling upon 
 the Council to use its influence with employers 
 and others concerned with a view to enabling the 
 displaced Catholic workmen to return to their 
 employment. An amendment to the effect that 
 this object could only be obtained when the 
 criminals responsible for the assassinations 
 committed in the South of Ireland had been 
 brought to justice was carried by 35 votes to 5. 
 
 A slight recurrence of disorder took place in 
 Belfast City on the night of 15th August. 
 Bonfires were lighted in Seaforth Street and 
 Short Strand, and an attempt was made to hoist 
 a Sinn Fein flag in the latter area. It became 
 evident that party feeling was unlikely to subside 
 so long as the policy of excluding Catholics from 
 the shipyards was persisted in. The suggested 
 imposition of an anti-Sinn Fein declaration upon 
 Catholic workmen by their Protestant fellows 
 was keenly resented by the former, many of 
 whom were ex-Service men, and in every case 
 they refused to comply with this condition. 
 Unfortunately the efforts made by Ulster 
 employers to secure their return met with very 
 little success. 
 
 The murder of District Inspector Swanzy 
 in Lisburn on 22nd August and the 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 349 
 
 consequent disorders in that town had an 
 immediate effect upon party feeling all over 
 Ulster. Further expulsions from the Belfast 
 shipyards took place, and attacks were made on 
 public-houses and spirit-groceries in Bally- 
 macarett, a Catholic area. Several encounters 
 between opposing crowds of the rougher element 
 of the City resulted in a number of serious 
 injuries on both sides, but the police succeeded 
 in restoring order without calling upon the 
 assistance of the troops. On the 25th, however, 
 rioting and stonethrowing on a dangerous scale 
 broke out in various parts of the City, and it 
 became necessary to call upon the troops to assist 
 in quelling the disturbances. Over thirty houses 
 were set on fire, and a considerable amount of 
 looting and destruction of property took place. 
 The troops were attacked and fired upon, and 
 were compelled to return the fire, with the result 
 that a man was killed and two women wounded. 
 
 On the 27th, the Lord Mayor issued an urgent 
 appeal through the Press, calling upon citizens 
 to remain within their own districts and to 
 support the efforts of the Authorities in restoring 
 order in the City. A number of Special 
 Constables were enrolled, and a stringent Curfew 
 order was made to come into force on the 31st. 
 
 The uncompromising hostility displayed 
 towards the Catholic workers in the Belfast 
 shipyards provoked serious resentment in the 
 South of Ireland, and especially among the Sinn 
 Fein element. Dail Eireann proclaimed a boycott 
 of Ulster trade as a measure of retaliation, and 
 
350 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 immediate steps were taken to make this boycott 
 effective. Travellers representing Ulster firms 
 were expelled from Nationalist and Sinn Fein 
 districts, bread vans belonging to Ulster 
 distributors were destroyed, and a series of 
 attacks were made on property belonging to 
 Ulster business houses. A serious outrage of this 
 character was perpetrated in Dundalk on the 
 morning of the 27th, when a large drapery 
 establishment was set on fire and three shop 
 assistants sleeping in the building were burnt to 
 death. 
 
 Strict enforcement of the Curfew order had 
 the effect of gradually restoring order in Belfast. 
 By 5th September peaceful conditions had been 
 practically regained, and although Catholic 
 workmen were still intimidated from returning to 
 work in the shipyards, numbers engaged in 
 other occupations were able to resume employ- 
 ment. Much credit was due to the police and 
 troops for their efforts in restoring order : both 
 Forces displaying admirable restraint and 
 discipline under extremely trying conditions. 
 
 The unemployment of the Catholic shipyard 
 workers continued, however. At the beginning 
 of September some eight thousand workers in 
 Belfast were idle owing to political and religious 
 troubles. In some cases the Trades Unions were 
 paying out-of-work donations, and in all cases 
 the National Insurance allotment was paid. A 
 public subscription fund was opened for the 
 whole of Ireland and secured a liberal response. 
 Employers and managers were anxious that 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 351 
 
 Catholics should be allowed to resume employ- 
 ment, but feeling was very bitter among the 
 Protestant workers, who insisted upon the 
 imposition of a signed declaration against Sinn 
 Tein as a condition of the readmission of 
 Catholics to the works. The Catholics refused to 
 sign this document, and the deadlock continued. 
 
 Early in September the appointment of 
 an additional Assistant Under-Secretary was 
 decided upon, in order that a representative of 
 the Irish Government might be permanently in 
 Belfast, and on the 16th Sir Ernest Clarke 
 proceeded to the City to take up this appoint- 
 ment. His first activities were directed towards 
 solving the question of the resumption of work 
 by the Catholic shipyard men. Owing largely to 
 his efforts an arrangement Was come to whereby 
 the Protestants agreed to substitute, for the 
 condition that Catholics desiring to i*eturn to 
 work should sign a declaration disclaiming 
 adherence to Sinn Fein, an honourable under- 
 standing that any man taking advantage of a 
 general permission to return should be regarded 
 as having by so doing signified his loyalty to the 
 Crown and his disapproval of attempts to subvert 
 the Constitution by outrage and violence. It 
 was confidently expected that a general 
 resumption of work on these terms would begin 
 on 27th September. 
 
 But a section of the Sinn Fein party desired 
 nothing less than a settlement and the cessation 
 of anarchy which such a settlement would bring. 
 On the morning of the 26th, two separate parties 
 
352 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 of police, engaged in the performance of their 
 ordinary duties, were almost simultaneously 
 attacked by armed men, with the result that one 
 constable was murdered in cold blood and two 
 others wounded. Immediately following these 
 outrages three prominent Sinn Feiners were shot 
 in their houses by unknown civilians, and a 
 general outbreak of party rioting took place. 
 Order was eventually restored, but all hope of 
 the possibility of a peaceful return to work by 
 the Catholics was past. None of the expelled 
 workers returned, and an added complication 
 was produced by the action of the Carpenters' 
 and Joiners' Union, which forbade any of its 
 members to continue working unless the ban 
 upon Catholics were withdrawn. This order 
 threatened to cause very serious distress in the 
 City, but it was not very generally obeyed. 
 
 During the period from June to September, 
 1920, 20 civilian deaths are known to have 
 occurred during rioting in Derry, and 62 during 
 rioting in Belfast. 
 
 Disturbances in Ulster have always been 
 attributable to religious rather than to political 
 causes, except during those periods when 
 legislation has been threatened which would 
 bring Ulster under the power of a Southern 
 majority. The most hopeful sign of peace in the 
 North occurred during the debate on the Third 
 Reading of the Gt)vernment of Ireland Bill in 
 the House of Commons on Armistice Day, 11th 
 November, 1920, when Sir Edward Carson, 
 speaking as the leader of Ulster opinion, said : 
 
THE QUESTION OF ULSTER. 353 
 
 ** As far as I understand the facts the Ulster 
 people, having accepted the view of the Govern- 
 ment that it was essential that they should be 
 put under a Parliament of their own, which they 
 did not ask for, have set themselves to get ready 
 for that Parliament, and they have resolved 
 and determined to work it in the best interests 
 of their own country and of the Empire. ... I 
 am now even better fitted than before to give the 
 pledge that Ulster will do its best to perform the 
 obligations put upon it under this Bill." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 IRELAND AND AMERICA. 
 
 The interest of America in the Irish Question 
 dates from the time when that great country first 
 opened her shores to colonisation, that is from the 
 very dawn of her history. The Irish have always 
 sought in a new land that prosperity which their 
 own country failed to afford them. In the case 
 of America, geographical considerations have 
 influenced the trend of emigration. Ireland, the 
 western outpost of Europe, almost necessarily 
 stretches out her hands to America, endeavour- 
 ing to bridge the intervening ocean with a bond 
 of sympathy and understanding. She has sent 
 her sons out to the Promised Land, to become 
 citizens of the New Republic, not perhaps quite 
 realising that the price of citizenship must 
 inexorably be the surrender of the old nationality 
 for the new. There can be no misunderstanding 
 upon this point, loth though Irishmen may be to 
 admit it. It is a natural characteristic of the 
 race to wish to have the cake and to eat it too, 
 but in this case the world's sympathy is against 
 it. The citizens of their adopted State must be 
 Americans first and before all things; their 
 allegiance must be unquestionably to the country 
 of their adoption, else are they but sojourners 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 356 
 
 and scarce trusted guests. There can be no 
 room in the great Republic for half-hearted 
 citizens, as she proved so uncompromisingly 
 during the Great War. 
 
 Of the history of the United States' interest 
 in Irish affairs little need be said. It is very 
 doubtful whether the Republic as a whole has 
 ever had any real interest in Ireland. A noisy 
 and demonstrative section of the least reputable 
 part of her population have always represented 
 themselves as the friends of what they proclaimed 
 to be ** Ireland," but what was in reality only 
 the voice of the agitator, mainly from interested 
 motives and from a desire to participate in the 
 benefits that sometimes accrue to those who fish 
 in troubled waters. There are others, principally 
 those whose families have recently emigrated 
 from Ireland, who feel the bonds of association 
 and recollection drawing them towards the Old 
 Country, and are ready to lend themselves to 
 any agitation which may secure what they believe 
 to be the aims of their old-time compatriots. 
 But that the great body of true American opinion 
 has ever actively interested itself in Irish affairs 
 is a fallacy. 
 
 History bears out this contention. The 
 disaffected party in Ireland has always appealed 
 for help to any nation which may at the moment 
 be able to exert an influence upon England, or 
 alternatively may be imfriendly to her. During 
 the last years of the Eighteenth Century the 
 appeal was to France, then at war with England. 
 Later, on the conclusion of the Civil War, when 
 
356 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 America was inclined to blame England for her 
 supposed partiality towards the Confederates, 
 the Irish thought to have found another 
 champion. To quote Professor Henry's 
 admirable little book, The Evolution of Sinn 
 Fein: 
 
 " The Irish in America were only too ready 
 to return to Ireland to overthrow the Government 
 in whose authority they saw the source of their 
 country's misfortunes and their own exile. On 
 the conclusion of the American War thousands 
 of Irishmen who had fought vmder Grant or 
 Jackson were ready to place their services at the 
 disposal of an Irish leader. But they found no 
 one of sufficient ability and prestige to lead 
 them. Smith O'Brien and the other survivors 
 of the Young Ireland Party, had become con- 
 stitutionalists. John Mitchel, though he went to 
 Paris to act as treasurer for the Society, refused 
 to take any more active part. O'Mahony and the 
 Americans wanted to equip and despatch an 
 expedition. James Stephens, who had under- 
 taken to organise the movement in Ireland, 
 insisted that American assistance should be 
 confined to money. The money came slowly, and 
 though Stephens could enrol a revolutionary army 
 he could not equip it. The Americans too 
 wanted the rising to take place before Stephens 
 thought the time was ripe, and the consequent 
 quarrel between the Irish and American leaders^ 
 was fatal to the chance of success. In any case 
 little real progress was made until the year 1865, 
 but the work of preparation went steadily on.. 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 357 
 
 . . . The subsequent attempt in '67 imder 
 American leaders fared no better; and General 
 Massey, arrested at Limerick Junction, judged 
 it better to avoid bloodshed by giving full 
 information to the Grovernment." 
 
 Such was the result of the appeal to the ' Irish 
 in America ' — not the American Nation, be it 
 observed. The American Nation was not the 
 enemy of England, and was not therefore likely 
 to give countenance to the rebel tendencies of an 
 insignificant section of the latter's subjects. The 
 disaffected Irish had learnt their lesson, and their 
 next appeal was to the avowed enemy of England, 
 and, incidentally, of civilisation, though this 
 latter fact does not seem to have perturbed those 
 who boast that " The Irish, an ancient race, 
 enjoyed a civilisation and disseminated learning 
 before the invasion by England." In 1914 the 
 rulers of Imperial Germany threw down their 
 challenge to the world, and in the issue of this 
 challenge the disaffected Irish once more saw 
 their opportunity. 
 
 We must credit them with a certain measure 
 of foresight. In 1912 the journal Sinn Fein 
 contained the following words : ** We have, for 
 instance, no illusion whatever on the subject of 
 Germany. If Germany, victorious over England, 
 comes to Ireland, Germany will come to stay and 
 rule the Atlantic from our shores. She will give 
 us better terms than England offers. She will 
 give us that Home Rule which all the States 
 of the German Empire enjoy. . . . We have 
 no doubt whatever that Ireland under German 
 
358 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 rule would be more prosperous than she has ever 
 been imder the rule of England." 
 
 The whole story of the negotiations between 
 Sinn Fein and Germany have been exposed in a 
 White Paper entitled Documents relative to the 
 Sinn Fein Movement (Command Number 1108, 
 1921), and it is therefore unnecessary to pursue 
 the matter further than to quote two extracts 
 from this document. The first is a letter from 
 Roger Casement to Professor Eoin McNeill, and 
 is as follows :■ — 
 
 " Not to go through 'post on any account. 
 
 Professor Eoin McNeill 
 19, Herbert Park, 
 
 Ballsbridge, Dublin. Berlin. 
 
 28th November, 1914. 
 
 " Please have this official declaration of the 
 German Government, stating its intentions and 
 declaring the goodwill of the German people 
 towards Ireland and the desire of both Govern- 
 ment and people for Irish national freedom, 
 published throughout Ireland by every possible 
 means. 
 
 '* You know who writes this. I am in Berlin, 
 and if Ireland will do her duty, rest assured that 
 Germany will do hers towards us, our cause, and 
 our whole future. 
 
 " The enemy are doing everything to keep the 
 truth out of Ireland, and are even going to try 
 to get the Vatican on their side, as in the time of 
 Parnell. Once our people, clergy and volunteers 
 know that Germany, if victorious, will do her 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 359 
 
 best to aid us in our efforts to achieve an 
 independent Ireland, every man at home must 
 stand for Germany and Irish freedom. 
 
 " I am entirely assured of the goodwill of this 
 Government towards our country and beg you to 
 proclaim it far and wide. They will do all in 
 their power to help us to win national freedom, 
 and it lies with Ireland and Irishmen themselves 
 to prove that they are worthy to be free. 
 
 " Send to me here in Berlin, by way of 
 Christiania, if possible, one or two thoroughly 
 patriotic Irish priests — young men best. Men 
 like Father Murphy of Vinegar Hill — and for the 
 same purpose. 
 
 " Rifles and ammunition can be found and 
 good officers, too. First send the priest or 
 priests, as I need them for a special purpose here, 
 you can guess — for — 
 
 " If the priest or priests can get to 
 Christiania (Norway), they can get here through 
 the German Legation at Christiania. Our friends 
 in America will pay all expenses. Warn all 
 our p^bple, too, of the present intrigue at Rome 
 to bring pressure of religion to bear on a question 
 wholly political and national. Our enemy will 
 stick at no crime to-day against Ireland, as you 
 will soon know. This official declaration of the 
 German Government has been sent out to all the 
 German representatives abroad for world-wide 
 publication. It may be followed by another still 
 more to the point — but much depends on your 
 staunchness and courage at home. - 
 
 " Tell all to trust the Germans — and to trust 
 
360 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 me. We shall win everything if you are brave 
 and faithful to the old cause. Try and send me 
 word here to Berlin by the same channel as this. 
 Tell me all your needs at home, viz., rifles, 
 officers, men. Send priest or priests at all costs 
 — one not afraid to fight and die for Ireland. 
 The enemy are hiding the truth. The Germans 
 will surely, under God, defeat both Russia and 
 France and compel a peace that will leave 
 Germany stronger than before. They already 
 have 550,000 prisoners of war in Germany, and 
 Austria 150,000, and Russia has been severely 
 defeated in Poland. 
 
 " India and Egypt will probably both be in 
 arms. Even if Germany cannot reach England 
 to-day, we can only gain by helping Germany 
 now, as with the understanding come to, Ireland 
 will have a strong and enlightened friend to help 
 to ultimate independence. 
 
 '* We may win everything by this war if we 
 are true to Germany ; and if we do not win to-day 
 we insure international recognition of Irish 
 nationality and hand on an uplifted cause for 
 our sons. 
 
 * ' Reply by this route : A letter for me, 
 addressed to Mr. Hammand, 76, Wilhelmstrasse, 
 Berlin, to be enclosed in one addressed to Messrs. 
 Wambersin and Son, Rotterdam." 
 
 The second is a notice issued by the Irish 
 Republicans. Early in 1915, after the promulga- 
 tion in Ireland of military orders under the 
 Defence of the Realm Act for the action of the 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 361 
 
 inhabitants in the event of invasion, counter 
 notices were placarded calling on the people to 
 disobey the orders issued and to welcome the 
 German troops as friends. The following is a 
 specimen notice :— 
 
 ** PEOPLE OF WEXFORD. 
 
 Take no notice of the police order to destroy 
 your own property, and leave your homes if a 
 Grerman army lands in Ireland. When the 
 Germans come they will come as friends, and to 
 put an end to English rule in Ireland. There- 
 fore, stay in your homes, and assist as" far as 
 possible the German troops. Any stores, hay, 
 corn, or forage taken by the Germans will be 
 paid for by them," 
 
 These two extracts are typical of the evidence 
 contained in the White Paper, which should be 
 perused by all those who wish to understand the 
 Irish point of view. For all history, both recent 
 and remote, shows that the Irish appeal to 
 America is based upon self-seeking and not at 
 all upon racial affinity. The Irish Republican 
 Movement is and always has been the child of an 
 almost incomprehensible selfishness, as the very 
 title of its latest advocates, Sinn Fein, ' ourselves 
 alone,' sufficiently indicates. 
 
 But we must abandon the historical aspect of 
 the foreign relations of Ireland for a review of 
 the conditions of the present day. Finding 
 Germany a broken reed, the Irish malcontents 
 have turned once more to America, as being the 
 country whose population might be expected to 
 
362 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 be most in sympathy with Irish ideals. The 
 so-called President of the Irish Republic himself 
 made the United States his headquarters for over 
 a year, contriving in the process to fall foul of 
 an earlier centre of Irish sympathisers, the 
 Friends of Irish Freedom, which was established 
 in 1916. And for the last few years there has 
 been a fog of misunderstanding between the two 
 great cousin nations, America and England, 
 which it should be the earnest endeavour of every 
 true citizen of either to dissipate. 
 
 And much of it we may dissipate with one 
 comprehensive sweep. It cannot be too widely 
 realised in England that a very great part of the 
 Irish Question in America is nothing but the 
 conventional cry of the politicians, that the great 
 bulk of the reasoning multitude are no more 
 interested in Ireland than they are in the South 
 Pole. Owing to the fact that in America there 
 are some twenty millions of persons of Irish 
 descent, the Irish vote is something to be angled 
 for. Politicians of every shade of opinion always 
 have and always will dangle the bait of speeches 
 in the Irish Republican interest before the noses 
 of the electors, whenever such tactics seem likely 
 to procure them votes. We on this side of the 
 Atlantic are sufficiently aware of such party 
 cries, and of the sudden oblivion which descends 
 upon their subjects when the fruit of the cries 
 themselves has been harvested. We may there- 
 fore put aside from us such matters as the vexed 
 question of the Irish ' ' plank ' ' in the American 
 elections and the collection of funds for the Irish 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 363 
 
 Republican Loans in the United States. We have 
 one guarantee which can never fail us : that the 
 only type of man who can influence American 
 policy is the man who is a Citizen of the United 
 States first and an Irishman incidentally, almost 
 as a hobby, we might say. The converse, the man 
 who places his abandoned nationality first and 
 his American citizenship second, is a man who 
 gains nothing but mistrust in the State in which 
 he dwells. For America the Irish question is one 
 of politics only, to be indulged in at election 
 times. What we are really interested in, for the 
 purposes of this book, is the true attitude of 
 genuine American opinion towards the Irish 
 Question in Ireland. 
 
 That America is interested to a certain extent 
 in Irish events there can be no doubt, even though 
 the Irish tragedy may be merely one of the dramas 
 played before her upon the stage of Europe. The 
 Irish Republicans have always done their best to 
 present their case in the most favourable light 
 to the people of America, and in so doing have 
 gained their interest if not their sympathy. Let 
 us endeavour to reproduce their case as they have 
 shown it. 
 
 The chief weapon of the Irish Republicans in 
 America is propaganda, and the most important 
 of the propaganda societies is the Friends of 
 Irish Freedom. For the part that this Society 
 played in the War, reference may be made to the 
 White Paper already mentioned. A single 
 extract from it will suffice for the present 
 purpose. 
 
364 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 '* Shortly before the rebellion of Easter, 1916, 
 there was founded in the United States the 
 association known as ' The Friends of Irish 
 Freedom.' 
 
 " In February, 1916, Judge Cohalan, T. St. 
 John Gaffney, and Jeremiah A. O'Leary issued 
 a call for an Irish Race Convention which was 
 held in New York on the 4th and 5th March, 
 1916. A permanent organisation was then 
 formed. The president, three of the vice- 
 presidents, the treasurer and secretary were 
 members of the Clan-na-Gael. Judge Cohalan 
 was first of the board of directors; Jeremiah 
 O'Leary and Joseph M'Garrity were on the 
 executive. Of the 52 permanent members of the 
 board of directors 37 were members of the 
 Clan-na-Gael, and of the 17 members of the 
 executive 15 belonged to the Clan-na-Gael. John 
 Devoy was one of the association and T. St. John 
 Gaffney was appointed representative of the 
 Friends of Irish Freedom for Europe. A bureau 
 was established at Stockholm, whither Gaffney 
 repaired, and from there and at Berlin 
 maintained, along with George Chatterton-Hill, 
 close relations between the German Government 
 and the various Irish- American and Sinn Fein 
 Organisations. De Valera, Monteith, Mellowes 
 and others of the Irish Sinn Fein rebels who 
 went to America after the Rebellion became 
 participators in the work of the Friends of Irish 
 Freedom. 
 
 " This congress was convoked for the 
 purpose of * arranging means to enable Ireland 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 365 
 
 to recover independence after the war.' The 
 convention demanded the recognition of Ireland 
 as an independent nation, and passed a resolution 
 that 
 
 " * We hereby appeal to the Great Powers to 
 recognise that Ireland is a European island and 
 not an English island, and to appreciate the fact 
 that the complete independence of Ireland from 
 the Britannic Empire is the essential and 
 indispensable condition of the freedom of the 
 seas.' 
 
 " The Friends of Irish Freedom maintained 
 close touch with the German organisations in 
 America both before and after the rebellion." 
 
 In 1920 a pamphlet was published by * Friends 
 of Irish Freedom, Inc., 280, Broadway, New 
 York,' entitled * English Atrocities in Ireland, 
 A Compilation of Facts from Court and Press 
 Records, by Katherine Hughes, with a Foreword 
 by Hon. James D. Phelan.' We need not concern 
 ourselves with the contents of this pamphlet, 
 except to say in passing that it is so obviously 
 propaganda as to carry very little conviction. 
 But it is of interest for the reason that in the 
 foreword is contained the very essence of Irish 
 Republican propaganda in America. 
 
 ** The Irish, an ancient race, enjoyed a 
 civilisation and disseminated learning before the 
 invasion by England. They resent in this 
 enlightened age the denial of their liberty and 
 the indignities and cruelties which have been 
 practised upon them. Ireland will only be 
 
366 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 peaceful when she is free ; and the influence of the 
 Irish throughout the world, unless freedom be 
 granted, will be an implacable and disturbing 
 element. The only permanent peace is a peace of 
 justice. . . . 
 
 " The Irish are actuated by the spirit of 
 Liberty, and they have won the applause of the 
 world because they are resolved never to lay do^vn 
 their arms." 
 
 One might assume from a perusal of Irish 
 propaganda in America that Ireland throughout 
 the last few years has been the scene of an endless 
 succession of brutalities perpetrated by the 
 Forces of the Crown upon innocent and harmless 
 Irishmen, that the ' liberty ' by the spirit of 
 which the Irish are actuated, and for the 
 attainment of which they propose to be the 
 implacable and disturbing element of the world, 
 has been maliciously withheld from them. 
 
 But let us consider for a moment the means 
 by which Ireland, or rather the Republican 
 minority in that country, has sought to obtain 
 ' liberty,' which appears in the minds of the 
 disaffected to be synonymous with the establish- 
 ment of the Irish Republic. We need not concern 
 ourselves with the crimes of the Fenians or of 
 the Invincibles, nor even with the Easter Week 
 rising of 1916. It will be quite sufficient if we 
 confine ourselves to the events of the last two 
 years. 
 
 The Irish Republicans would have us believe 
 thatt during that time their sole object has been 
 to achieve ' liberty ' in the form of an Irish 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 367 
 
 * Republic by means completely justified by their 
 end. That these means are such as are 
 universally judged by civilisation to be criminal 
 does not appear to them to affect the matter. It 
 is perfectly justifiable to murder the representa- 
 tives of British rule in Ireland, with every 
 attendant horror of brutality and treachery. 
 They are the instruments of vile oppression, and 
 as such are fair game for the patriotic bullet. 
 Never for a moment do the Republicans suspect 
 that their blood might soil the white robes of 
 their ideal ' liberty.' These incidents are but 
 the events of a sacred war waged against the 
 powers of darkness by a nation struggling 
 towards the light. 
 
 But let a hair of a saintly Republican's head 
 be touched, and observe what a storm arises! 
 The enforcement of justice, the first principle 
 of civilisation, is instantly proclaimed as a 
 manifestation of ruthless oppression. Should a 
 single one of those who are doing their best to 
 turn their unhappy country into a hotbed of 
 crime and a wilderness of desolation be sentenced 
 for his misdeeds, the Republican propagandists 
 proclaim him a stainless patriot suffering for his 
 native land. The extreme penalty of the law is 
 a sure road to martyrdom for the bloodiest 
 murderer. To hunger-strike is the sublimest act 
 of a hero. By such strange fictions is the 
 Republican cause kept brightly burning. 
 
 Now let us endeavour to close our ears to all 
 this idealistic clamour, which is at its loudest in 
 America, and examine the question of oppression 
 
368 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 in Ireland in the light of hard facts. 
 
 In addition to being one of the British Isles, 
 Ireland is an integral part of the British Empire, 
 and the great majority of her people have no 
 desire that she should cease to be such. 
 
 Because a few idealists have stirred up a 
 section of the young men of the country, who for 
 the most part have no direct interest in her 
 welfare, to a state of rebellion against the 
 British power, these idealists have proclaimed a 
 War of Secession against England. 
 
 The position of the Irish Republicans as 
 aggressors in a War of Secession is not analogous 
 to that of the American Colonists in 1773, who 
 were fighting ' Taxation without Representa- 
 tion,' and who would undoubtedly have leapt at 
 a far less generous measure of ' Home Rule ' 
 than is contained in the present Government of 
 Ireland Act, in order to avoid the conflict. The 
 position of that section of the Irish people who 
 wish to secede is far more approximate to that 
 of the Confederate States in 1861. They wish 
 to rebel against long-standing partnership, to 
 the detriment of both partners. And no one now 
 will doubt the wisdom of the policy which held 
 the South by force to the Union. 
 
 The methods of the Irish Republicans have 
 been those of a secret society of murderers, a fact 
 which should be sufficiently obvious from the 
 instances cited in the previous chapters of this 
 book. But the Irish propagandists make no 
 mention of the deeds of those whom they are paid 
 to support, and endeavour to confuse the 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 369 
 
 issue by excusing the long list of outrage and 
 destruction as being justified by the actions of the 
 Forces of the Crown, whom they accuse of wanton 
 brutality and of * reprisals, ' apparently missing 
 the point that without original murders by the 
 Republicans there could have been no * reprisals ' 
 by the Forces of the Crown. 
 
 The accusation of ' reprisals * first came into 
 prominence in The Irish Bulletin, a multigraphed 
 and anonymous sheet issued to the Press by 
 the- Irish Republican propagandists, about the 
 middle of the year 1920. 
 
 During 1919 the following are the statistics 
 of outrages committed by the Republicans. 
 Outrages against property are not included 
 
 Members of the Police Forces killed 
 Members of the Police Forces wounded 
 Members of the Military Forces killed 
 Members of the Military Forces wounded 
 
 Civilians killed 
 
 Civilians wounded 
 
 17 
 39 
 1 
 4 
 2 
 5 
 
 From the 1st January, 1920, to the 31st July, 
 1920, the figures are as follows : — 
 
 Members of the Police Forces killed 
 Members of the Police Forces wounded 
 Members of the Military Forces killed 
 Members of the Military Forces wounded 
 
 Civilians killed 
 
 Civilians wounded 
 
 Y 
 
 53 
 69 
 8 
 29 
 16 
 40 
 
370 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 During 1919 the Republican propagandists 
 themselves, in a list of ' reprisals ' published in 
 the Freeman's Journal of 29th September, 1920, 
 and elsewhere, claim only three ' reprisals.' 
 These were alleged to have taken place at Fermoy, 
 Kinsale, and Cork respectively. A certain 
 amount of damage was certainly caused in these 
 three towns by members of Forces of the Crown 
 infuriated by the murder or ill-treatment of their 
 comrades, but the damage was confined to 
 property, and in no one of the three cases was a 
 single civilian injured. 
 
 From the 1st January, 1920, to the 31st July, 
 1920, forty-six ' reprisals ' were claimed in the 
 list mentioned above. In five of these cases 
 damage was caused to property by members of 
 the Forces of the Crown, following murders of 
 their comrades or attacks upon them, but again 
 no civilian was hurt. In the remaining cases 
 claimed, either no incident of the nature 
 described can be traced, or some damage was 
 caused by the Forces of the Crown while acting 
 in the necessary discharge of their duties. 
 
 These facts should be sufficient to refute 
 the principal claims of the Irish Republican 
 propagandists. For the rest, the foregoing 
 chapters of this book will provide a fair 
 indication of the state of Ireland during the 
 year, and will serve to show how the terrible 
 condition of that unhappy country was brought 
 about solely by the machinations of those who 
 represent themselves as its saviours, the Irish 
 Republicans. 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 371 
 
 Before we leave this subject of reprisals the 
 following document will be of interest. It is an 
 example of the attitude of certain of the Irish 
 citizens of the United States. It was received 
 by the Chief Secretary through the post : — 
 
 Sir Hamar Greenwood, 
 
 Chief Secretary for Ireland, New York. 
 London, England. October 24th, 1920. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 We hereby inform and warn you that if there 
 are any more reprisals in Ireland on and after 
 the fourteenth day of November, 1920, that the 
 men of Irish blood in this country and their 
 sympathisers, will immediately begin reprisals 
 on Englishmen here, who are not citizens of the 
 United States. 
 
 For every man, woman or child who is 
 murdered after the above date, by the cowardly 
 English soldiers and police, three Englishmen in 
 this country will pay the penalty. 
 
 Amalgamated Irish Societies of America. 
 (Sd.) J. V. O'Connor, 
 
 President. 
 
 It may be objected that America draws her 
 ideas of the responsibility for the state of 
 Ireland, and her evidence as to the brutality of 
 British rule, not alone from the statements of 
 propagandists but also from the British Press, 
 of which a section appears to support the claims 
 of the Republicans. The reply to this objection 
 
372 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 is one that Americans will be the first to 
 appreciate. The Irish Question is and always 
 has been, in England as in America, a question 
 of politics. It is a political maxim that what- 
 ever course the Government of the day may 
 pursue, those in opposition to it must attack that 
 course in every one of its channels. It might be 
 imagined that the question of Ireland, being, as 
 it is, of vital importance to the Empire, would 
 be allowed to remain outside the arena of party 
 strife, but unhappily this is not so. Attacks 
 have been made upon the policy of the Govern- 
 ment not so much because the attackers disagree 
 with that particular policy but because they hope 
 to weaken the support of the Government in the 
 country. These attacks are liable to be mistaken 
 for an admission that a section of the British 
 people believe that the Irish Republicans have 
 right upon their side. 
 
 It would be impossible to examine even a small 
 proportion of these attacks, but we may select 
 one of the most prominent of them for comment. 
 
 On the 30th November, 1920, a Commission 
 appointed by the British Labour Party to enquire 
 into the whole question of 'reprisals' and violence 
 in Ireland left London for Dublin. The Com- 
 mission returned to London on December 15th, 
 during which period it travelled over Ireland 
 collecting evidence. Shortly after its return it 
 published a voluminous Report, which consisted 
 mainly of a series of stories of incidents gathered 
 from Sinn Fein sources. The true object of the 
 Report is somewhat naively revealed in the 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 373 
 
 Introduction* prefacing it : '* The main burden 
 of our Report is a denunciation of the Govern- 
 ment's policy." Which is exactly what one 
 would expect of a report published by a party in 
 opposition to the Grovernment. 
 
 It would be sheer waste of time to examine and 
 refute each one of the allegations against the 
 Forces of the Crown contained in this Report; 
 indeed the great majority of them is incapable 
 of refutation, being merely a record of the 
 impression made on members of the Commission 
 by local gossip. But it is somewhat unfortunate 
 for the credibility of -the Report as a whole 
 that on one single occasion alone it reports an 
 occurrence of which a wholly disinterested 
 spectator was a witness, and that on this 
 occasion this impartial witness totally disagrees 
 with the story as told in the Report. 
 
 The incident was the ambush that took place 
 at Ballymacelligott, County Kerry, on 12th 
 November, 1920, and the witness was the Corres- 
 pondent of The Yorkshire Post, who may be 
 allowed to describe the events in his own words. 
 The following is an extract from The Yorkshire 
 Post of 20th January, 1921 :— 
 
 " The fight at Ballymacelligott, near Tralee, 
 on the afternoon of November 12, which I 
 described in The Yorkshire Post at the time, has 
 again come into prominence by reason of the 
 references to it in the ' revised ' report of the 
 
 * Report of the Labour Commit sion to Ireland, published 
 by The Labour Party, 33, Eccleston Square, London, S.W.l, 
 1921. Page 2, line 15. 
 
374 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Labour Commission to Ireland. The statements 
 in this part of the report are so flagrantly- 
 inaccurate that doubt is* cast upon all the rest. 
 Impartiality is difficult to believe, in view of the 
 spice of malice which appears in the repeated use 
 of the phrases ' The Dublin Castle circus ' and 
 ' The Battle of Tralee.' The latter phrase was 
 certainly not originated by officials of the 
 Government, and any suggestion that the party 
 travelled into the Tralee district for ' the fun of 
 the thing ' is to be deplored. County Kerry 
 holds too much tragedy to be made the object of 
 a sporting tour. 
 
 " The nature of tlie report provokes curiosity 
 regarding the methods of the Commission in the 
 pursuit of their investigations. Have they ever, 
 in any of the cases with which they have dealt, 
 made an attempt to interview every one who 
 could throw light on the affair ? In the case of 
 the fight at Ballymacelligot, those actually pre- 
 sent comprised representatives of the Dublin 
 Castle authorities, residents of the district (in- 
 cluding a doctor from Tralee), two London 
 cinema operators in the employ of Pathe Fr^res, 
 Limited, and myself, as representative of an 
 English newspaper. 
 
 " Perhaps the Commission found during their 
 short stay, as, I suppose, most investigators have 
 discovered, that it is sometimes extremely diffi- 
 cult for the inquirer to make up his mind what is 
 the truth of certain affairs which have happened 
 in Ireland. What is usually a fairly simple 
 matter in England is complicated in Ireland by 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 375 
 
 racial antagonism, religious prejudice, the fear 
 of reprisal, and the nimble imagination and 
 almost reckless eloquence of the typical Irish- 
 man. The forensic power and agile wit and 
 fancy which have been such a delight to play- 
 goers and book-lovers, are sometimes a great ' 
 hindrance when a man is simply searching for 
 the naked truth. They are apt to confuse the 
 issue. Still, they provide no excuse for the 
 abandonment of the search for any avenue which 
 may lead to the truth, and they do not absolve 
 the perpetrators of such an astounding statement • 
 as The story of the ambush is due, a'p^rently, to 
 the hectic imagination of those from whom the 
 Chief Secretary obtained his information. . . . 
 ' The battle of Tralee ' is a figment of the im- 
 agination, though no doubt the 'participants on 
 the Government side will still believe that ' 'twas 
 a famous victory.' 
 
 * ' As one who was an actual eye-witness of the 
 affair, and was not responsible for any of the 
 information conveyed to Sir Hamar Greenwood, 
 perhaps I may be pardoned for contributing my 
 comments, unsolicited by the Commission, upon 
 certain statements, in the order in which they 
 occur. 
 
 ** (1) The members of the Commission were 
 unable to obtain any corroboration of the allega- 
 tion that, on the morning of November 12, police 
 were fired on from the creamery. On the after- 
 noon of the same day a party of journalists and 
 photographers were stated to have been fired 
 upon from the creamery and the manager's house, 
 
376 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 and dozens of shots rang out. We frankly do 
 not believe a word of this statement. — As I was 
 not present on the morning of the 12th, I am 
 unable to give personal testimony on what hap- 
 pened then. Unless the second part is mere 
 quibbling in the matter of words, it is quite 
 inaccurate. If it is suggested that no journalist 
 or photographer was in the party, I can only 
 repeat my former statement that it included two 
 photographers and myself. In addition, there 
 was present a former well-known writer in Fleet 
 Street. The creamery itself abutted upon the 
 road, with the manager's house perhaps thirty 
 yards away in the rear, and behind this, a few 
 hundred yards distant, lay three or four home- 
 steads. The car in which I travelled was not 
 more than a hundred yards behind the first car, 
 travelling at about twenty-five miles an hour, 
 and as it passed the creamery shots rang out. 
 Before I could climb out of the car, which was 
 stopped immediately, three bullets whizzed past 
 my head, and two more came unpleasantly near 
 before I could reach the side of the road. Thence- 
 forward, for some twenty-five minutes — they 
 were timed — bullets came across the road pretty 
 constantly. They were real bullets. Some of 
 them hit up the mud at the other side of the road, 
 and the party — every one of whom, I believe, 
 had seen service in France — was not likely to 
 mistake the familiar ' ping.' As the range 
 varied from about 250 to 1,500 yards, I can only 
 conclude that bad shooting was the reason for the 
 party sustaining no casualties. 
 
lEELAND AND AMERICA. 377 
 
 ** (2) After the * Dublin Castle circus ' 
 opened fire^ 'probably half a dozen shots were 
 fired in return, but not from either the creamery 
 or the manager's house. — The naive manner in 
 which the Commission contradict the previous 
 sentence needs no comment. The estimate of the 
 number of shots returned is reminiscent of the 
 rural residents' idea of distances. They were 
 fired from the far side of a field adjoining the 
 creamery, and from the direction of three or four 
 farms behind the manager's house, in which lay 
 a wounded man. I have not seen it suggested 
 that any shots came from the creamery. The ten 
 or twelve men whom we saw running when we 
 turned the corner were going from the direction 
 of the creamery. 
 
 ** (3) The Commission do not a^ree that 
 there were about 70 armed men near the creamery. 
 Seven men were captured, including a doctor and 
 his servant, and there has been no further state- 
 Tnent as to the discovery of arms and ammuni- 
 tion. — I have it on the authority of one who was 
 among the company at the creamery shortly 
 before our arrival, that six men armed with rifles 
 were standing outside the manager's house, dis- 
 cussing which posts they were to take up. The 
 members of the party which I accompanied re- 
 ported that in the lanes, hedges, and fields beyond 
 the field to which I have referred, they encoun- 
 tered three parties, each of fifteen or more men, 
 and there were several smaller groups and in- 
 dividual snipers. The officer in charge of the 
 cadets was shot at from a distance of twenty-five 
 
378 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 yards by a man equipped with rifle and bando- 
 lier. 
 
 " (4) The Commission could not find the 
 trench "part of the ambush, which was stated still 
 to be there. — As we drove along that afternoon 
 our driver drew our attention to a trench, partly 
 filled up, which crossed the road about three 
 hundred yards from the creamery, and he 
 slackened speed as he passed over it. It is quite 
 possible that after the heavy rains which inter- 
 vened the Labour Commission were quite unable 
 to distinguish the trench from the rest of what is 
 a very indifferent road. 
 
 " (5) No one ever saw any dead or wounded 
 men. — The party reported that four men had 
 been shot at very short range, and had not moved 
 again. One man was found with blood on his 
 hands, and another with blood on his face, and 
 bloodstains formed a track through one of the 
 farmyards. Our party were hurriedly recalled, 
 and were obliged to leave the casualties. On the 
 following morning there was no trace of the 
 latter — for reasons which would be obvious to 
 most people. 
 
 " (6) There was no evidence of the arrival of 
 'reinforcements,' and the retirement of the 
 'police was not a retirement in the face of superior 
 forces, but merely the undisturbed departure of 
 the ' Dublin Castle circus ' with the prisoners 
 who had been taken. — The party were recalled 
 from their pursuit of the attackers simply on the 
 ground that further up the road, about 250 yards 
 away, where the road turned sharply to the right 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 379 
 
 and became hidden behind a wood, the movements 
 of several men who kept dodging behind the walls 
 suggested the possibility of an attack from that 
 direction. A motorist coming from that direc- 
 tion said there were ' not more than a dozen 
 men there, and previously I had seen five men 
 running across some fields at the opposite side of 
 the road. The retirement was disturbed only by 
 a renewed outburst of fire from the hillside, where 
 twenty or thirty men could be seen. 
 
 " (7) There was not a shred of evidence that 
 from the homesteads in the vicinity of the 
 creamery heavy fire was directed upon the police. 
 — In the later stages of the fight, and when the 
 police party retired, a considerable volume of fire 
 came from that direction. 
 
 ' * The Commission lay stress upon the fact that 
 we sustained no casualty. As I have already 
 said, poor shooting could be the only reason, and 
 that was perhaps partly due to the unexpected- 
 ness of the counter attack by the police. Most of 
 the bullets went too high, and the vigorous attack 
 apparently led to hurried aiming. If, as the 
 Commission assert, in their humorous way, the 
 party was not fired upon — or, alternatively, 
 probably half-a-dozen shots were fired in return 
 — why did the prisoners who were taken crawl 
 on their iiands and knees in the shelter of the 
 roadside bank of turf, in preference to walking 
 comfortably ? 
 
 " Altogether, the document is astounding, and 
 it arouses great doubt whether the Commission 
 
380 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 took the trouble to interview any one but those 
 who suffered loss by the subsequent partial 
 destruction of the creamery, or the burning of 
 those hayricks from which came the sharp reports 
 of exploding cartridges. There were three wit- 
 nesses of the whole affair who were neither resi- 
 dents of the locality nor members of the Cro\vn 
 forces. Presumably the Commission were aware 
 of our existence. For myself, I received no invi- 
 tation to appear before the Commission." 
 
 The Labour Party's Report, and the criticism 
 to which it is open, are typical of the adverse 
 comment upon the policy of the Government 
 emanating from British Opposition sources. 
 The pity of it all is that such comment, based 
 upon demonstrably false premises though it may 
 be, is a very serious hindrance to the peaceful 
 settlement of the Irish Question. Those who 
 criticise the methods of the Government profess 
 to do so with the object of achieving a settlement 
 in Ireland. Yet by their very criticism they 
 encourage the Irish Republicans to believe that a 
 section of the British people sympathises with 
 them, and so give moral support to the outrage- 
 gangs in their resistance to the forces of law and 
 order. 
 
 It may seem as though this is a digression from 
 the subject of the relations between Ireland and 
 America, but in fact it is not. The Irish 
 Republican propagandists have chosen America 
 as the main field of their activities, and they 
 take good care that every statement damaging to 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 381 
 
 British rule . receives every possible form of 
 publicity. In England we know what value to 
 attach to such statements, but in America the 
 general reader has usually no test by which to 
 determine the relative value of conflicting 
 accounts which reach him of events in Ireland. 
 And it is only by means of such a demonstration 
 as has just been given that the value of criticism 
 of Government methods can be gauged. 
 
 Having thus endeavoured to clear the air as 
 regards the claims of the Republican propa- 
 gandists in the past, let us endeavour to examine 
 their claims for the present day. They claim, in 
 effect, that the Republicans are fighting for free- 
 dom against the tyranny of British rule. But 
 what are the facts ? The Government of Ireland 
 Act* gives Ireland a more complete form of Home 
 Rule than was ever contemplated by those who 
 urged the repeal of the Union. Ireland is offered 
 control of all essentials, with the promise implied 
 that if she seizes the opportunity and shows her- 
 self capable of self-government, she may obtain 
 by constitutional methods the essential status of 
 a Dominion. The cry of * partition ' is a foolish 
 evasion of responsibility. It lies in the hands 
 of the Irish to abolish partition at a single stroke, 
 as soon as the Irish people, and they alone, so 
 desire. 
 
 For what then are the Republicans continuing 
 their campaign of murder, why do their 
 apologists endeavour to make America resound 
 
 • See Appendix A. 
 
382 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 with their cries for ' liberty ? ' Liberty they are 
 already offered, short of the establishment of 
 their ridiculous republic, which only an insigni- 
 ficant percentage of Irishmen really desires. 
 It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the 
 Republicans believe that by a policy of terrorism 
 and disturbance they can extort from the British 
 Government better terms than they could obtain 
 by constitutional means. This is a most 
 dangerous attitude, and it contains a menace to 
 the whole of civilization. It is a form of black- 
 mail which it is the duty of every nation, in its 
 own interest, to discourage to the full extent of 
 its powers. It is based upon a true appreciation 
 of the way in which the Irish Question is 
 regarded by a not inconsiderable section of 
 British opinion. The Republican propagandists 
 love to display the British race as a ravening 
 lion, thirsting for the blood of the Irish people. 
 As a matter of fact, if the British are to be 
 symbolised by a lion, it is a lion wearied by a 
 recent fight, and desiring rest beyond all things, 
 but harassed by the persistent buzzing of an 
 insignificant gnat. And there is some danger 
 lest the lion should be tempted to purchase by 
 concession an elusive peace, only to find that the 
 gnat, elated by success, will return and resume 
 its annoyances with redoubled vigour. 
 
 It is an axiom that before a nation can achieve 
 any degree of liberty, it must prove its capacity 
 for self-government, and must then evolve the 
 degree of liberty it desires by the will of the 
 majority working through constitutional chan- 
 
IRELAND AND AMERICA. 383 
 
 nels. A short exposition of the Government of 
 Ireland Act, which offers Ireland the most exten- 
 sive opportunity possible for setting up her own 
 Government and so attaining whatever may 
 prove to be the desires of the majority of her 
 people, is given in Appendix A of this volume. 
 
 Finally we may devote a few lines to conjecture 
 upon the position of America were an Irish 
 Republic ever to become a reality. Many people 
 consider that so far as America would be con- 
 cerned the establishment of a Republic would be 
 the end of the perpetual Irish disturbances which 
 are a never-ceasing annoyance to that country. 
 The Irish Republicans would have achieved their 
 end, and nothing further would be heard of their 
 aspirations for liberty or of their strange methods 
 of achieving it. But it is safe to say that this 
 would be very far from being the case. The 
 rulers of an Irish Republic in being would use 
 every endeavour to work up sympathy for their 
 country in America, and would leave no stone 
 unturned to evoke her active co-operation in 
 whatever might be their policy at the moment. 
 The danger to America's policy of non-interfer- 
 ence in European affairs has only to be indicated 
 to be fully realised. 
 
 It' cannot be too strongly urged that those in 
 America who desire to see Ireland happy and 
 peaceful should do their utmost to persuade the 
 Irish people to accept the present Act loyally and 
 cheerfully, and to settle their internal difficulties 
 as a preliminary to a declaration of a United 
 Ireland, and then, by demonstrating to the world 
 
384 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 their capacity for successful government, gradu- 
 ally to work for such modifications of the present 
 measure of Home Rule as will prove acceptable to 
 Ireland, the British Empire, and the World. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 A brief account of the political forces at work 
 in Ireland is an essential preliminary to any 
 appreciation of the policy of the British Govern- 
 ment with regard to Irish affairs during 1920. 
 It would be impossible to trace, within the limits 
 of the present work, the historical development 
 of Irish political thought; the subject is so com- 
 plex that a rough sketch would not only be inade- 
 quate but misleading. We must therefore con- 
 tent ourselves with a cursory review of the lead- 
 ing influences at work during the year under 
 examination. 
 
 In the first place, a word of warning must be 
 spoken. The murder campaign of the Irish 
 Republican Army has so shocked the imagination 
 of the civilised world that many people have 
 come to regard Ireland as being populated by a 
 race of assassins, who in their blind fury hesitate 
 at nothing which would inflict damage upon their 
 distracted country; but this is very far from 
 the truth. The great majority of Irishmen, 
 whatever their political faith, however much they 
 may differ among themselves as to the best solu- 
 tion of the problems that beset their native land, 
 
 z 
 
386 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 stand appalled at the terrible deeds of the 
 minority. But this minority, desperate, con- 
 scienceless, outlawed by its own free will, has 
 seized upon the weapons of anarchy, and, utterly 
 ruthless towards all who oppose it, has im- 
 posed its will by force of terror upon the law- 
 abiding majority of its countrymen. Thus 
 Ireland drags along a weary existence under the 
 sway of a terrorism she abhors, the prey of 
 murder and suspicion, and a reproach to civiliza- 
 tion. 
 
 It will be convenient to deal with the position 
 of Southern Ireland first, and here again it is 
 necessary to remind the reader that the term 
 Southern Ireland includes the whole country out- 
 side the Six Counties of Ulster. Here we may 
 consider first the party known as the National- 
 ists. This party, which was for many years the 
 most powerful Party in Ireland, may be described 
 as having for its chief political aim the repeal 
 of the Union as it had stood since 1801, and its 
 substitution by some form of Home Rule. The 
 Nationalists pursued their aims by constitutional 
 methods, and their schemes did not contemplate 
 the divorce of their country from the Empire. 
 This * Parliamentary Party,' as it came to be 
 called, lost heavily to Sinn Fein in the General 
 Election of 1918, for a variety of reasons which 
 have already been touched upon.* It seemed 
 indeed as though the Party had become utterly 
 submerged, until during the latter months of 
 1920 a tendency became noticeable of a desire on 
 
 • Bee Chapter II. 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 387 
 
 the part of the inarticulate sections of Irish 
 opinion to incline towards Nationalist rather 
 than Sinn Fein ideals. The country was grow- 
 ing weary of anarchy and outrage, it saw with 
 secret approval a Government determined to rule 
 with firmness and refusing to be shaken in its 
 decisions by intimidation. The history of Ire- 
 land teaches that firmness on the part of its rulers 
 is the first step towards winning the trust of the 
 population. The attitude of the Government 
 towards the Government of Ireland Bill demon- 
 strated that Home Rule for Ireland was one of 
 the principal items of its policy. Even though 
 Nationalist opinion might consider that it had 
 not achieved its aims in full, yet it saw that by 
 constitutional means alone could it proceed 
 towards its goal. A campaign of lawlessness is 
 the most convincing demonstration of the in- 
 ability of its authors to govern themselves. 
 
 There is no doubt that the force of this argu- 
 ment is being realised with ever-increasing clear- 
 ness by the majority of the Irish people, and it 
 is inevitable that this should be so. Sinn Fein 
 proclaimed war upon the Government with the 
 object of breaking it down, and so of exhibiting 
 to Ireland and the world at large its own power. 
 The Irish people have witnessed the failure of 
 its efforts, the resolution of the authorities to en- 
 force law, order and good government in the teeth 
 of every weapon of its opponents. The slightest 
 weakening, the very least concession to methods 
 of terrorism, would have utterly discredited the 
 Government in the eyes of the whole country, and 
 
388 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 would have thrown the whole population into the 
 arms of Sinn Fein. And once the Sinn Fein 
 ideal had really permeated the majority, once the 
 vision of an Irish Republic had really gripped 
 the hearts of the people, the only alternatives 
 would have been Civil War or the loss of Ireland 
 to the Empire. The brightest prospect for the 
 future lies in the Nationalist spirit. 
 
 Opposed to the Nationalists are the Unionists, 
 but their opposition is now rather theoretical 
 than practical. The Unionists are those who 
 believe that the best interests of the country 
 would be served by the maintenance of the Union. 
 In Southern Ireland they are numerically weak, 
 but their influence is greater than their numbers 
 would indicate. It seems unlikely that the 
 Union will ever be restored in the sense of 1801, 
 but only the future history of a self-governing 
 Ireland can determine whether or not the prin- 
 ciple of self-determination is correct, whether or 
 not union between Great Britain and Ireland best 
 serves the interests of the latter country. 
 
 Sinn Fein, although of later birth than either 
 of the Parties already mentioned, demands 
 rather fuller consideration, owing to the influence 
 it has exerted throughout the troubled years since 
 1916. Professor Henry, in his book The Evolu- 
 tion of Sinn Fein, has given an excellent account 
 of the history and development of the movement. 
 For our present purpose we may confine ourselves 
 to quoting his words which define its policy and 
 aim. 
 
 " Sinn Fein is an expression in political theory 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 389 
 
 and action of the claim of Ireland to be a nation, 
 with all the political consequences which such a 
 claim involves. It differs from previous national 
 movements principally in the policy which it out- 
 lines for the attainment of its ultimate end, the 
 independence of Ireland; though it should be 
 understood that nearly every point in the Sinn 
 Fein political programme has been at least sug- 
 gested by some previous Irish Nationalist 
 thinker." 
 
 This is borne out by a resolution passed at the 
 great Sinn Fein Convention which was held at 
 the Mansion House, Dublin, on the 26th and 27th 
 of October, 1917, and also by the Sinn Fein Con- 
 stitution* — a pr^is of which was circulated in 
 1917 in small booklet form, printed in Irish and 
 English, for the purpose of enrolling members. 
 It is as follows : — 
 
 ** CuMANN Sinn Fein. 
 
 ** CONSTITUTION. 
 
 ** Whereas the people of Ireland never relin- 
 
 * A pamphlet issued by the organization which sets out its 
 scheme of formation will be found in Appendix D of this 
 volume. It is a four-page octavo, printed in Dublin. 
 This pamphlet bears tne printer's name, ' P. Mahon, 
 Printer, Yamhall Street, Dublin.' Mr. Patrick Mahon was 
 subsequently arrested (6th November, 1920,) and sentenced by 
 a C!ourt Martial on 13th January, 1921, to five years penal 
 servitude for the following offences : 
 
 " (1) Having on 6th November, 1920, without lawful authority 
 two books relating to an unlawful association, viz., Cumann na 
 m'Ban; 
 
 " (2) Having a document relating to an vmlawful association, 
 viz.. Bail Eireann; 
 
 " (3) Having two metal discs for printing documents relating 
 to the Irish Volunteers; 
 
 " (4) Having documents consisting of 18 proof-sheets relating 
 to drill." 
 
390 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 quished the claim to separate Nationhood, and 
 
 " Whereas the Provisional Government of the 
 Irish Republic, Easter, 1916, in the name of the 
 Irish people and continuing the fight made by 
 previous generations, re-asserted the inalienable 
 right of the Irish Nation to Sovereign Indepen- 
 dence, and re-affirmed the determination of the 
 Irish people to achieve it : and 
 
 " Whereas the Proclamation of an Irish 
 Republic, Easter, 1916, and the supreme courage 
 and glorious sacrifices of the men who gave their 
 lives to maintain it, have united the people of 
 Ireland under the flag of the Irish Republic, be 
 it Resolved, that we, the delegated representa- 
 tives of the Irish people, in (Convention 
 assembled, hereby declare the following to be the 
 Constitution of Sinn Fein : — 
 
 "1. The name of this organisation shall be 
 
 Sinn Fein. 
 " 2. Sinn Fein aims at securing the Inter- 
 national recognition of Ireland as an In- 
 dependent Irish Republic. 
 ' ' Having achieved that status the Irish people 
 may by referendum freely choose their own form 
 of Government. 
 
 "3. This object shall be attained through the 
 Sinn Fein Organisation which shall, in 
 the name of the Sovereign Irish 
 people : — 
 " (a.) Deny the right and oppose the will of 
 the British Parliament and British 
 Crown or any other foreign govern- 
 ment to legislate for Ireland : 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 391 
 
 ** (b.) Make use of any and every means avail- 
 able to render impotent the power of 
 England to hold Ireland in subjection 
 by military force or otherwise. 
 
 *' 4. Whereas no law made without the 
 authority and consent of the Irish people 
 is or ever can be binding on their con- 
 science. 
 
 ' ' Therefore in accordance with the Resolution 
 of Sinn Fein adopted in Convention, 1906, a 
 Constituent Assembly shall be convoked, com- 
 prising persons chosen by the Irish Constituencies 
 as the supreme National authority to speak and 
 act in the name of the Irish people and to devise 
 and formulate measures for the welfare of the 
 whole people of Ireland." 
 
 This Convention of October, 1917, was the 
 climax towards which the Sinn Fein activities 
 throughout Southern Ireland had been leading. 
 De Valera was appointed President and Arthur 
 Griffith Vice-President; two treasurers were 
 named, and Arthur Stack and Barrel Figgis 
 became honorary secretaries of an organized 
 executive. Professor Eoin McNeill and twenty- 
 three others were appointed an executive com- 
 mittee. After the election De Valera addressed 
 the Convention and stated : ' ' The constitution of 
 the new movement which you have adopted says 
 this organization of Sinn Fein aims at securing 
 the International recognition of Irelcmd as an 
 Independent Irish Republic." 
 
 A resolution was passed " That all national 
 
392 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 activities be sub-divided into clearly defined 
 departments, as follows : — 
 
 ** 1. Department of Military Organization; 
 
 " 2. Department of Political Organization; 
 
 '* 3. Department of Education and Propa- 
 ganda ; 
 
 ** 4. Department of Foreign Relations; 
 
 ** 5. Department of Finance " ; 
 and six other departments were specified dealing 
 with other matters. 
 
 It is, in the interests of lucidity, somewhat 
 unfortunate that the term ' Sinn Fein ' has been 
 used to cover all forms of Republican enterprise. 
 Strictly speaking, Sinn Fein {Ourselves Alone) 
 is a political party, electing members to represent 
 it in a National Parliament or Dail Eireann. 
 The various other Republican organisations are 
 nominally bound to it, in the sense that their 
 members are also members of Sinn Fein. How 
 far mutual control could be exercised, how far, 
 for instance, Dail Eireann could influence the 
 Irish Republican Army, is problematical. Forces 
 of disorder are very apt to become impatient of 
 the control even of their own sympathisers. And 
 behind the whole network of associations and 
 organisations stands the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood, as it stood behind the Fenians and 
 the Invincibles, working darkly for its own ends. 
 If we require a parallel to the influence exerted 
 by the Brotherhood, we may trace something 
 similar in the influence exerted by the Parte 
 Guelfa upon the government of the Florentine 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 393 
 
 Republic in the thirteenth and fourteenth cen- 
 turies. 
 
 The originators of Sinn Fein would, no doubt, 
 have welcomed an appeal to force to secure their 
 aims, had such an action showed any prospect of 
 success. Throughout the War they brought every 
 possible influence to bear to secure England's 
 defeat, hoping that in a crushed and beaten 
 England they would find an enemy capable of 
 being finally overthrown. But it was no part of 
 their policy to engage in such hopeless enterprises 
 as the Easter Week rising, and it is hardly 
 credible that they can have believed that the 
 murderous operations of the I.R.A. could ever 
 achieve Irish independenc-e. They failed to keep 
 their more lawless elements in check, and the 
 latter, emboldened by the immunity which fol- 
 lowed their earlier outrages, gradually loosened 
 the bonds of discipline until they became a law 
 unto themselves. 
 
 But this circumstance does not absolve Sinn 
 Fein from blame. Even though the murder- 
 gangs were beyond their direct control, they 
 extended a tacit approval to their outrages. 
 Either through intimidation, or through some 
 hopeless feeling that somehow the Government 
 might be terrorised into granting independence 
 as the price of peace, Sinn Fein has never, collec- 
 tively or individually, expressed its disapproval 
 of crime. On the contrary, it has done every- 
 thing to encourage it. There is evidence that 
 funds collected on behalf of Sinn Fein have been 
 applied to the purposes of the Irish Republican 
 
394 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Army ; indeed the posts of ' Minister of Finance ' 
 of Dail Eireann and ' Adjutant- General ' of the 
 I.R.A. are held by one and the same man, 
 Michael Collins. De Valera, the ' President of 
 the Irish Republic,' proclaimed from the safety 
 of America his approval of the Dublin massacre 
 of 21st November, 1920. Finally, individual 
 members of the Sinn Fein executive have not 
 hesitated to identify themselves with every 
 variety of crime and outrage. 
 
 In these circumstances, although strictly 
 speaking Sinn Fein and the murder-gangs are 
 not identical, there is no possibility of exonerat- 
 ing the former from responsibility for the crimes 
 of the latter. The instinct of British soldiers 
 and police, rarely at fault in such matters, has 
 been to dub all those with whom they come in 
 conflict as ' Shinners, ' rightly refusing to dis- 
 criminate between the criminals themselves and 
 their instigators. And, until Sinn Fein dis- 
 associates itself from such horrors as the Dublin 
 massacres and the Macroom ambush, the charge 
 of complicity must go against it by default. 
 
 The folly of Sinn Fein in this respect needs 
 little demonstration. It is at least conceivable 
 that had Sinn Fein worked for independence by 
 constitutional means, had their elected members 
 chosen to take their seats at Westminster instead 
 of in some obscure back room in Dublin, they 
 might in course of time have achieved their aim. 
 Sinn Fein has been a great power in Ireland, it 
 might have controlled the country far more 
 effectively than any form of British rule has ever 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 395 
 
 succeeded in doing, and thus it might have 
 exhibited to the world the spectacle of Ireland 
 contented under the direction of her elected re- 
 presentatives. What better argument for com- 
 plete independence could be imagined ? Sinn 
 Fein could have argued that if even within the 
 limits of British rule it had pacified the 
 country, how much more could it not effect if 
 only Ireland were entirely surrendered to it? 
 By a policy of pacification and order Sinn Fein 
 could have secured a solid body of sympathetic 
 opinion, both in England and abroad. 
 
 But Sinn Fein decided otherwise, ignoring the 
 lesson of history which teaches that every tur- 
 bulent State has by its very turbulence demanded 
 the control of some stronger Power. Instead of 
 peace, Sinn Fein has brought the sword, and by 
 the blood-thirstiness of its methods has alienated 
 every civilised opinion. In place of government, 
 Sinn Fein has stirred up Ireland into a land of 
 seething discontent, where men walk in peril of 
 their lives and where prosperity is the prey of 
 lawlessness. And having accomplished this, the 
 world is asked to believe that the very hands 
 which have been most active in creating the tur- 
 moil are those most suited to holding the reins 
 of government. Nor is this all. Sinn Fein has 
 believed that the British Empire could be 
 terrorised into granting its demands. With 
 almost inconceivable ignorance of British 
 psychology it has countenanced a campaign of 
 murder, hoping that by this means it can destroy 
 the morale of the Forces of the Crown. Indi- 
 
396 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 vidual members of these Forces it has indeed 
 succeeded in destroying, but the manhood of 
 Britain flocks to fill their places, undismayed by 
 the fate which has overtaken its comrades. 
 
 Nor is the failure of its policy the sole price 
 which Sinn Fein has had to pay for murder. 
 The conscience of the Empire and of the world, 
 which might have sympathised with the aspira- 
 tions of Sinn Fein had this organisation known 
 how to address itself to its hearers, is horrified 
 by the appalling details of massacre and outrage. 
 Sinn Fein has done its utmost to shock those who 
 at one time might have upheld it. And, as a 
 crowning act of folly, it has threatened the ex- 
 tension of dastardly deeds to England itself, and 
 has backed these threats by acts such as those 
 which led to widespread destruction in Liverpool 
 on the night of 27th November, 1920, thus finally 
 embittering British opinion and deferring any 
 possibility of the realisation of its aims to a 
 future so remote as to be beyond the range of 
 human vision. By its own acts Sinn Fein has 
 shown the world the folly of its dream. 
 
 In Northern Ireland, that is to say the Six 
 Counties of Ulster, the arrangement of the politi- 
 cal parties is entirely different. Conditions in 
 Ulster have already been dealt with in another 
 Chapter, and there is no need to refer to them 
 again here, except in so far as they affect the 
 question of partition. This is a matter upon 
 which considerable difference of opinion exists. 
 The claim of Ireland to be a nation, one and in- 
 divisible, is insisted upon by Nationalists and 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 397 
 
 by Sinn Fein. How far this claim is borne out 
 by history is a question which need not concern us 
 here. It is sufficient to suggest that the rival 
 and conflicting claims of an industrial popula- 
 tion such as that of the Six Counties and of an 
 agricultural population such as that of the rest 
 of Ireland may be of greater importance in their 
 bearing on the matter of partition than consider- 
 ations of national unity, based largely upon 
 sentimental grounds. If the two can eventually 
 be reconciled, well and good. Ulster has decided 
 that, if the Union must be sacrificed, it is better 
 for her interests that she should govern herself 
 than be governed by a Parliament of all Ireland. 
 If this be her opinion, and if equal facilities be 
 given to the rest of Ireland for similar self- 
 government, it is difficult to see what objection 
 can reasonably be raised to such partition as is 
 provided for in the present Act, in which all 
 these conditions are complied with. 
 
 Further, it must be remembered that it is not 
 England who is imposing partition, but a section 
 of the people of Ireland themselves. It may 
 almost be said that the Act treats partition as a 
 necessary and temporary evil. It is expressly 
 provided that almost the first actions of the newly 
 constituted parliaments of Northern and 
 Southern Ireland may be to break down the wall 
 of partition by proclaiming the union of Ireland 
 and setting up a single Parliament for the whole 
 country. The matter lies wholly in the hands of 
 the Irish people. Power is expressly given them 
 to settle the question for themselves, secure from 
 any outside interference whatever. 
 
398 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 In pursuance of its policy of securing an Irish 
 Republic, Sinn Fein has used every effort to in- 
 fluence feeling in Ulster against partition. As 
 an instance of this propaganda a periodical 
 known as The Red Hand Magazine may be cited. 
 This periodical is intended for circulation in 
 Ulster, as its name implies, and contains matter 
 calculated to appeal to that somewhat nebulous 
 conception, ' the Soul of Ireland, ' and to demon- 
 strate to the hard-headed Ulsterman that the 
 anarchy of the South is far preferable to the 
 peacefulness of his own counties. For instance, 
 the first number, which is dated September, 1920, 
 contains a paragraph headed Our Policy. 
 
 *' We are calling upon minds of the present 
 in Ireland, and we are conjuring up the great 
 spirits of the past to present before our readers 
 a clean-cut conception of the first principles of 
 every Irishman's relationship to his fellow- 
 Irishman, and thence to the rest of the world. 
 
 *' On the bedrock of his own traditions alone 
 may an Irishman stand no slave ; there alone can 
 he be armoured and girded by the genius of his 
 Motherland, and from there alone can he set 
 forth powerful to do good and resist evil. 
 
 " We need not recall long centuries of blood 
 and tears to impress upon our readers that if we 
 be Irish we cannot be British. To us, in so far 
 as it is Irish, everything is clean and sweet and 
 good, and in so far as it is English every Irish 
 growth is blighted. We therefore accept and 
 endorse in 1920 the policy of Wolfe Tone in 
 1798 :— 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 399 
 
 ' To break the connections with England, 
 the never-failing source of all our political 
 evils, and to assert the independence of my 
 country, these were my objects. To unite 
 the whole people of Ireland, to abolish the 
 memory of all dissentions and to substitute 
 the common name of Irishman in place of 
 the denominations of Protestant, Catholic, 
 and Dissenter, these were my means. ' 
 " In fine, we hope to retune the dumb 
 string of '98 in the sub-oonsciousness of the 
 Ulsterman till it vibrates, as it vibrated in our 
 forefathers a century ago, through the whole 
 Irishman." 
 
 The meaning to be drawn from this expression 
 of policy, not over lucid though it be, is 
 sufficiently obvious. Recruitment in Ulster, the 
 transformation of a peaceful and prosperous land 
 into a terrorised desert, is one of the most 
 cherished desires of Sinn Fein. 
 
 Enough has now been said to convey some idea 
 of the circumstances with which the authorities 
 were called upon to deal. We are now in a 
 position to examine the policy of the Government 
 in the face of these circuLmstances. 
 
 The first and most obvious necessity imposed 
 upon the rulers of Ireland was to terminate the 
 campaign of outrage and to restore law and order 
 to the position they should hold in any civilised 
 country. This is certainly the first duty of 
 government, and everything else must be 
 subordinated to it. But, once this duty has been 
 performed, there is the urgent need of giving 
 
400 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Ireland that form of rule which is desired by 
 the majority of her inhabitants, while at the same 
 time safeguarding the principles of the minority. 
 Thus it may be said that the policy of the 
 Government divides itself under two heads, but 
 that each section is being proceeded with 
 simultaneously. Throughout the distractions of 
 the year the Government held unwaveringly to 
 this policy, and its aims have never for a moment 
 been abandoned. 
 
 In examining the means by which the desired 
 ends have been approached, we may deal first 
 with the restoration of law and order and the 
 suppression of murder and outrage. Treating 
 this as a problem by itself, we may consider the 
 various methods by which the solution of the 
 problem might possibly have been achieved, and 
 the disadvantages attaching to each of them. 
 
 It has been suggested that the cheapest and 
 easiest course would have been acknowledgment 
 of the claims of Sinn Fein, and the recognition 
 of the Irish Republic. In the first place, it is 
 certain that this step would have betrayed 
 Ireland into the hands of her enemies (not to 
 mention her lawless minority), and would have 
 produced a state of affairs far worse than that 
 alre^^dy existing. Sinn Fein has shown no such 
 symptoms of its aptitude for rule as would 
 justify the surrender to it of an integral unit of 
 the British Empire. It the second place, it has 
 never been part of the policy of a civilised people 
 to abandon a portion of its territory because a 
 band of criminals give themselves over to an 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 401 
 
 orgy of assassination and bloodshed. And 
 finally there would be the grave danger of the 
 infant Republic falling into the hands of the 
 enemies of the State — and of civilisation. 
 
 Another suggestion, and one which has 
 received wide support, is that the Forces of the 
 Crown should be withdrawn from the country, 
 either to England or to the shores of Ireland, 
 apparently in the hope that the objectives of the 
 murderers having been removed, the operations 
 of the latter would perforce cease. Presumably 
 the advocates of this policy would insist, if they 
 were suffering from the onslaughts of some 
 organism which attacked the brain, that the 
 brain should be removed in order to defeat 
 the organism. For no less vital than is the 
 brain to the human body are the Forces of the 
 Crown to Ireland. Upon their removal there 
 would be no restriction upon crime. The armed 
 minority of the population would seize upon the 
 opportunity to wage open warfare upon the 
 peaceful majority which disagreed with them. 
 Upon the ashes of a devastated country would 
 rise a monstrous domination of murderers, 
 upholding their authority at the point of the 
 revolver. For it is not only the Forces of the 
 Crown upon whom the Republicans have 
 declared war. Every loyal citizen is menaced by 
 them, as their own proclamations are never tired 
 of asserting. Two of these, issued during the 
 month of November, 1920, may be quoted in this 
 connection. The first of them is as follows : — 
 
 AA 
 
402 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ** Whereas the Irish Republic has declared 
 war on England, we hereby give notice that 
 anyone guilty of treasonable conspiracy will be 
 shot without warning as a traitor to the Republic. 
 
 Signed on behalf of the aforesaid Republic : 
 
 (name in Irish script) 
 
 GOD SAVE IRELAND." 
 
 God save Ireland indeed, and from the hands 
 of those who penned so dastardly a threat. 
 The second proclamation is as follows : — 
 
 " HEADQUARTERS DUBLIN. 
 
 Whereas the Irish Republic has declared war 
 on England, we hereby warn all enemies of Sinn 
 Fein who in any way assist the enemy or obstruct 
 the soldiers of the said Republic that they are 
 traitors to their country and therefore liable to be 
 
 SHOT WITHOUT WARNING. 
 
 By order of the 
 
 IRISH republic. 
 
 TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. 
 
 LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC ! ' ' 
 
 These proclamations were circulated by the 
 Irish Republican Army as a threat to loyalists in 
 Ireland. Surely they alone are a sufficient 
 answer to those who advocate the withdrawal of 
 the Forces of the Crown. 
 
 There is yet another objection to this most 
 dangerous suggestion. Throughout Irish history 
 every concession to outrage, every act of 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 403 
 
 conciliation towards the rebels, has always been 
 hailed by the latter as a victory and an 
 encouragement to further excesses. The with- 
 drawal of the Forces of the Crown would mean 
 the abandonment of Ireland to the Republicans, 
 and most probably the extension of the outrage 
 campaign to Great Britain. Further, it would 
 mean that the murders which have already been 
 perpetrated would remain unpunished, and the 
 criminals who have committed them would 
 openly be acclaimed as heroes. Neither the 
 cause of justice or of peace would be served by 
 this expedient. 
 
 A third suggestion has been that Ireland 
 either as a whole or in two parts, Northern and 
 Southern, should be granted what has been 
 termed Dominion Home Rule. This has proved a 
 very loose expression; it has been used to cover 
 widely differing policies, ranging from self- 
 government as enjoyed for instance by Canada, 
 through the federal powers exercised by the 
 component States of the United States of 
 America, to the proposals embodied in the present 
 Government of Ireland Act. But, as a matter of 
 fact. Dominion Home Rule must mean a very 
 complete measure of self-government, and must 
 include the rights of control of harbours, 
 customs, excise and taxation, together with the 
 power to maintain naval and military forces. 
 
 It is upon this last point that Do>minion Home 
 Rule, as applied to Ireland, fails to meet the 
 situation. Whatever may have been the naval 
 lessons of the late war, it has at all events been 
 
404 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 proved that a fleet of submarines, based upon a 
 defended harbour, can do incalculable damage 
 before it can be exterminated. The methods 
 of the Republicans have been sufficiently- 
 demonstrated to prove the impossibility of 
 placing such a potential weapon in Irish hands. 
 The coasts of Ireland are far too favourable, both 
 strategically and tactically, for submarine 
 operations against British shipping, to permit 
 of their use by any other Navy than the British. 
 
 The argument against permitting Ireland to 
 control her own army is very similar. Although 
 it is not to be imagined that the country could or 
 would support an Army of such a size as to be a 
 standing menace to the British Empire, it is 
 impossible to avoid realisation of the fact that 
 the Irish Republican Army is already in 
 existence, and would almost certainly develop 
 into the regular armed force of the Irish nation. 
 The deeds of this Army have already been 
 sufficiently demonstrated. A legalised armed 
 force with such traditions would hardly be 
 conducive to peace. 
 
 A fourth suggestion for the attainment of 
 peace in Ireland is that Martial Law should be 
 proclaimed throughout the country, in order to 
 facilitate the extermination of the murder-gangs. 
 This is a suggestion meriting serious considera- 
 tion. The chief value of a declaration of Martial 
 Law in a region sufiering under conditions such 
 as those obtaining in Ireland lies in the 
 opportunities it offers for rapid measures to be 
 taken by the man on the spot. It only indirectly 
 
THE POLICY or THE GOVERNMENT. 405 
 
 assists in the capture of malefactors, how- 
 ever, and in any case is probably more 
 valuable from its moral than from its direct 
 effects. But the danger of a precipitate 
 declaration of Martial Law lies in the grave 
 probability of a resulting guerilla campaign. 
 Had Martial Law been proclaimed too early, 
 the result might well have been that the 
 members of the Irish Republican Army would 
 have mobilised to resist it, and that irregular 
 warfare would have taken place between them 
 and the Forces of the Crown, with all the 
 advantages, strategical and tactical, in favour 
 of the insurgents. They would have been 
 operating in their own country, with the factors 
 of terrain, initiative and concealment on their 
 side, and, although the ultimate issue of the 
 struggle could never have been in doubt, yet it 
 might have been so prolonged that at its close 
 Ireland would have been is such a state of 
 prostration that she could not have recovered 
 for years. And it must be remembered that it is 
 the duty of the Government to stamp out murder 
 and the murder-gangs with the least possible 
 disturbance of the property of the peace-loving 
 majority. 
 
 There comes a time, however, when a sufficient 
 mastery has been obtained over the lawless gangs 
 and when the imposition of Martial Law may 
 be the most rapid method of bringing them to 
 their knees. Towards the end of the year it 
 became obvious that Martial Law would afford 
 the most satisfactory means of securing the 
 
406 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 disarmament of the rebels in the southern 
 counties of Ireland. The first step was taken 
 on the 10th December, when the following 
 Proclamation was issued : — 
 
 PROCLAMATION. 
 
 Whereas certain evilly disposed persons and 
 associations with the intent to subvert the 
 supremacy of the Crown in Ireland have 
 committed divers acts of violence whereby many 
 persons, including members of the Forces of the 
 Crown and other servants of His Majesty, have 
 been murdered and many others have suffered 
 grievous injuries and much destruction of 
 property has been caused and whereas in certain 
 parts of Ireland disaffection and unrest have been 
 especially prevalent and repeated murderous 
 attacks have been made upon members of His 
 Majesty's Forces culminating in the ambush, 
 massacre and mutilation with axes, of sixteen 
 Cadets of the Auxiliary Division, all of whom 
 had served in the late War, by a large body of 
 men who were wearing trench helmets and were 
 disguised in the uniform of British soldiers and 
 who are still at large : 
 
 NOW I, JOHN DENTON PINKSTONE VISCOUNT 
 
 FRENCH Lord Lieutenant General and General 
 Gt)vernor of Ireland, do hereby proclaim by 
 virtue of all the powers me thereunto enabling 
 that the following counties namely : — 
 
 The County of Cork (East Riding and West 
 Riding), 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 407 
 
 The County of the City of Cork, 
 
 The County of Tipperary (North Riding), 
 
 The County of Tipperary (South Riding), 
 
 The County of Kerry, 
 
 The County of Limerick, 
 
 The County of the City of Limerick, 
 
 are and until further order shall continue to be 
 
 under and subject to 
 
 MARTIAL LAW, 
 
 AND I do hereby call on all loyal and well- 
 affected subjects of the Crown to aid in uphold- 
 ing and maintaining the peace of this Realm and 
 the supremacy and authority of the Crown and 
 to obey and conform to all orders and regulations 
 of the Military Authority issued by virtue of this 
 Proclamation. 
 
 Given at His Majesty's Castle of Dublin 
 this tenth day of December, 1920. 
 
 FRENCH. 
 
 GOD SAVE THE KING. 
 
 This Proclamation was followed by the first 
 Proclamation of the Military Authority on the 
 14th December. The latter was posted broadcast 
 in the proclaimed area, and was as follows : — 
 
 PROCLAMATION No 1. 
 
 BY 
 G.O.C IN C. THE FORCES IN IRELAND. 
 
 MARTIAL LAW has been declared in the 
 
408 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 counties of Cork, Tipperary, Kerry and 
 Limerick. 
 
 IRISHMEN ! 
 
 Understand this : 
 
 Great Britain has no quarrel with Irishmen; 
 her sole quarrel is with crime, outrage and 
 disorder; her sole object in declaring martial 
 LAW is to restore peace to a distracted and 
 unhappy country ; her sole enemies are those who 
 have coimtenanced, inspired, and participated in 
 rebellion, murder and outrage. 
 
 It is to put an end, once and for all, to this 
 campaign of outrage that martial law has been 
 declared. 
 
 The authorities named in the schedule 
 hereto annexed are hereby appointed military 
 GOVERNORS for the administration of martial 
 LAW in the above counties, and all persons will 
 render obedience to their orders in all matters 
 whatsoever. 
 
 NOTE THIS: 
 
 (a) All arms, ammunition and explosives in 
 possession of any person not a member of His 
 Majesty's Naval, Military, Air or Police Forces, 
 or who is not in possession of a permit, will be 
 surrendered by the 27th of December, 1920, to 
 such persons and at such places as are named in 
 the 2nd schedule hereto annexed. 
 
 (b) After the 27th of December, 1920, any 
 unauthorised person found in possession of arms, 
 amniunition or explosives, will be liable, on 
 conviction, by a Military Court, to suffer death. 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 409 
 
 (e) Any unauthorised person wearing the 
 uniform or equipment of His Majesty's Naval, 
 Military, Air or Police Forces, or wearing 
 similar clothing likely to deceive, will be liable 
 on conviction to suffer death, and any person in 
 unauthorised possession of such uniform, cloth- 
 ing, or equipment will be liable on conviction by 
 a Military Court to suffer penal servitude. 
 
 (d) NOTE WELL : 
 
 That a state of armed insurrection exists, that 
 any person taking part therein or harbouring 
 any person who has taken part therein, or 
 procuring, inviting, aiding or abetting any 
 person to take part therein, is guilty of levying 
 war against His Majesty the King, and is liable 
 on conviction by a Military Court to suffer death. 
 
 (e) All law courts, corporations, councils, and 
 boards are hereby directed to continue to carry 
 out their functions until otherwise ordered. 
 
 (/) The Forces of the Crovni in Ireland are 
 hereby declared to be on active service. 
 
 Signed this 12th day of December, 1920. 
 
 (Sgd.) C. F. N. Macready, 
 
 General. 
 Commanding-in- Chief The Forces in Ireland. 
 
 1st schedule. 
 The Generals or other officers commanding 6th 
 Division, 16th, I7th, 18th, and Kerry Infantry 
 Brigades. 
 
 2nd schedule. 
 To a military or police officer at any military 
 or police barracks or to a priest or other minister 
 
410 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 of religion, who will at once arrange for their 
 delivery to the nearest military or police barracks. 
 
 The effect of this Proclamation was somewhat 
 curious. Practically no arms were surrendered, 
 but all the same the desired result was to a large 
 extent achieved. Arms and ammunition were 
 thrown away in large numbers, and many were 
 subsequently found by troops and police. Others 
 were hidden in holes dug in the fields, and on 
 several occasions these hiding places were 
 discovered. The lessons of this imposition of 
 Martial Law have been that although it was 
 successful at a comparatively late stage, it would 
 not have been a desirable policy during the early 
 months of the year. 
 
 Having considered these various alternatives, 
 we may now deal with the actual methods 
 pursued by the Government during the year. 
 These were, in brief, designed to deal with the 
 abnormal situation in Ireland with the least 
 possible inconvenience to the law-abiding section 
 of the community. 
 
 It must be repeated that the first necessity 
 facing the authorities was the restoration of law 
 and order. This could only be accomplished by 
 strengthening the Forces of the Crown and by 
 equipping them with the necessary powers for 
 dealing with the disturbers of the peace. The 
 first of these measures was comparatively simple : 
 the number of troops in Ireland was increased, 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 411 
 
 the R.I.C. was rearmed and to some extent 
 reorganised, and a force auxiliary to the 
 latter was created. This was the * Auxiliary- 
 Division ' of temporary cadets.* But the 
 question of bringing captured criminals to justice 
 was not so simple. 
 
 Owing to the terrorism rampant in the country, 
 the ordinary machinery of criminal justice had 
 completely broken down. Witnesses and juries 
 refused to attend the courts, or, even if willing, 
 were forcibly prevented from so doing. In cases 
 where they had the courage to present themselves, 
 they were subjected to every form of ill-treatment 
 by the Republicans, many of them indeed 
 being murdered in cold blood. Under these 
 circumstances it was obvious that if criminals 
 were to be brought to book, some alternative 
 means for the administration of justice must be 
 devised. 
 
 As a matter of fact an alternative means 
 already existed, but it was incomplete. Under 
 the Defence of the Realm Regulations, prisoners 
 could be tried by courts martial for offences 
 specified in those Regulations. But there were 
 many offences requiring punishment which did 
 not come within their scope. In order to 
 empower courts martial to deal with these 
 offences. The Restoration of Order in Ireland 
 Bill was introduced, and became law on August 
 12th. 
 
 An official announcement issued on August 
 21st sufficiently explains the scope of the Act. 
 
 * Se« page 281. 
 
412 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 RESTORATION OF ORDER IN IRELAND REGULATIONS. 
 
 " Regulations have now been made by an 
 Order in Council under the Restoration of Order 
 in Ireland Act, and will be brought into operation 
 forthwith. 
 
 *' The Act authorises the issue of Regulations 
 under the Defence of the Realm Ck)nsolidation 
 Act, 1914, for effecting the restoration and 
 maintenance of order in Ireland where it appears 
 to His Majesty in Council that, owing to the 
 existence of a state of disorder, the ordinary law 
 is inadequate for the prevention and punishment 
 of crime, or the maintenance of order. 
 
 ** The Regulations have been rendered 
 necessary by the abnormal conditions which at 
 present prevail in certain parts of Ireland, 
 where an organised campaign of violence and 
 intimidation has resulted in the partial break- 
 down of the machinery of the ordinary law and 
 in the non- performance by public bodies and 
 officials of their statutory obligations. In 
 particular it has been found that criminals are 
 protected from arrest, that trial by jury cannot 
 be obtained because of the intimidation of 
 witnesses and jurors, and that Local Authorities 
 and their officers stand in fear of injury to their 
 persons or property if they carry out their 
 statutory duties. 
 
 " The Order in Council provides among other 
 things : — 
 
 (1) For the putting into operation of 
 many of the existing Defence of the 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 413 
 
 Realm Regulations for the purpose of the 
 restoration or maintenance of order. 
 
 (2) For the trial of crimes by Courts 
 Martial or by specially constituted Civil 
 Courts, and for the investment of those 
 Courts with the necessary powers. 
 
 (3) For the withholding from Local 
 Authorities who refuse to discharge the 
 obligations imposed upon them by Statute 
 of grants which otherwise would be payable 
 to them from public funds and for the 
 application of the grants so withheld to the 
 discharge of the obligations which the Local 
 Authority has failed to fulfil. 
 
 (4) For the holding of Sittings of Courts 
 elsewhere than in the ordinary Courthouses, 
 where these Courthouses have been destroyed 
 or otherwise made unavailable. 
 
 *' Although the Regulations are not, in terms, 
 Restricted to any particular part or parts of 
 Ireland, it is the Grovernment's intention that 
 they shall not be applied in substitution for the 
 provisions of the ordinary law in places where 
 the judicial and administrative machinery of the 
 ordinary law are available, and are not obstructed 
 in their operations by the methods of violence and 
 intimidation above mentioned. For instance, 
 under the Regulations an ordinary crime can 
 only be tried by a Court Martial or by a specially 
 constituted Civil Court, if the case is referred 
 to the Competent Naval or Military Authority. 
 Instructions will be issued by the Irish Executive 
 to ensure that such cases will not be referred to 
 
414 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 the Competent Naval or Military Authority 
 except where the prevalence of actual or 
 threatened violence or intimidation has produced 
 conditions rendering it impracticable for them 
 to be dealt with by due process of ordinary law. " 
 
 The Restoration of Order in Ireland Regula- 
 tions have been of great service in enabling 
 persons to be brought to justice. The 
 simultaneous strengthening of the Forces of the 
 Crown, which put them in a position to secure 
 evidence against the members of the murder- 
 gangs, was the principal factor in producing the 
 remarkable improvement in the situation which 
 occurred towards the end of the year. So great 
 was this improvement that, as we have seen 
 (Chapter IV.), during the latter months of 
 the year the Republican element began to make 
 tentative overtures towards some slackening of 
 the campaign against them. They realised that 
 the net was slowly closing in upon them, and that 
 they were threatened with annihilation as the 
 result of the successful measures taken by the 
 Government. Outrage became less frequent, the 
 rank and file of the I.R.A. began to see ever more 
 clearly that immunity from punishment was no 
 longer to be relied upon. The murder-gangs 
 dissolved owing to the defection of their 
 members, and only the leaders, too deeply 
 involved in terrible crime to cherish any hope of 
 mercy, desperate, fighting like rats in a corner, 
 were left, banded together, to carry on their 
 dreadful orgy of bloodshed. A more complete 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 415 
 
 justification of the official policy can hardly be 
 imagined. 
 
 Here we must digress a little to refer to the 
 attitude of the Government towards proposals 
 for * peace ' emanating from Sinn Fein sources. 
 In the House of Commons on 10th December, 
 1920, the Prime Minister propounded the policy 
 of the Government in regard to this matter in 
 the following words : — 
 
 '* During the last few weeks the Government 
 have been in touch with intermediaries who have 
 been anxious to bring about a better understand- 
 ing. There have been no negotiations, but certain 
 people who offered their services have seen both 
 sides and have thus enabled the Governme«it to 
 arrive at certain conclusions about the position in 
 Ireland. As the result of their consideration, 
 they have after a very careful survey of the 
 situation decided upon the course which I now 
 propose to unfold to the House. 
 
 " They are convinced that the majority of the 
 people of Ireland of all sections are anxious for 
 peace and for a fair settlement. The Government 
 on their side are no less anxious for peace and a 
 fair and lasting settlement, ,and in this respect I 
 feel confident they represent the views of the 
 whole of the people of Great Britain. On the 
 other hand, the Government are also very 
 regretfully convinced that the party, or rather 
 the section which controls the organisation of 
 murder and outrage in Ireland, is not yet ready 
 for a real peace, that is to say for a peace that 
 will accept the only basis on which peace can 
 
416 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 be concluded — an acceptance which would be 
 consistent with the unbroken unity of the 
 United Kingdom. Their communications are all 
 conceived in the spirit of proposals from an 
 independent belligerent power offering peace to 
 another independent belligerent with whom they 
 are at war, and to whom they are in a position to 
 dictate. . . . 
 
 " [The Government] feel they have no option 
 but to continue and indeed to intensify their 
 campaign against that small but highly organised 
 and desperate minority who are using murder 
 and outrage in order to obtain the impossible and 
 bring peace neither to Ireland nor to Great 
 Britain, but, on the other hand, to open and 
 encourage every channel whereby the forces in 
 Ireland which are really anxious for an 
 honourable settlement can find expression and so 
 lead to negotiations which may produce a real 
 and lasting peace. 
 
 ' ' This is the general policy of the Government, 
 and I want the House to understand that this is 
 a considered policy that aims on the one hand 
 at the repression of crime and on the other at 
 preparing the way towards a better under- 
 standing between the two peoples. 
 
 " Two very important documents have been 
 received in Ireland in the course of the last few 
 days. The first, and the most important of them, 
 is a document which I have received from the 
 Galway County Council. It is a very r imarkable 
 document, and it is remarkable from the fact that 
 the Galway County Council, I believe, is almost 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 417 
 
 entirely Sinn Fein. It has proclaimed its 
 adhesion to the Republican party and I rather 
 think to the Dail Eireann, which is supposed to 
 be the assembly that speaks on behalf of this 
 body. 
 
 " They sent a resolution, which has already 
 appeared in the Press. This, if I may so put it, 
 is the first area of dry land which has shown 
 itself after the deluge of unconstitutionalism in 
 that part of the country. It is a return on the 
 part of a very important body to constitutional 
 methods — an avowed return. After all, the 
 Galway County Council is a body set up under 
 the authority of the Imperial Parliament. It 
 derives its authority from this Parliament, and 
 it is a constitutional exponent of the views of 
 that particular part of the country. It has a full 
 constitutional right to communicate with the 
 Imperial Government upon any question which 
 affects the peace of that area, and a communica- 
 tion from that body to the Imperial Governm^at 
 couched in these terms is in itself, I think, a 
 very welcome sign of the new spirit coming over 
 Ireland. I think it is our duty to encourage it, 
 because in doing so we encourage a return to 
 constitutional methods in an area which has been 
 one of the most disturbed in Ireland, one of the 
 most difficult in Ireland, and which, if I may 
 use the term, has until quite recently been 
 completely in the hands of the rebel forces in 
 Ireland. It is only a very short time ago that I 
 was talking to the General Officer Commanding 
 that area, and his opinion at that time was that 
 
 BB 
 
418 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 the recognition of authority would be difficult to 
 establish in that county. This is, therefore, a 
 very important and promising episode in the 
 relations between the two countries. The 
 resolution was carried, I believe, against the 
 protests of the Sinn Fein leaders in that area. 
 That makes it still more important. A similar 
 resolution, not in exactly the same terms, but 
 breathing the same spirit was carried by the 
 Galway Urban Council. 
 
 " There is also a telegram which was sent to 
 me by a distinguished, a very able and very highly 
 respected Irish priest, Father O 'Flanagan. It 
 is true — and one must not forget it — that 
 although he calls himself, in the absence of Mr. 
 De Valera, * acting President of Sinn Fein, ' his 
 action has been repudiated by the heads of the 
 organisation which is responsible, in our judg- 
 ment, for murder in Ireland. The House must 
 bear in mind, when they come to seek the reason 
 for our adopting a two-fold policy, that, although 
 Father O' Flanagan, speaking on behalf, as he 
 thought, of at least one section of Sinn Fein, has 
 indicated the desire for peace, yet the moment he 
 sent that telegram he was repudiated by the heads 
 of the organisation who are responsible for 
 murder. That is why I say that, in my judg- 
 ment, that organisation is not of the same opinion 
 as the majority of the people in Ireland at the 
 present moment. 
 
 " We base our policy upon a recognition of 
 those two facts. The resolution of the Galway 
 County Council has been very widely advertised 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 419 
 
 in all the Press, and rightly so. It condemns the 
 murders. It condemns reprisals, but under the 
 circumstances I think it is too much to expect a 
 Sinn Fein body not to express some condemnation 
 of that character — they would lose their 
 authority with Irish opinion if they did not. 
 But it requires great courage on their part to 
 condemn the murders committed by the Irish 
 Republican Army, and let us frankly admit their 
 courage in doing so. I may begin with that, and 
 it is the first resolution of the kind that I have 
 received from any body. They say that they 
 believe that this unfortunate state of affairs is 
 detrimental to the interests of both countries in 
 such a crisis of the world's affairs. That is quite 
 true. Now they come to a practical suggestion : 
 ' We, therefore, as adherents of Dail 
 
 Eireann, request that body to appoint three 
 
 delegates.' 
 
 ' ' They suggest that the initiative lies with the 
 British Government, who should withdraw the 
 ban on the meeting of Dail Eireann for the 
 purpose of appointing delegates. That is the 
 practical suggestion which they put forward. 
 At the present moment that body is not 
 permitted to meet, and of course we cannot 
 recognise it, for to recognise it as a separate 
 body is to recognise that the part of the country 
 which they represent constitutes a separate 
 republic apart from the United Kingdom. That 
 cannot be, and it is right that, although I have 
 said it here once or twice, that should be repeated, 
 because imf ortunately in Ireland they are apt to 
 
420 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 emphasise the things that suit them and not call 
 attention to the things that do not suit them. I 
 do not think they are any exception in that 
 respect to people in other parts of the world. It 
 is necessary that that should be emphasised, 
 because it is no use encouraging impossible hopes. 
 " We do not, therefore, recognise the body 
 called the Dail Eireann. But when you come to 
 the members individually, they are the people 
 who have been elected under the constitution of 
 this country to this House. They are the people 
 who have been elected by the constituencies 
 which have been parcelled out by this House, on 
 a franchise which has been agreed upon by this 
 House at the general election at which this House 
 of Commons was elected. They are not permitted 
 to meet at the present moment, and the question 
 is whether it is desirable that they should be 
 permitted to do so in order to consider the new 
 situation which has arisen in Ireland. There are 
 very practical difficulties in the way. Some of 
 these members have, in our judgment, been guilty 
 of crimes which would make them liable to 
 prosecution and punishment, whether in Ireland 
 or Great Britain, or in any other civilised 
 country in the world. We cannot possibly grant 
 to those who have been guilty of crimes of 
 violence, of murder, of very brutal murder, a 
 safe conduct which we would not grant to any 
 British Member of the House of Commons in 
 similar circumstances. It is too much to ask of 
 any Government, however desirous they might be 
 for peace in Ireland, that they should ask the 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 421 
 
 Forces of the Crown, who have been subjected 
 to all these outrages and whose comrades have 
 been struck down through the action of these men, 
 to permit them to go through under the safe 
 conduct of the British Government. We must 
 therefore make an exception in the case of those 
 men. This is the reply which it is proposed I 
 should send to-day to the Secretary of the Galway 
 County Council : — 
 
 * I have received your letter of the 4th 
 inst., forwarding copy of a resolution passed 
 by the Galway County Council, and wish 
 to assure your Council that the Government 
 welcome every indication on the part of 
 representative persons and bodies in Ireland 
 of a desire to co-operate in bringing to an 
 end the present unhappy state of lawlessness 
 and ensuring a return to constitutional 
 methods in that coimtry. 
 
 * The first necessary preliminary to the 
 re-establishment of normal conditions is that 
 murder and crimes of violence shall cease. 
 It is to that end that the efforts of the Irish 
 Executive have been constantly directed, and 
 until it has been attained no progress can be 
 made towards a political settlement. 
 
 * The Government are prepared to 
 facilitate the meeting together for this 
 purpose of persons duly elected to represent 
 constituencies in Ireland or any part of 
 Ireland. There are, however, certain 
 individuals who are gravely implicated in 
 the commission of crime so serious that the 
 
422 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Government cannot consent to abandon their 
 elementary duty of bringing such persons 
 to trial. To all members except these 
 individuals a safe conduct v^rould be granted 
 by the Government. It should be clearly 
 understood that His Majesty's Government 
 must insist that effective measures be taken 
 to ensure the cessation of murder and other 
 crimes of violence and the surrender of all 
 arms unlawfully held.' 
 
 *' Before reading the next paragraph I should 
 say that the Galvt^ay County Council did not 
 recognise the authority of the Irish Local 
 Government Board. They have now returned 
 to their allegiance in that respect, and that in 
 itself is a promising incident. 
 " The letter proceeds : — 
 
 ' I would add that the Government have 
 
 learnt with satisfaction of the action of 
 
 your Council in submitting their accounts to 
 
 audit by the Local Government Board, and 
 
 that the fullest support can be assured to 
 
 every local authority which loyally carries 
 
 out its obligations under the law.' 
 
 *' It will be clear from this letter that the 
 
 Government, while anxious to explore every 
 
 avenue which may lead to peace, and to remove 
 
 as far as possible any obstacle which may stand 
 
 in the way of persons in Ireland who desire 
 
 peace, are determined to use all the forces at 
 
 their command to stamp out murder and outrage, 
 
 and to disarm ill-affected persons. With this 
 
 object the Government have decided to take 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 423 
 
 further action to which I shall refer later. 
 Perhaps I had better before doing so, read the 
 letter which has been sent in reply to the 
 communications of Father 'Flanagan : — 
 ' I have received your message. His 
 Majesty's Government does not lag behind 
 any section of the Irish people in the desire 
 that Ireland should enjoy to the full the 
 blessing of peace and prosperity. We are 
 prepared to afford facilities for the free 
 discussion of the whole situation by the duly 
 elected representatives of constituencies in 
 Ireland or any part of Ireland. There are, 
 however, certain individuals who are gravely 
 implicated in the commission of crime so 
 serious that the Government cannot consent 
 to abandon their elementary duty of bringing 
 such persons to trial. To all members except 
 these individuals a safe conduct will be 
 granted by the Government. It should be 
 clearly understood that His Majesty's 
 Government must insist that effective 
 measures be taken to ensure the cessation 
 of murder and other crimes of violence and 
 the surrender of all arms unlawfully held. 
 I have in the House of Commons on the 16th 
 August and on several subsequent occasions 
 defined the fundamental conditions to which 
 any political settlement must conform. His 
 Majesty's Government adhere absolutely to 
 those conditions, and would be glad to learn 
 that the party which you represent are 
 prepared to accept them.' 
 
424 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ' * That is the reply which it is proposed to send 
 to Father O 'Flanagan. 
 
 " Let me say at once — I think it is very 
 important to say it — that there should be no 
 suspicion of any breach of faith if they do meet. 
 What I mean is that it would be very unfortunate 
 if the Members came to a conference under the 
 impression that they had a safe conduct, and 
 later the feeling was created that there had been 
 an act of treachery on the part of the British 
 Government. Nothing could be worse than that 
 from the point of view of our honour and of the 
 peace of Ireland. We shall certainly let them 
 know beforehand who are the Members to whom 
 we are prepared to give a safe conduct, and who 
 are the Members to whom we could not possibly 
 give a safe conduct. Due protection will be 
 afforded to those who have a safe conduct by the 
 police and by the whole Forces of the Crown, who 
 will be available against any possible attack upon 
 them. 
 
 " I come now to the second part of my state- 
 ment. After a good many consultations which 
 the Chief Secretary, my right honourable friend 
 the Lord Privy Seal (who is not here at present) 
 and I have had with many individuals who 
 stated that they were in communication with 
 representative men in Ireland, which communica- 
 tions might be utilised in the interests of peace, 
 we have come to certain conclusions. It is very 
 difficult, of course, to know to what extent those 
 persons can really speak on behalf of those they 
 assume to represent in this matter. 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 425 
 
 " That is no imputation upon the good faith 
 of those concerned — not the least. My right 
 honourable friend opposite (Mr. Asquith) and I 
 during the War had to measure the value of 
 communications of that kind in reference to 
 Germany, Austria, Turkey, and other countries, 
 for there were constant communications with 
 men who came with the very best faith and a 
 certain amount of authority. As he knows very 
 well, in the vast majority of cases when we 
 pursued the matter we found it ended in nothing. 
 That was disappointing. Therefore that 
 experience made me a good deal more cautious 
 when I came to deal with men who professed to 
 be in a position to make peace so far as Ireland 
 was concerned. 
 
 " However, it is our business to give them 
 every opportunity, because peace is so very 
 important. But one thing has to be made quite 
 clear. I regret it. But as regards the men 
 whom we know to be directing the murders, I 
 think it will be found that they have not given 
 us any indication that they are prepared to 
 surrender upon the only terms which this country 
 could possibly accept, consistently either with 
 its own self-respect or with a prospect of 
 enduring peace for Ireland. I very much regret 
 that. We must consider that side by side with 
 the encouragement which we are prepared to give 
 to all those who are anxious for peace — and they 
 are growing in numbers, in influence, and what is 
 much more significant, in independence. This 
 means that intimidation is breaking down. We 
 
426 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 are determined to do all in our power to break up 
 these terrorists who are more or less organised, 
 because I do not think it will be possible for 
 Ireland to recover that independence which is 
 essential to her if she is to make peace, until 
 these men have been brought to justice or at any 
 rate to surrender." 
 
 Of those who made earnest endeavours to 
 persuade the Republican leaders to listen to 
 reason, two men, both members of the Catholic 
 Church, may be mentioned. The first is Father 
 O' Flanagan, referred to by the Prime Minister, 
 who had been associated with the Sinn Fein 
 Movement from the first, and was in fact one of 
 the vice-presidents of the Sinn Fein Executive. 
 As his negotiations with the Government were 
 taking a most favourable turn towards the close 
 of 1920 he encountered such opposition from the 
 Republican extremists that he was compelled to 
 abandon them. The second is Monsignor Clune, 
 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth, Western 
 Australia, who devoted the greater part of a 
 holiday in Europe to an endeavour to find a basis 
 of agreement between the Government and Sinn 
 Fein. He met with the same difficulties as his 
 predecessor, and once more the obstinacy of the 
 Republican extremists proved a fatal barrier to 
 the completion of an agreement which would have 
 saved Ireland from a terrible toll of murder and 
 destruction. 
 
 Meanwhile the Government of Ireland Bill 
 had been proceeding through Parliament, and 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 427 
 
 had been definitely accepted by Ulster. It 
 became law on 23rd December, and thus at a 
 stroke altered the whole political entity of 
 Ireland. 
 
 It is not necessary here* to set out in full the 
 provisions of the Act, but it may be useful to give 
 a general idea of their purport. Briefly, then, 
 the Act sets up two Parliaments for Ireland, one 
 for the North, that is to say for the counties of 
 Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, London- 
 derry and Tyrone, and one for the South, that is 
 to say the rest of Ireland. In each case the 
 Parliament consists of a House of Commons and 
 a Senate. These Parliaments are given legislative 
 powers in their own spheres, with certain 
 exceptions, of which the most important are 
 naval and military services, foreign relations, 
 and taxation. On the administrative side 
 certain services are reserved, either for varying 
 periods or until the date of Irish Union. 
 
 Complete powers are given to the Parliaments 
 to settle the vexed question of ' partition ' for 
 themselves. At any time they may by identical 
 Acts proclaim the Union of Ireland, and 
 substitute a single Parliament for the two set 
 up by the present Act. This point is evidently 
 not understood by those who deride the Act under 
 the foolish designation of ' The Partition Act.' 
 Until such times as the Irish people shall have 
 decided to unite, a Council of Ireland is set up, 
 as a kind of committee of both Parliaments, to 
 
 • It is given in fuller detail in Appendix A of this volume. 
 
428 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 deal with matters which involve both North and 
 South. 
 
 This Council consists of a President, to be 
 nominated by the Lord Lieutenant, twenty 
 members elected by the Parliament of Northern 
 Ireland, and twenty elected by the Parliament of 
 Southern Ireland. The appointment of these 
 members is to be the first business of both 
 Parliaments. The constitution of the Council 
 may, from time to time, be varied by identical 
 Acts passed by the two Parliaments. The 
 Council is given control over railway and fishery 
 administration throughout the country and 
 Private Bills affecting both parts of Ireland. 
 In addition to the direct powers given to the 
 Council it has important advisory functions. It 
 is to consider and advise upon any questions 
 affecting the welfare of both Northern and 
 Southern Ireland, ascertaining what services 
 could, in the common interest, be transferred to 
 a body having jurisdiction in the country as a 
 whole. Should the Parliaments choose to adopt 
 such a suggestion of the Council, they may, by 
 identical Acts, transfer certain of their powers 
 to it. Upon the declaration of the Union of 
 Ireland the Council automatically ceases to 
 exist. 
 
 The present Act follows the Act of 1914 in 
 assigning to Ireland 42 members in the British 
 Parliament, to be elected by the existing 
 Parliamentary counties, boroughs or divisions, or 
 by groups of them ; but, unlike the previous Act, 
 it gives in addition representation in the British 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 429 
 
 House of Commons to the Irish Universities. 
 Until the next British General Election, however, 
 the existing Irish members will retain their seats 
 at Westminster. 
 
 The Act thus provides a generous measure of 
 Home Rule for Ireland, and may be considered 
 to be the only possible compromise between 
 conflicting views in Ireland as they exist at 
 present. It is impossible to solve the long- 
 standing Irish Question in one measure, however 
 comprehensive. The Government have wisely 
 considered that the best course to a permanent 
 solution lies through the grant of a definite 
 measure of Home Rule to Ireland, in the hope 
 that through the exercise of this measure, and as 
 the result of experience gained during its 
 operation, it may ultimately be possible to 
 develop a final and satisfactory solution to the 
 problem of the relation of Ireland to the British 
 Empire. 
 
 The problem offered to Sinn Fein by the passing 
 of the Act merits a moment's consideration. 
 The Act provides that in the event of less than 
 half of the members of either House of Commons 
 taking their seats, that part of Ireland repre- 
 sented by the defaulting House shall be adminis- 
 tered by the British authorities by what is in 
 effect Crown Colony government, namely by a 
 Legislative Council appointed by the Lord 
 Lieutenant. In the face of this provision Sinn 
 Fein has three alternatives before it : to ignore 
 the Act altogether, to put up candidates at the 
 elections who would be pledged not to take their 
 
430 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 seats, or to renounce its ridiculous pretensions to 
 an independent Republic and permit its members 
 to sit in the Parliaments. 
 
 We may consider these alternatives in order. 
 Should Sinn Fein ignore the Act altogether, there 
 is no doubt that candidates in non-Sinn Fein 
 interests would come forward in more than 
 sufficient quantities to ensure the establishment 
 of a Parliament even in Southern Ireland. 
 The elections will be held in circumstances which 
 will preclude the possibility of intimidation of 
 electors or candidates, all who wish to record 
 their votes will be enabled to do so without fear 
 of persecution. Sinn Fein would then find itself 
 without a voice in the affairs of the country, and 
 would thus have perpetrated an even worse 
 strategical error than it did in 1918, when its 
 members refused to take their seats at West- 
 minster. 
 
 If Sinn Fein nominated candidates for the 
 election who would be pledged not to take their 
 oaths on election, with a view to rendering the 
 formation of a Southern Parliament impossible 
 owing to lack of sufficient members, a curious 
 position would arise. A vote recorded for a 
 Sinn Fein candidate would mean a vote recorded 
 for the continuance of British rule in the 
 country, which rule it is the whole object of Sinn 
 Fein to destroy, and this rule would be continued 
 solely by the Sinn Fein vote. A vote recorded 
 against Sinn Fein would, on the contrary, be a 
 vote in favour of the government of Ireland by 
 the Irish. Indeed a situation which might be 
 
THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 431 
 
 expected to appeal to the Irish People, but one 
 which would exhibit very clearly to their sym- 
 pathisers that their future destiny lies in their 
 own hands. 
 
 The third alternative is for Sinn Fein to 
 renounce the republican ideal, and to consent to 
 its representatives sitting in the Southern Parlia- 
 ment, and for that purpose taking the oath. By 
 what m^ans this change of attitude could be 
 accomplished it is not our business to enquire. 
 It is not, however, beyond the bounds of rational 
 hope that those who are now members of the 
 Sinn Fein party may one day be found in session 
 in an Irish Parliament in Dublin, striving by 
 constitutional methods to secure a new ideal of a 
 free and unfettered Ireland within the Empire. 
 Nor is it difficult to conceive the British people, 
 convinced by the novel experience of an Ireland 
 capable of wise self-government, granting to her 
 the proud status of an autonomous Dominion. 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND ACT, 1920. 
 
 1. WHAT THE ACT DOES. — The Government of Ireland 
 Act recognises the aspirations of the great bulk of the 
 Irish people, and gives to Ireland, South and North, a 
 larger measure of Home Rule than Mr. Gladstone's Bill 
 of 1893, the principles of which had been accepted by 
 Mr. Parnell, or the Government of Ireland Act, 1914, 
 which was accepted by Mr. Redmond. It sets up a 
 Parliament for Northern Ireland (i.e., the counties of 
 Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and 
 Tyrone, and the cities of Belfast and Londonderry) and 
 another Parliament for Southern Ireland (i.e., the rest 
 of Ireland) — a Government for Northen Ireland, to be 
 administered under Ministers who must be members of 
 the Parliament of Northern Ireland and responsible to 
 it, and a Government for Southern Ireland, to be 
 administered under Ministers who must be members of 
 the Parliament of Southern Ireland and responsible 
 to it. 
 
 Although at the beginning there are to be two Parlia- 
 ments and two Governments in Ireland, the Act con- 
 templates and affords every facility for union between 
 North and South, and empowers the two Parliaments by 
 mutual agreement and joint action to terminate parti- 
 tion and to set up one Parliament and one Government 
 for the whole of Ireland. With a view to the eventual 
 establishment of a single Parliament, and to bringing 
 about harmonious action between the two Parliaments 
 
APPENDIX A. 433 
 
 and Goven^ments, thei'e is created a bond of union in 
 the meantime by means of a Council of Ireland which 
 is to consist of twenty representatives elected by each 
 Parliament and a President nominated by the Lord 
 Lieutenant. It will fall to the members of this body 
 to initiate proposals for united action on the part of 
 the two Parliaments and to bring forward these pro- 
 posals in the respective Parliaments. 
 
 2. HOW THE PARLIAMENTS ARE TO BE FORMED. Each 
 
 Parliament is to include a House of Commons and a 
 Senate. The members of the House of Commons are to 
 be elected by the people of Ireland (men and women) 
 on the proportional representation system. 
 
 The Senate of the Southern Parliament is to consist 
 of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, the Lord Mayors of 
 Dublin and Cork, and sixty-one other members, includ- 
 ing* four archbishops or bishops of the Roman Catholic 
 Church, two archbishops or bishops of the Protestant 
 Church of Ireland, seventeen representatives of com- 
 merce, labour, and the learned and scientific professions, 
 sixteen Irish peers, eight Irish Privy Councillors and 
 fourteen representatives of the county councils of 
 Southern Ireland. 
 
 The Senate of the Northern Parliament is to consist 
 of the Lord Mayor of Belfast, the Mayor of London- 
 derry and twenty-four other members, who are to be 
 elected by the Northern House of Commons on the pro- 
 portional representation system. 
 
 3. POWERS OF THE PARLIAMENTS. — Each Parliament 
 will have power to make laws for the peace, order and 
 good government of Southern or Northern Ireland in 
 all matters relating exclusively to Southern or Northern 
 Ireland, as the case may be. Certain matters are 
 definitely excluded from the powers of the Parliaments 
 (see below), but, with these exceptions, the whole field 
 of legislation will be open to them. 
 
 It would be impossible to give any complete list of 
 
 CC 
 
434 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 the subjects with which the Parliaments can deal, but 
 the following" list includes some of the matters on which 
 they can make new laws or alter the existing law : — 
 
 Agriculture, allotments, Bills of Sale, blind and 
 other afflicted persons, census and statistics, charities 
 and non-commercial associations, such as friendly 
 societies, building societies and trade unions, children 
 (employment, cruelty, maintenance, «S:c.), civil rights, 
 companies and other commercial associations, county 
 courts and mag-istrates (resident magistrates after an 
 interval not exceeding three years), criminal law, death 
 duties, education in all its branches, factories and work- 
 shops, health insurance, hospitals, housing", industrial 
 schools and reformatories, industries, labour, labourers' 
 cottages, land (including land improvement and 
 development, relations of landlord and tenant, increase 
 of rent and mortgage interest, town tenants, &c.), 
 liquor trade, local government and local authorities 
 (including county councils, district councils, boards of 
 guardians and town commissioners), local taxation 
 grants [under the Malicious Injuries (Ireland) Act, 
 1919], mines and minerals, motor car licensing and 
 registration, old age pensions, piers and harbours, 
 police (after an interval not exceeding three years), 
 poor law, prisons, public health, public works (including 
 arterial drainage, reclamation, and afforestation), 
 regulation of trades, business and professions, taxation 
 (other than the reserved taxes), transfer, transmission 
 and devolution of property, unemployment and wages 
 boards. 
 
 4, POWERS OF THE GOVERNMENTS. All matters 
 within the jurisdiction of the Parliaments of Southern 
 Ireland and Northern Ireland will be administered by 
 the Governments of Southern Ireland and Northern 
 Ireland respectively. There will be separate Depart- 
 ments in Southern and Northern Ireland. It will rest 
 finally with each of the new Governments and Parlia- 
 
APPENDIX A. 435 
 
 ments to decide what their Government Departments 
 are to be ; but for each part of Ireland there will be a 
 Treasury, and, in all probability. Departments with 
 functions corresponding to those of the present Local 
 Government Board, Insurance Commissioners, Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, Com- 
 missioners of National Education, Intermediate Educa- 
 tion Board, Board of Works, and Commissioners of 
 Charitable Donations and Bequests. Each new depart- 
 ment, or group of departments, in South or North will 
 have at its head a Minister of the Southern or Northern 
 Government who will be responsible to the Southern 
 Parliament or the Northern Parliament, as the case 
 may be, for the work of his departments. Irish 
 administration will thus be placed, for the first time, 
 under Irish control. Before the Act of Union, even in 
 the time of Grattan's Parliament, there were no Irish 
 Ministers. Irish administration was conducted by 
 Ministers and officials who were appointed and removed 
 by the British Government. They were not responsible 
 to the Irish Parliament. 
 
 5. POWERS OF THE COUNCIL OF IRELAND. ^lu Order tO 
 
 secure necessary uniform administration throughout the 
 whole of Ireland three matters are placed within the 
 exclusive jurisdiction of the Council of Ireland, viz., 
 railways, fisheries, and contagious diseases of animals. 
 Regarding these the Council will act as a central legisla- 
 tive and administrative body for the whole of Ireland, 
 and if the two Parliaments agree that there are any 
 other matters affecting the whole country which ought 
 proper^ly to be administered uniformly throughout 
 Ireland by such a body, they can transfer those matters 
 to the Council. 
 
 In addition the Council will have power to pass 
 private Bill legislation with respect to matters affecting 
 interests both in Southern and Northern Ireland, 
 
 6. FINANCE. — Only three descriptions of taxes are 
 
436 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 excluded from the powers of the two Parliaments, viz., 
 customs and excise, income tax (including super tax), 
 and any other taxes on profits. They are also pre- 
 cluded from imposing a general levy on capital. Apart 
 from these exceptions, each Parliament will have power 
 to impose whatever taxes it thinks proper, to be collected 
 by it and paid into its own Exchequer. It will also 
 have power to grant relief in reduction of the rate of 
 income tax or super tax. The descriptions of taxes 
 mentioned above are reserved to the United Kingdom 
 Government and Parliament, and will continue to be 
 imposed and levied by them, and the proceeds will be 
 paid into the United Kingdom Exchequer. But the 
 Act applies Irish taxes to Irish purposes, and so, after 
 deducting the Irish contribution to Imperial liabilities 
 and expenditure, and the cost of any services which 
 may be still administered in Ireland by the United 
 Kingdom Government (see below), the whole balance 
 will be paid over to the Southern and Northern 
 Exchequers. 
 
 The annuities payable by tenants who have bought 
 their holdings under the Land Purchase Acts are to be 
 collected by the Southern and Northern Governments. 
 Instead of having to pay over the sums so collected, the 
 Governments will retain them, thus acquiring a free 
 surplus revenue (estimated to amount to something over 
 three and a quarter millions) for their own use. They 
 will, however, be accountable to the United Kingdom 
 Government for any new purchase annuities. 
 
 It is not possible to forecast accurately the amount 
 of revenue that will be at the disposal of the two 
 Parliaments to meet the requirements of their respective 
 Governments, but it is estimated that on the existing 
 basis of Revenue and Expenditure they will have 
 between them a surplus of over seven and a half millions 
 in hand, after paying the contribution to Imperial 
 liabilities and expenditure, and meeting the cost of the 
 
APPENDIX A. 437 
 
 reserved services still administered by the United King- 
 dom Government and the cost of their own services. 
 
 In addition, each Government is to receive from the 
 Imperial Exchequer the initial cost of providing the 
 necessary buildings and equipment for the accommoda- 
 tion of the new Parliament and Public departments. 
 
 For the purposes of the financial provisions of the 
 Act a Joint Exchequer Board is established, whose duty 
 it will be to determine various questions affecting the 
 financial relations of Great Britain and Ireland and of 
 Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Board is 
 to consist of two members to be appointed by the 
 Treasury of the United Kingdom, one member to be 
 appointed by the Treasury of Southern Ireland, one 
 member to be appointed by the Treasury of Northern 
 Ireland, and a Chairman to be appointed by His 
 Majesty. 
 
 7. IRISH CONTEIBUTION TO IMPERIAL LIABILITIES AND 
 
 EXPENDITURE. — Ireland is to make an annual contri- 
 bution to Imperial liabilities and expenditure. For 
 each of the first two years the contribution is fixed 
 provisionally at £18,000,000, of which 56 per cent, is 
 to be borne by Southern Ireland and 44 per cent, by 
 Northern Ireland. After the end of the second year 
 the contributions are to be revised by the Joint 
 Exchequer Board and to be fixed according to the rela- 
 tive taxable capacities of Southern Ireland and 
 Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, and, should 
 the Board be of opinion that the £18,000,000 contri- 
 buted in each of the first two years was excessive, or 
 that the amount of the contribution in those years ought 
 to have been apportioned between South and North in 
 some other manner, the excess payments are to be 
 credited to Ireland or to South or North, as the case may 
 be, and the accounts adjusted accordingly. 
 
 8. JUDICATURE. — The present Supreme Court for the 
 whole of Ireland is to be abolished, and in its pilace 
 
438 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 there is to be a Supreme Court for Southern Ireland, a 
 Supreme Court for Northern Ireland and a High Court 
 of Appeal for all Ireland to which appeals will lie from 
 each of the new Supreme Courts. Decisions of the new 
 High Court of Appeal for Ireland will be subject to an 
 appeal to the House of Lords. The office of the Lord 
 Chancellor of Ireland is to cease to be a political or 
 executive office, and the Lord Chancellor is to be Presi- 
 dent of the High Court of Appeal for Ireland. 
 
 9. MATTERS EXCLUDED FROM THE JURISDICTION OF THE 
 
 PARLIAMENTS AND GOVERNMENTS. — Certain subjects are 
 excluded expressly from the powers of the two Parlia- 
 ments and Governments. They fall into two broad 
 groups: first, matters of Imperial concern; and, 
 secondly, matters affecting external trade and com- 
 merce, as regards which it is important to maintain a 
 uniform system throughout the United Kingdom. 
 
 Within the first group come the Crown, the making of 
 peace and war, treaties and foreign relations, and naval, 
 military and air force matters. 
 
 Within the second group come trade with places out- 
 side the area of the Parliament, marine navigation, 
 merchant shipping, &c., also customs and excise; but, 
 on Irish union, the Joint Exchequer Board is to take 
 into consideration the transfer to the United Parlia- 
 ment and Government of the powers of imposing cus- 
 toms duties and excise duties, and to report thereon to 
 the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Parlia- 
 ment of Ireland. 
 
 Certain other subjects are temporarily reserved to the 
 United Kingdom Parliament and Government, viz., 
 the postal service, post office and trustee savings banks, 
 designs for stamps, the registration of deeds and the 
 Public Record Office of Ireland. All these subjects 
 can, however, if the two Parliaments so desire, be 
 transferred at any time to the Council of Ireland, and 
 when a single Parliament and Government is established 
 
APPENDIX A. 439 
 
 for the whole of Ireland these subjects must be trans- 
 ferred to the United Parliament and Government, unless 
 the Southern oV Northern Parliament prefer that they 
 should continue under United Kingdom control. 
 
 Land purchase is also reserved to the United King- 
 dom Parliament and Government, the completion of 
 land purchase being a matter which requires the assis- 
 tance of Imperial credit. This reservation does not, 
 however, include the general functions of the Congested 
 Districts Board. 
 
 Matters relating to the Supreme Courts of Southern 
 Ireland and Northern Ireland are reserved until a singile 
 Parliament has been established for the whole of 
 Ireland. 
 
 9 A. REMOVAL OF RELIGIOUS DISABILITIES AND PRE- 
 VENTION OF RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION. — The Act pro- 
 vides that no subject of His Majesty is to be disqualified 
 to hold the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on 
 account of his religious belief, thus repealing any 
 statutory disqualification of Roman Catholics for this 
 office. It also repeals any existing enactments imposing 
 penalties, disadvantages or disabilities on account of 
 religious belief, or upon members of religious orders, 
 as such. 
 
 The Parliaments are precluded from making laws 
 directly or indirectly prohibiting or restricting the free 
 exercise of any religion, or giving any preference or 
 imposing any disability on account of religious belief 
 or religious or ecclesiastical status, and, similarly, the 
 executive is precluded from conferring any preference 
 or advantage or imposing any disability or disadvantage 
 upon any person on account of religious belief. 
 
 10. REPRESENTATION OF IRELAND IN THE UNITED KING- 
 DOM HOUSE OF COMMONS. — The present representation of 
 Ireland in the United Kingdom House of Commons is 
 to be reduced from 105 members to 46, but this reduc- 
 tion is not to be effected before the next dissolution of 
 
440 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 the United Kingdom Parliament. This gives Irishmen 
 the power to take part in legislation affecting the United 
 Kingdom as well as managing their own affairs under 
 the new Act. 
 
 11. CIVIL SERVANTS AND MEMBERS OF THE POLICE 
 
 FORCES. — The Civil Servants who are employed in the 
 existing public departments will be transferred to the 
 Governments of Southern and Northern Ireland when 
 the work of the existing departments is taken over by 
 those Governments, and the Act contains provisions for 
 securing to these transferred Civil Servants the continu- 
 ance of their present salaries and terms of employment, 
 and for protecting them against arbitary dismissal or 
 unjust treatment and enabling them to retire volun- 
 tarily on pension if they so desire. A Civil Service 
 Committee is to be established to carry out these pro- 
 visions and to determine any questions that may arise 
 as to the rights and claims of Civil Servants and as to 
 the manner in which they are to be allocated between 
 the Governments of Southern and Northern Ireland. 
 The Act contains provisions of a similar character 
 with reference to the members of the Royal Irish Con- 
 stabulary and the Dublin Metropolitan Police on the 
 transfer of those forces to the new Governments. 
 
 12. DATES ON WHICH THE ACT IS TO COME INTO FORCE. 
 
 — The Act is to come into force normally on the 2nd 
 August, 1921, but His Majesty in Council may fix an 
 earlier date as the date when the Act as a whole or any 
 particular provision is to come into force or may fix a 
 later date, not being later than the 2nd March, 1922, 
 provided that the two Parliaments must be summoned 
 to meet on or before the 2nd December, 1921. 
 
 13. REFUSAL TO " WORK THE ACT." — The members of 
 each Parliament before they sit as members will be 
 required to take an oath in the following form, but a 
 solemn affirmation or declaration to the same effect may 
 be substituted in certain cases, viz. : — 
 
APPENDIX A. 441 
 
 " I , do swear that I will be 
 
 faithful and bear true allegiajice to His Majesty King 
 
 George, his heirs and successors according to law, so 
 
 help me God." 
 
 This is the oath of allegiance which must be taken 
 not only by the members of the Parliament of the 
 United Kingdom but also by the members of the Parlia- 
 ments of the self-governing dominions, Australia, South 
 Africa, and Newfoundland. A similar oath is taken by 
 the members of the Parliaments of Canada and New 
 Zealand. 
 
 If a majority of the total number of members of the 
 House of Commons of Southern Ireland or Northern 
 Ireland fail to take this oath within fourteen days 
 after the date fixed for the first meeting of the Parlia- 
 ment of Southern Ireland or Northern Ireland as the 
 case may be, then it will be assumed that Southern 
 Ireland or Northern Ireland is not willing to accept the 
 system of Parliamentary Government proposed by the 
 Act, and thereupon the Parliament of Southern Ireland 
 or Northern Ireland as the case may be will be dissolved 
 and its place will be taken by a Legislative Assembly 
 appointed by His Majesty, and the Government of 
 Southern Ireland or Northern Ireland as the case may 
 be will be administered by the Lord Lieutenant with 
 the assistance of a Committee of members of the Privy 
 Council of Ireland appointed for the purpose by His 
 Majesty. 
 
 The failure of one part of Ireland will not affect the 
 operation of the Act in the other part of Ireland except 
 in 80 far as it will postpone the possibility of the estab- 
 lishment of a united Parliament and Government for 
 the whole of Ireland, 
 
 It will therefore be for Irishmen themselves to decide 
 in the near future whether they will themselves take up 
 the reins of Government in their own country or be 
 ruled by the Government of the United Kingdom under 
 a system analogous to Crown Colony Government. 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 On 16th November, 1920, during a raid by the 
 Forces of the Crown in Dublin, a number of 
 papers belonging to Richard Mulcahy, the 
 * Chief of Staff ' of the * Irish Republican 
 Army ' were captured. The following docu- 
 ments were among them : — 
 
 GLANDERS IN HORSES. 
 
 " It should be possible to give horses Glanders, I 
 know they can be inoculated, but that method would 
 be impossible. The disease is got from Harness and by 
 putting a horse in a stable from which an infected horse 
 had been removed. Therefore, it should be possible to 
 pass the infection by means of doctoring the oats, and 
 it should be possible to get the oats at Railway Stations 
 and so forth. 
 
 " METHOD : Any Doctor or V. Surgeon will be able 
 to tell you how to grow the microbes. If they don't 
 know they can look it up in any text book on 
 Bacteriology. It is necessary to get a fresh culture, 
 that is, microbes grown from the discharge of an in- 
 fected horse. This should be easily got round the 
 Veterinary College or some place. Microbes kept in a 
 Laboratory lose their virulence with each sub-culture. 
 If you get the microbes they can be grown in a chicken 
 incubator if you can't get them grown in a laboratory. 
 Any Doctor can find out the medium in which they 
 grow. Assume you have half a pint of active microbes, 
 then : take a hollow stick or piece of piping. Get 
 another stick to fit in this like a ramrod of a gun. Put 
 
APPENDIX B. 443 
 
 this stick down in the sack of oats. Withdraw the ram- 
 rod. Then pour in the microbes while you, at the same 
 time, withdraw the hollow stick or piping. In this 
 way you can distribute the microbes from the bottom 
 of the sack to the top without disturbing the oats, and 
 it can be done quickly. 
 
 ** CAUTION: Operator must not allow any of the 
 fluid on his hands or clothes. The stick and bottle 
 should be burned after use. 
 
 "A couple of thousand horses infected would make 
 a sensation. Saddles, etc. would have to be burned^ 
 and stables disinfected. 
 
 " TROOPS THEMSELVES: How about spreading 
 Typhoid Fever among themP I know 'of no other 
 ordinary disease that could be spread among them with 
 safety to the rest of the population. They might 
 retaliate, but that is for consideration, 
 
 " To get Typhoid Fever one must eat or drink the 
 Typhoid Bacillus (or microbe). It is easy getting fresh 
 and virulent cultures. The best medium of conveying 
 it is through the milk. They multiply rapidly in the 
 milk. They can also be conveyed in the water, but 
 through the water is difi&cult, unless there are special 
 cisterns or tanks near each place into which a pint or 
 so could be poured. 
 
 The milk is far the best medium, but is milk usedP 
 It can be investigated. 
 
 *' CAUTION: There is no danger to the operator 
 unless he gets the microbes on hands or clothes. The 
 Cans would have to get special attention after the in- 
 fected milk had been emptied. They could, in turn, 
 convey the disease to the civil population. If these 
 id^s are of any use you will need expert advice, so I 
 need not go into the matter further. 
 
 " If these are thought practical let me know and I'll 
 study other things on same line in the hope of discover- 
 
444 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 ing' possibilities. At tlie moment I can't think of any- 
 thing else in that line. 
 
 " Give my regards to all and hope the success will 
 continue. I enjoyed my visit, and will now feel in 
 personal touch more than ever. God bless you all." 
 
 There were also detailed schemes for the 
 destruction of Stuart Street Power House, Man- 
 chester, and the docks and cotton warehouses at 
 Liverpool. An extract from the document deal- 
 ing with Manchester is as follows : — 
 
 MEMORANDUM RE STUART STREET POWER 
 HOUSE, MANCHESTER. 
 
 " This place is worked by three shifts, namely, 6 to 
 2 ; 2 to 10, and 10 to 6. The best day for an operation 
 would be Sunday, say about 9 a.m. as there is a mini- 
 mum number of men working in the station. This place 
 is undoubtedly of great importance not only in 
 connection with the tramways, but also with the coal 
 mines in the vicinity. I attach herewith a sketch plan 
 (not drawn to scale) showing the lay-out of the place. 
 The principal points to be attacked are 10 Turbines in 
 the Engine Room, 10 Balancers, the Switch Board and 
 the Large Marine Type Engine. 
 
 " The plan of operation would be somewhat as 
 follows : — 
 
 " At the appointed time 6 men enter the time office, 
 of whom 3 should immediately go to the telephone and 
 hold up the system, while the other 3 should remain in 
 the office and hold up any person who may happen to be 
 there. A second party of 6 should enter the ^te 
 marked A ; 3 of these 6 should remain at the gate to 
 admit the motor car carrying tools, and the other 3 
 should go to fitting shop and take up position at gate of 
 
APPENDIX B. 445 
 
 same, this shop to be used as a place to hold any persons 
 who were rounded up inside the works. The third party 
 of 6 should be divided as follows : — 2 to take up position 
 at the door of the general ofl&ce to keep persons from 
 coming out, 2 at the outside of gate marked B for the 
 same purpose, and 2 at the end of the line marked L. 
 The demolition party should then enter the main gate, 
 30 men to the Engine room, 3 for each Turbine, 2 armed 
 with sledges and 1 with oil and waste. The first 2 
 should destroy the casing while the third should, by 
 means of the oil, set fire to the casing. Ten others 
 should destroy the casing of the balancers and also 
 destroy by fire. Four men armed with 7-lb. hammers 
 can easily destroy Switchboard, 3 others with hatchets 
 and oil will attack the marine engine. The total num- 
 ber of men required as outlined above is 66 with say, 5 
 oflScers. You will find attached a report by G. H. 
 which explains the location of the very important 
 pumping stations at Clayton Vale. I consider the best 
 method of attacking this is to destroy the Crank, for 
 which purpose 30-lbs. of * g.c. ' will be adequate. Six 
 men will be required for this operation." 
 
 The Liverpool scheme is interesting because a 
 part of it, the destruction of cotton warehouses, 
 was actually put into operation with partial 
 success on 28th November, 1920. 
 
 MEMORANDUM RE LIVERPOOL. 
 
 " In its main features, the scheme as outlined by 
 your friend T. K. can be carried out. It will of course 
 be impossible to make a clean sweep of the whole line of 
 docks. If men and material are available a large 
 amount of work can be done but the amount to be done 
 must be regulated by these conditions. I submit a 
 
446 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 scheme for dealing with 21 points. This scheme in- 
 volves the use of 800-lbs. of ' g",' 23 engineers, 75 rank 
 and file and about 20 others, 98 revolvers. 
 '* The scheme is carried out as follows: — 
 
 1. Dislocation of Telephone communication. 
 
 2. Holding up all Dock Board Police. 
 
 3. The opening of inner gates by means of the 
 pumps. 
 
 4. Demolition of these pumps, 4 in number. 
 
 5. Demolition of 8 gates. 
 
 " The pumps used for opening the gates are a 
 different set to those used for pumping water into the 
 docks. It is necessary to open the inner gates before 
 blowing up the outer and for this operation it would be 
 necessary to use these pumps in addition to having men 
 operating at the inner gates. 
 
 " There are four Power Stations containing pumps 
 for the opening of the gates. These pumps could be 
 destroyed by the use of 200-lbs. of * g,' 4 engineers, 20 
 rank and file and 24 revolvers. 
 
 " For the whole job as outlined I estimate the total 
 number of men required is 23 ofiicers, 27 engineers and 
 75 rank and file. It would, I think, be necessary for the 
 officers, or many of them, to reside in the locality for 
 at least one week before the operation and to complete 
 the arrangements as outlined above, I consider it would 
 take three weeks from date. 
 
 " If it is not considered feasible to carry out such a 
 large operation as outlined, a portion might be selected 
 from the Schedule attached hereto which gives in detail 
 the name of each gate, method of dealing with it, num- 
 ber of men required, number of enemy forces to be 
 dealt with and the line of approach and retreat. For 
 instance, it might be decided to tackle only the Canada 
 Dock. This would only require 100-lbs. of * g,' say 10 
 men, or perhaps two or three docks might be tackled 
 requiring a proportionate number of men and material, 
 
APPENDIX B. 447 
 
 but in any event I would strongly recommend that the 
 four power stations be dealt with. 
 
 ** I adhere to the view already expressed that the 
 Mowing up of a dock gate will not result in a rush of 
 water sufficient to carry any large ship into the river. 
 The most that can be expected from such an operation 
 is that a boat would lie down and be seriously damaged. 
 
 '* The. diversions suggested would consist of numerous 
 fires in cotton and other warehouses, starting half an 
 hour before other operations." 
 
 The scheme in detail follows. 
 
APPENDIX C. 
 
 A statement issued to the Press by the Irish 
 Government on the 20th April, 1920, defining 
 the status of, and treatment to be accorded to, 
 those prisoners in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, then 
 awaiting trial, charged under the Defence of 
 the Realm Regulations, Reg. 14b. (See page 84). 
 
 The Irish Government think it right to at once define 
 and make public the treatment to which persons arrested 
 and imprisoned will in future be entitled when in 
 custody. 
 
 The following provisions have accordingly been made,, 
 and will be adhered to. 
 
 The general principle which has been adopted, and 
 which is now enunciated in detail, is, that persons 
 arrested and imprisoned for politicail offences shall be 
 treated as political prisoners, and shall be entitled to be 
 differently treated, both as regards place of confinement 
 and treatment therein, to persons arrested and im- 
 prisoned for ordinary criminal offences. 
 
 It is also thought desirable, in order to avoid possible 
 future misconception, to state that the following offences 
 shall not be deemed to be political offences, even though 
 the motive for such offences may be, or may be alleged 
 to be, a political motive: — 
 
 (a) Homicide, assaults, or similar offencee, 
 
 against the person. 
 
 (b) Burglary, housebreaking, larceny, malicious 
 
 damage, cattle-driving, or similar offences 
 against property. 
 
 (c) Riot; carrying, keeping, or having firearms, 
 
 ammunition or explosive substances; unlaw- 
 
APPENDIX C. 449 
 
 ful assembly (as defined by Common Law or 
 by Statute, but not by an assembly rendered 
 unlawful merely because it is a meeting of a 
 political or suppressed association) ; speaking 
 or writing words inciting or encouraging 
 persons to commit any of the offences set out 
 at (a), (b), or (c). 
 All persons committed to prison for a political 
 offence, who have not been tried, shall from the time 
 of their commitment be granted the special ameliora- 
 tive treatment set out in Schedule A annexed hereto. 
 
 As soon as arrangements can be made, after a person 
 is committed to prison for a political offence, he shall be 
 detained in a place of confinement in which ordinary 
 criminals are not detained, and shall, on reception into 
 such a place, be entitled, in addition to the ameliora- 
 tions in Schedule A, to the further ameliorations set out 
 in Schedule B. 
 
 Prisoners bound over to keep the peace and be of good 
 behaviour, and who have been committed to prison in 
 default of giving sureties, shall be dealt with as 
 prisoners who have not been tried, and if the offence 
 disclosed in the warrant is a political offence, shall 
 receive the treatment of a political prisoner who has not 
 been tried, and if the offence disclosed in the warrant 
 is not a political offence, shall receive the treatment of 
 an ordinary untried prisoner. 
 
 Prisoners who have been tried for a political offence 
 before any Court, and have been convicted, shall, unless 
 sentenced to penal servitude, undergo their imprison- 
 ment in a place in which ordinary criminal prisoners 
 are not detained for punishment. They shall be en- 
 titled to the ameliorative treatment of untried politicail 
 prisoners as set out in Schedule A and B, except that 
 they : — 
 
 (i) Shall not be permitted freedom of movement 
 within the precincts of the prison, or association or 
 
 DD 
 
460 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 conversation between prisoners, save at such limited 
 times during each as the Governor sh^ll consider 
 reasonable. 
 
 (ii) Shall not be entitled to more than one visit 
 per week from one person. 
 
 (iii) Shall only be entitled to write and receive 
 one letter per week, except under such special cir- 
 cumstances as the Governor and the Visiting Com- 
 mittee shall consider reasonable. 
 
 The special treatment for political prisoners set out 
 above is conditional upon an orderly submission to the 
 rules and regulations prescribed for such prisoners. 
 Should any such prisoner refuse to carry out such rules 
 and regulations he shall be liable to forfeit any or all of 
 the ameliorations, and may be removed to a different 
 prison. 
 
 If a prisoner who when first committed to prison is 
 entitled to the treatment of a political prisoner should 
 be subsequently charged with an offence which is not 
 political, he shall be entitled to treatment as a political 
 prisoner until such time as he shall be returned for 
 trial or tried. If convicted of such non-political offence 
 he shall lose his right to the ameliorative treatment, 
 and shall thereafter be treated as an ordinary prisoner. 
 If a prisoner is comm.itted to prison pending trial for 
 an offence which in the opinion of the Irish Law Officers 
 is a non-political offence, and the prisoner claims that 
 the offence is a political one, and that he is, therefore, 
 entitled to political treatment, the question shall be at 
 once referred for decision in accordance with the rules 
 hereinbefore set forth to a Committee of three composed 
 as follows : — 
 
 One member of the Visiting Committee of the prison 
 where the prisoner is confined to be nominated by the 
 prisoner ; 
 
 One member of the same Visiting Committee to be 
 nominated by the Chief Secretary for Ireland, or in hia 
 
APPENDIX C. 451 
 
 absence by the Under-Secretary for Ireland; 
 
 The Committee to be presided over by one of His 
 Majesty's Judges. 
 
 The names of three Judges who will be willing to 
 act being pilaced on a rota and taken in turn. If one 
 Judge is unable to act in any particular case, the Judge 
 next on the list to act in such case. Should the prisoner 
 decline to nominate a member of the Visiting Com- 
 mittee to act on such special Committee, the members 
 of the Visiting Committee will themseilves nominate one 
 of their number so to act. Should the member of any 
 Visiting Committee so nominated or both of them be 
 unable or decline to act a second nomination shall be 
 made by the person entitled. Should all the members 
 of any Visiting Committee deciline or be unable to act, 
 the question shall be referred to the Judge alone for 
 his decision. 
 
 In addition to the Visiting Judges appointed to visit 
 prisons under the Prisons (Ireland) Act, 1877, his 
 Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland as regards 
 the special prisons and places of confinement men- 
 tioned herein in which p6liticail prisoners tried and 
 untried will be confined, will request the Roman 
 Catholic and Protestant Bishops of the Dioceses in which 
 such selected prisoners are situated to act as special 
 visitors to such prisons and places of confinement, and 
 to report on any matter which they may think right to 
 report upon to his Excellency. 
 
 SCHEDULE A 
 
 (i) Shall be kept apart from other classes of prisoners. 
 
 (ii) Shall be exempted from a bath on reception. 
 
 (iii) Shall be searched only by an ofl&cer specially 
 appointed for that purpose. 
 
 (iv) Shall be allowed to occupy a room or cell 
 furnished with suitable bedding and other articles, in 
 addition to, or different from those furnished for 
 ordinary cells. 
 
452 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 (v) Shall be allowed at own cost the assistance of some 
 person appointed by the Governor to relieve the pri- 
 soner from the performance of any unaccustomed tasks 
 or offices, 
 
 (vi) Shall be allowed unconvicted prisoners' diet, or 
 to supply at own cost, own food, subject to the under- 
 mentioned restrictions as to supply : — 
 
 Due notice to be given beforehand. 
 
 Food to be received only at such times as are fixed 
 for that purpose, and to be inspected, if considered 
 necessary by the officers of the prison. 
 
 Not to receive or purchase during the 24 hours more 
 than one pint of malt liquor, fermented liquor, cider, 
 or wine. 
 
 (vii) Shall be entitled to wear own clothes. 
 
 (viii) Shall be exempted, if desired, from hair- 
 cutting and shaving. 
 
 (ix) Shall be allowed, at own expense, to have sup- 
 plied such books, newspapers, or other means of occu- 
 pation other than those furnished by the prison, as are 
 not, in the opinion of the Governor, of an objectionable 
 kind. 
 
 (x) Shall be exempted from obligation to work. 
 
 (xi) Shall be allowed to write one letter daily to 
 relations or friends, and to receive one letter daily, and 
 to write and receive such additional letters for special 
 reasons as the Visiting Committee shall approve. 
 
 (xii) Shall be permitted to smoke, unless forbidden 
 by the medical officer on medical grounds. 
 
 SCHEDULE B. 
 
 (i) Freedom and movement within the precincts, and 
 association and conversation between prisoners between 
 the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. subject to orderly 
 behaviour. 
 
 (ii) Two visits a week by one person on each occasion 
 will be allowed. 
 
APPENDIX D. 
 
 SINN FEIN.* 
 
 SCHEME OF OEGANISATION, RULES, &C. 
 
 The Sinn Fein Organisation shall include a President, 
 two Vice-Presidents, two Hon. Secretaries, two Hon. 
 Treasurers, four National Trustees, an annual Ard- 
 Fheis, an Ard-Chomhairle (with its standing Commit- 
 tee), Comhairli Ceanntair and Cumainn. 
 
 Membership shall be open to all adults of Irish birth 
 and parentage, irrespective of sex, class, or creed, who 
 accept the Constitution of Sinn Fein — save that no 
 member of the British armed forces, nor pensioner 
 thereof, nor any person who has taken an oath of 
 allegiance to the British Government, shall be eligible 
 so long as he retains the office or position involving that 
 oath. 
 
 All elections throughout the Organisation shall be by 
 baillot, and all positions specified in these Regulations 
 shall be honorary. 
 
 No person shall be eligible to, or competent to hold, 
 the .same honorary office in any Cumann or Comhairle of 
 the Organisation, after the Ard-Fheis of 1917, for more 
 than two consecutive years. 
 
 ARD-FHEIS. 
 
 1. The supreme Governing and Legislative Body 
 shall be the Ard-Fheis, which shall be convened yearly, 
 and shall consist of : — 
 
 • This is an exact reprint of the pamphlet mentioned on page 389. 
 
454 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 (a) The President, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries, 
 
 Treasurers, and Standing Committee of the 
 Ard-Chomhairle. 
 
 (b) One delegate from each Comhairle Ceanntair, 
 
 (c) Two delegates from each duly aMiated 
 
 Cumann. 
 
 Cumainn having a paid-up membership of 150 shall 
 be entitled to three delegates; 200 to four, and 260 to 
 five, on payment of £1 in addition to the affiliation fee 
 for each delegate above two, but in no case may any 
 Cumainn have more than five delegates. 
 
 Members of the Ard-Chomhairle (other than its 
 Standing Committee) and members of the Daiil Eireann 
 (Constituent Assembly or National Parliament) who 
 have not been chosen as delegates from their own clubs 
 or Comhairli Ceanntair shall be entitled to be present 
 at the Ard-Fheis and to speak, but shall not have a vote. 
 
 2. The jylace and date of meeting of the Annual Ard- 
 Fheis, as well as rules governing its procedure, shall be 
 at the discretion of the Ard-Chomhairle, and shall be 
 announced two months in advance. Clubs must be 
 affiliated at least three months prior to Convention ; 
 delegates chosen, and their names forwarded to Head- 
 quarters at least five weeks prior to the date of the open- 
 ing of the Ard-Fheis. 
 
 Nominations for the Ard-Chomhairle and Resolutions 
 for the Ard-Fheis must also be received five weeks in 
 advance. 
 
 Cards of admission and copies of the Ard-Fheis 
 Agenda (inc'luding reports of officers, balance sheet, and 
 list of nominees for the Ard-Chomhairle, Presidency, 
 etc.), must be forwarded to delegates at least nine days 
 in advance. 
 
 3. An Extraordinary Ard-Fheis may be summoned 
 for a special purpose on a requisition endorsed by 
 either : — 
 
 (a) The Standing Committee, unanimously ; 
 
APPENDIX D. 455 
 
 (b) Two-thirds of the Ard-Chomhairle ; 
 
 (c) Ten Comhairii Ceanntair ; 
 
 (d) 200 Cumainn of at least six months standing. 
 The Standing Committee in such cases shall have 
 
 discretionary power either to summon the delegates 
 chosen for the previous Ard Fheis, or to direct all 
 Cumainn of three months standing to choose delegates 
 anew. 
 
 At least one clear week's notice must be given to 
 deilegates. 
 
 4. Delegates to an Ard-Fheis must be bona-fide resi- 
 dent members of at least three months' standing in the 
 Cumainn they are to represent. 
 
 The delegate chosen by a Comhairile Ceanntair must 
 be a member of that body. 
 
 Substitutes for delegates incapacitated by illness, etc., 
 may be aillowed at the discretion of the Standing 
 Committee — but they must in all cases be previously 
 chosen at a duly convened meeting of their Cumainn or 
 Chomhairle Ceanntair. 
 
 6. Resolutions for the Ard-Fheis must stand in the 
 names of either : — 
 
 (a) The Standing Committee; 
 
 (b) The Ard-Chomhairle; 
 
 (c) A Cumann; 
 
 (d) A member of the Standing Committee, 
 
 In cases (a) (b) the resolution must be passed 
 UNANIMOUSLY at a meeting of these bodies duly 
 summoned with adequate notice of the motion given. 
 
 Cumainn alone shall have power to nominate 
 candidates for the Board of Ofl&cers or for membership 
 of the Ard-Chomhairle. 
 
 6. The aims of Sinn Fein as set forth in the 
 ** Constitution " may not be altered or amended except 
 by a two-third vote at an Ard-Fheis, on the Agenda of 
 which notice of the proposed alteration or amendment 
 has duly appeared. 
 
456 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 AHi other changes may be made by an Ard-Fheis on 
 the usual majority vote, and shall take immediate 
 effect if the Ard-Fheis so desire. 
 
 ARD-CHOMHAIRLE. 
 
 1. The Ard-Chomhairle shall consist of : — 
 
 (a) Officers' Board, viz. : The President, two Vice- 
 
 Presidents, two Hon. Secretaries and two Hon. 
 Treasurers ; 
 
 (b) Twenty-four members, of whom at least twelve 
 must be ready to attend weekly meetings in 
 
 DUBLIN ; 
 
 (c) One representative from each of the 
 
 Parliamentary Divisions in which there are 
 at least five affiliated Clubs, and one from each 
 Parliamentary Division of a Borough in which 
 there is a membership of at least 300 ; in the 
 case of a double-member constituency two 
 representatives to be chosen, if there be at least 
 600 members. 
 
 (d) Not more than twenty co-opted members, 
 power of cooption being at the discretion of 
 the Ard-Chomhairle, but no member to be 
 co-opted on less than a two-third vote of the 
 entire Ard-Chomhairle. 
 
 Nominations for (a) and (b) and for (c) lie with the 
 Cumainn only. 
 
 Elections for (a) (b) are to be by ballot at the annual 
 Ard-Fheis, and for (c) by ballot of the Comdala 
 Ceanntair to be he^ld in each constituency within one 
 month after the Annual Ard-Fheis. 
 
 Unless elected in classes (a), (b), (c) and (d) the 
 National Trustees shall be ex-officio members of the 
 Ard-Chomhairle without a vote. 
 
 No member shall be eligible for nomination on the 
 Ard-Chomhairle unless he has been at least six months 
 a member of a Cumann. 
 
APPENDIX D. 457 
 
 2. When the Ard-Fheis is not in session the supreme 
 direction and government of the organisation shall 
 reside in the Ard-Chomhairle, which shall have plenary 
 powers except as regards changes in the Constitution 
 (which are altogether ultra vires). Modifications or 
 amendments of other decisions affirmed at an Ard-Fheis 
 can be affected by the Ard-Chomhairle only on a two- 
 third vote at an ordinary meeting after due notice of the 
 intended alteration has been given to all its members. 
 
 The Ard-Chomhairle shall have power to make rules, 
 bye-laws, etc., in accordance with the spirit of the 
 Constitution. 
 
 3. Between five and seven weeks after the Annual 
 Ard-Fheis the first meeting of the Ard-Chomhairle 
 shall be summoned. It shall thereat appoint from 
 amongst its members directors of the several depart- 
 ments into which it decides to sub-divide its activities. 
 These directors (who must all be prepared to attend 
 weekly meetings in Dublin) shall, with the " Officer 
 Board," form a Standing Committee, to which the 
 Ard-Chomhairle will be at liberty to delegate such 
 powers, functions and duties as it may deem expedient. 
 
 Until the constituency representatives have been 
 elected and the first meeting of the Ard-Chomhairle 
 held, the Officer Board and the twenty-four members 
 elected by the Ard-Fheis shall exercise the functions of 
 the Standing Committee. 
 
 4. Members of the Standing Committee who shall 
 absent themselves without satisfactory reasons from 
 four consecutive meetings shall be deemed to have 
 vacated their seats. 
 
 A seat or office on the Ard-Chomhairle rendered 
 casually vacant by any cause shall be filled or not at 
 the discretion of the Ard-Chomhairle, which shall also 
 have power to direct in what manner the selection shaill 
 be made. 
 
458 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 6. The ordinary meetings of the Ard-Chomhairle will 
 be held quarterly (once in each of the four provinces) 
 and of the Standing Committee weekly (in Dublin) on 
 stated days. A special meeting of these bodies can be 
 summoned on three days' notice by a majority of the 
 Standing Committee or by the President on a requisition 
 signed by at least one-third of the total membership. 
 
 One of the quarterly meetings of the Ard-Chomhairle 
 shall be its annuaJl meeting, which must be held at such 
 a time as will allow of its recommendations, balance 
 sheets, reports, etc., being inserted in Ard-Fheis- 
 Agenda. 
 
 One-fourth of the total membership of these bodies 
 shall constitute a quorum — except for routine business. 
 
 6. The Ard-Chomhairle and Standing Committee 
 shall be competent to settle its own rules of procedure, 
 which shall be communicated to each member 
 immediately he or she is adopted. 
 
 7. Members of the Ard-Chomhairle may attend and 
 speak, but may not vote, at any ordinary meeting of 
 the Standing Committee. They shaill have the same 
 rights as regards any meeting of any Cumainn or 
 Comhairle within the organisation. 
 
 8. A member of the Standing Committee shall be 
 entitled to ask for and to examine at any time the roll 
 of members, the minute book and accounts of any 
 Cumainn or Comhairfe. Any member of the Ard- 
 Chomhairle shall, if appointed by the Ard-Chomhairle 
 to represent it, have the same rights. 
 
 9. A member of the Ard-Chomhairle holding a public 
 representative position shall be expelled the organisation 
 if the Ard-Chomhaiple, on holding an inquiry, decides 
 by a two-thirds majority that he has violated the spirit 
 of the Constitution by his vote or other public actions. 
 
 10. No member of the Ard-Chomhairle may seek or 
 accept for himseilf or any other person any place or 
 position at the disposal of the British Government 
 
APPENDIX D. 459 
 
 COMHAIBLI CEANNTAIR. 
 
 1. Within one month after the termination of the 
 Ard-Fheia, a Convention (Comhdhail) shall be held in 
 each Parliamentary Constituency to eilect 
 
 (a) The Constituency Representative on the Ard- 
 
 Chomhairle (Governing Body) ; 
 
 (b) The Officer Board (viz., President, two Vice- 
 
 Presidents, two Hon. Secretaries, and two 
 Hon. Treasurers) for the Chomhairle Ceanntair 
 (Constituency Executive) ; and 
 
 (c) Its Standing- Committee. 
 This Convention shall consist of 
 
 (a) The Officer Board of the outgoing Comhairle 
 
 (Executive) ; 
 
 (b) Two delegates from each duly affiliated Cumann 
 
 (Club) within the Constituency. 
 
 2. The new Officer Board and the delegates sent by 
 the Clubs shall constitute the permanent Comhairle 
 Ceanntair for the direction and government of the 
 Organisation within the Constituency. It shall meet 
 at least quarteriy, and shall sanction the Reports, the 
 Lists of Cumainn and their .membership, Audited 
 Balance Sheets, etc., for transmission to Headquarters 
 in time for the Quarterly Meetings of the Ard- 
 Chomhairle. 
 
 3. Each Comhairle Ceanntair may co-opt at its 
 discretion not more than five members, on a two-third 
 vote of entire membership. Its Standing Committee 
 
 /may have delegated to it such powers, duties, and 
 functions as the Comhairle Ceanntair may determine, 
 and shall meet as often as may be necessary. 
 
 4. In forming its Standing Committee the 
 advisability of having a representative from each 
 County Council Electoral District should be considered. 
 
 N.B. — Clubs are recommended to send its Secretary 
 as one of its representatives to this Comhdhail 
 (Convention). In very exceptional circumstances, on 
 
460 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 special application to Headquarters, variations of the 
 above may be made by the Ard-Chomhairie. 
 
 CUMAINN. 
 
 1. Membership of the Organisation shall be 
 obtainable only through membership of a Cumann. 
 
 2. A Cumann shall, as far as possible, be established 
 in each Chapel District in rural areas and in every 
 Ward in cities or towns. 
 
 3. A Cumann shall consist of not less than 15 
 members, and shall be directed by a Committee 
 composed of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, two 
 Treasurers, and not less than three others elected 
 annually by the members of the Cumann. 
 
 4. Candidates for membership must be proposed and 
 seconded by two members, and their nominations be 
 sent to the Committee of the Cumainn, which shall 
 accept or reject the nomination at its next meeting. 
 
 5. Application or nomination for membership of a 
 Cumann shall be deemed to be adoption of the 
 objects and methods of the Organisation and submission 
 to its rules for the time being in force, including the 
 rule that no member or es-member shall have any right 
 as against a Club or against any of its members or 
 officers in respect of any act or omission done in 
 pursuance of its rules. 
 
 6. The membership fee shall be 1/- per annum. 
 Each Cumann shall forward monthly one-fourth of 
 
 the fees thus received to its Comhairle Ceanntair, and 
 the remaining three-fourths to the Ard-Chomhairle. 
 
 7. In addition to the membership fee, a Cumann 
 shall have power to levy on its members such further 
 periodical sum or sums as it may think fit or find 
 necessary, provided it obtains the sanction of its 
 Comhairle Ceanntair. 
 
 It may also raise funds by concerts, etc., on receiving 
 a similar licence from the Comhairle. 
 
 8. Every Cumann shall keep, in strict custody, a 
 
APPENDIX D. 461 
 
 roll of its members, a minute book, and an account of 
 its receipts and expenditure. 
 
 9. Every Cumann shall pay an annual affiliation fee 
 of £2 to the Hon. Treasurers of the Ard-Chomhairle. 
 
 10. The Ard-Chomhairle shall have power to refuse 
 affiliation of any Cumann or to suspend a Cumann by a 
 majority vote, or to expel a Cumann by a two-third 
 vote of the members present at any regular meeting. 
 
 A Cumann shall be competent, by vote of an 
 absolute majority of its members present at a meeting 
 duly convened with notice of the business, to expel any 
 of its members, or supersede any of its officers before 
 expiry of his normal term, for adequate cause, subject 
 to a right of appeal to the Comhairle Ceanntair and an 
 ultimate appeal to the Ard-Chomhairle. 
 
 All charges against members must be made in 
 writing ; the member or members so charged shall be 
 notified by the Secretary to appear at the next meeting 
 of the Club to answer said charge or charges. 
 
 11. Any difference arising within a Cumann, or 
 between Cumainn, which the body or bodies concerned 
 are unable to settle, shall be referred to and settled by 
 the Comhairle Ceanntair. 
 
 12. Any member of a Cumann holding that any 
 particular decision of the Cumann is contrary to the 
 principles, objects or policy of the Organisation may 
 require a statement of such decision, signed by the 
 President, Secretary and Objector, to be sent for 
 consideration to the Comhairle Ceanntair. Any 
 matter of difference arising thus or otherwise may, 
 after decision by the Comhairle Ceanntair, be submitted 
 to the Ard-Chomhairle for ultimate decision. 
 
 13. No Cumann shall be named after any living 
 person; and if any such name be adopted it shall be 
 ignored. 
 
 P. Mahon, Printer, Yarnhall Street," Dublin. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Act, The Arms, 188. 
 
 , Defence of the Realm, 190 — 
 
 194. 
 
 , Drummond's, 270, 294. 
 
 , Government of Ireland, 397, 
 
 427—431, App. A. 
 , Restoration of Order in 
 
 Ireland, 411—414. 
 Acts concerning Arms, 186 — 195. 
 
 ,Police, 269—273. 
 
 Agricultural Prosperity in Cork, 
 
 45. 
 Aimes, Lieut., Murder of, 155. 
 Ambushes, see ' Outrages.' 
 
 , plans for, 136. 
 
 America, see * United States.' 
 Anderson, Sir John, becomes 
 
 Under-Secretary, 86. 
 An TOglac, 8, 8n, 10, 132, 174, 
 
 176, 179, 229, 275, 323. 
 Arms Act, The, 188. 
 Arms, Importation of, by National 
 
 Volunteers, 2; by Ulster Volun- 
 teers, 1, 2. 
 , Legislation concerning, 186 — 
 
 195. 
 , Raids for, 52, 196, 209-. 
 
 methods of, 199; statistics of, 
 
 198. 
 
 , Surrender of, 193. 
 
 Arrests, Table of, in 1920, 99. 
 
 Ashbourne, fight at, 30. 
 
 Aude, sunk, 18n. 
 
 Auxiliary Division, The, 281 — 
 
 286; Lord French's Speech to, 
 
 284; Strength of in 1920, 145; 
 
 in January, 1921, 283. 
 
 Baggally, Captain, Murder of, 156. 
 Balbriggan, Outrage and Re- 
 prisal at, 310—314. 
 Ballycrovane Coast Guard Station 
 
 raided, 208. 
 Ballymacelligott, Outrage at, 373 
 
 —380. 
 Baronies, Irish, 271n. 
 Barracks, destruction of, 228—230. 
 
 , raids on, 203—206. 
 
 Belfast, rioting in, 344—352; Sinn 
 
 Fein activities in, 341. 
 Bell, Mr. Alan, his murder, 80, 
 
 81, 223. 
 Bennett, Lieut., Murder of, 155. 
 Berry, Kevin, The case of, 138 — 
 
 141. 
 Black and Tans, 279. 
 Bombs, Sinn Fein manufacture 
 
 of, 202. 
 Boycott of Police, 130, 131, 137 
 Brady, Inspector, Murder of, 215 
 
 —217, 304, 308—310. 
 Breen, Daniel, 142; letter to, 147. 
 Brooke, Mr. F. H., Murder of, 224. 
 Burke, Sergt., Murder of, 310. 
 
 Cadets, see Auxiliary Division. 
 Casement, Sir Roger, lands at 
 
 Banna, 16; sent to London, 
 
 tried, and executed, 17 and 17n; 
 
 letter to Prof. McNeill, 358. 
 Cash el, the Archbishop of, 
 
 denounces conscription, 54. 
 Castletownbeer Coast Guard 
 
 Station raided, 207. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 463 
 
 Cavalry, Sinn Fein Instructions 
 for fighting, 134. 
 
 Clabi, Co., Condition in 1918, 49; 
 De Valera elected for, 47; In- 
 timidation in, 50; Sinn Fein in, 
 47 — 48- Sinn Fein growth in, 
 65. 
 
 Clarenbridge barracks attacked, 
 28. 
 
 Clarke, Sir Ernest, visits Belfast, 
 361. 
 
 Clergy, The Roman Catholic, 
 their adherence to Sinn Fein, 
 44, 49, 57; they denounce con- 
 scription, 53, 54. 
 
 Cloughjordan, Train block at, 245, 
 256. 
 
 Clvine, Monsgr., 426. 
 
 Coast Guard Stations, raids on, 
 206—208. 
 
 Collins, Michael, 141. 
 
 Commission, The Labour Party's, 
 372—380. 
 
 Conference, A Peace, at Dublin, 
 119—128. 
 
 Conscription, denounced by 
 clergy, 53, 54; by R. C. 
 Hierarchy, 64; fear of, in Cork, 
 52; in Kerry, 50, 51; " Measures 
 for Combating," 58 — 62; the 
 Nationalists against, 53; Sinn 
 Fein influence against, 53. 
 
 Constabulary, see Royal Irish 
 Constabulary. 
 
 Constabulary, The Special, see 
 " Special Constabulary." 
 
 Cork, Lord Mayor of, (Mac- 
 Curtain) murdered, 79, 80; is 
 succeeded by McSwiney, 80 
 (see McSwiney). 
 
 Cork, Co., agricultural prosperity 
 of, 45; declared a special 
 military area, 52; raids for 
 arms in, 52; the rebellion in, 
 31; Sinn Fein in, 48, 49; Sinn 
 Fein growth in, during 1919, 
 66, 66, 67. 
 
 Cosgrave, W. T., elected for 
 Kilkenny, 46. 
 
 Court Houses, destruction of, 227. 
 
 Courts Martial, examples of, 129 
 —138; table of, in 1920, 99. 
 
 Courts, Sinn Fein, 90, 144. 
 
 Craigavon, Conference at, 336. 
 
 Creamery, at Tubbercurry, burnt, 
 306; at Achonry, burnt, 306. 
 
 Crimes, table for 1917, 1918 and 
 
 1919, 62. 
 Croke Park, affray at, 157. 
 Cumann na m'Ban, 182—184. 
 Curfew Order, made in Dublin. 
 
 74. 
 
 Dail Eireann, Manifesto concern- 
 ing emigration, 177; Mr. 
 Lloyd George's refusal to 
 recognise, 420. 
 
 Defence of the Realm Act, 190 
 —194. 
 
 De Valera, speaks at Kilkenny, 
 46; disloyal speeches by, 48; is 
 elected for East Clare, 48; is 
 appointed President of Sinn 
 Fein Convention, 391; approves 
 Dublin massacre, 394. 
 
 Dillon, Mr. John, the effect of his 
 speeches, 45. 
 
 Dillon's Cross, Outrage at, 160. 
 
 Dockers' Strike in Dublin, 87, 88. 
 
 Donkey, Outrage on, 235. 
 
 Dowling, Major, Murder of, 154. 
 
 Drummond's Act, 270, 294. 
 
 Dublin Castle attacked, 23, 31. 
 
 Dublin, County, the Rebellion in, 
 29, 30; situation in, during 1916, 
 44. 
 
 Dublin Metropolitan Police, its 
 formation, 294; its strength in 
 1920, 296. 
 
 Dundalk, Outrage at, 350. 
 
 Dunville, Lieut., shot by Rebels, 
 28. 
 
 Dwyer, Edward, 148. 
 
 Emigration discouraged by Sinn 
 
 Fein, 177. 
 Enniscorthy, The Rebels take, 30. 
 Ennistymon, Outrage at, 302 — 
 
 307. 
 Equipment, Raids for, 203. 
 
 Fermoy, Train held up at, 258. 
 Fianna Eireann, 182, 185. 
 Fitzgerald, Captain, Murder of, 
 
 150. 
 French, Lord, His speech to the 
 
 police, 75—77; to the Auxiliary 
 
 Division, 284; his proclamation 
 
 of Martial Law, 406. 
 
 Gaelic Athletic Association : 
 Members join the Irish Volun- 
 
464 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 teers, 13, 14; become Sinn 
 Fein, 50—51 
 
 Gaelic League, joins Sinn Fein, 
 50—51. 
 
 Galway, Co., The Rebellion in, 28, 
 29; condition of, in 1916, 45; in 
 1917, 49; action of the clergy in, 
 57; Sinn Fein in, 57; Sinn Fein 
 progress in 1919, 64. 
 
 Galway County Council disavows 
 Sinn Fein, 145, 416—417; Mr. 
 Lloyd George's reply to, 421— 
 422. 
 
 Galway, University College at, 
 becomes Sinn Fein, 49. 
 
 Garniss, Cadet, Miirder of, 152. 
 
 Geddes, Sir E., attends a con- 
 ference at Dublin, 259. 
 
 George, Mr. D. Lloyd, His 
 speech on Sinn Fein Peace Pro- 
 posals, 415 — 426. 
 
 Germany and Sinn Fein, 357 
 —361; the Aude sunk, 18n (see 
 also Casement). 
 
 Glandore, Training Camp at, 
 raided, 67. 
 
 Greenwood, Sir Hamar, becomes 
 Chief Secretary, 81; his career, 
 81, 82; his character, 82; his 
 speech at his election, 83; he 
 releases political prisoners, 84, 
 85; inspects R.I.C. recruits at 
 Gormanstown, 280; his speech 
 on Reprisals in Parliament, 
 311—315, 323; ditto to R.I.C, 
 315; threatening letter from 
 America, 371. 
 
 Gun-running by National Volun- 
 teers, 2; by Ulster Volunteers, 
 1, 2. 
 
 Henderson, Mr. A., His Resolu- 
 tion, 307n. 
 
 Henry, Professor, His book on 
 Sinn Fein, 356, 388. 
 
 Hibernians, The Ancient Order 
 of, joins Sinn Fein, 50. 
 
 Hobson, Bulmer, proposes an 
 insurrection, 14. 
 
 Hook Head Lighthouse raided, 
 207. 
 
 Hunger-Strikers : Death of Fitz- 
 gerald and Murphy at Cork, 
 117 ; fallacy of releasing, 100 — 
 102; official statement concern- 
 ing those in Cork gaol, 114 — 
 
 117; the ' President of the 
 Republic ' absolves those in 
 Cork, 117. 
 Hunger-Striking, Treatment of 
 political prisoners who are, 84; 
 see also McSwiney, Terence. 
 
 Intimidation, 93, 94, 200, 275; in 
 Co. Clare, 49, 50, 65, 66; of 
 railway-men, 245, 250—252, 411; 
 murder of an informer, 226. 
 
 Irish Bulletin, The, 218. 
 
 Irish Republican Army, The (see 
 also SINN FEIN), " At War with 
 Britain," 175, 176;' discourages 
 emigration, 177; effort to recruit 
 for, 179; its foundation, 171; 
 organization, 172—174; raising 
 funds, 181. 
 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood, 
 the. Constitution of, 163; 
 declares itself sole govern- 
 ment of the Irish Republic, 
 167; joins Sinn Fein, 50; 
 members join the Irish Volun- 
 teers, 12—14; oath of, 164, 167; 
 procedure at meetings, 169; 
 responsibility for outrage, 162 
 (see also sinn fein). 
 
 Irish Volunteer, The, 8, 10 (see 
 also An T'Oglac). 
 
 Irish Volunteers, The (see also 
 IRISH republican army) ; a con- 
 vention held, 9; how to recruit 
 for, 180; Mr. Redmond's pledge 
 for, 4; orders concerning raids 
 for arms by, 197; they proclaim 
 a Rebellion, 19 — 21; progress in 
 1915 and membership, 15; rais- 
 ing funds, 181 ; their influence 
 in 1916, 44; their strength at 
 the Rebellion, 11; the reply of 
 the Provisional Committee to 
 Mr. Redmond's pledge, 5 — 8; 
 they develop into the I.R.A., 
 11, 162, 171; they parade in 
 Rutland Square (April, 1916), 
 16 (see also Oglaigh na 
 H'Eireann). 
 
 Jacob's Biscuit Factory garrisoned 
 by Rebels, 25; surrenders, 40. 
 
 Kerry, Co., Recruiting in, 45; 
 
 Sinn Fein in, 50, 51. 
 KiLDARE, Co., Rebellion in, 27; 
 
 Sinn Fein set-back in, 63; 
 
 situation in during 1916, 44. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 465 
 
 Kilkenny, Co., Cosgrave elected 
 for, 46; Countess Markievicz at, 
 46; De Valera speaks at, 46; re- 
 cruiting in 1916, 44; Sinn Fein 
 aubs in, 47. 
 
 Kilmichael, Outrage at, 158—160. 
 
 King's Coitntt, Sinn Fein in, 
 44, 45, 55. 
 
 Knockalong, Outrage at, 143. 
 
 Labour Party Commission, Re- 
 port of, 372—380. 
 
 Lahinch, Outrage at, 301—304, 
 307. 
 
 Lendrum, Capt., Murder of, 225. 
 
 ' Liberty Hall,' Dublin, taken, 38. 
 
 Lighthouses, Raids on, 206. 
 
 Lloyd George, Mr. (see George, 
 Mr. D. Lloyd). 
 
 Londonderry, Rioting in, 342. 
 
 Louth, Co., The Rebellion in, 28. 
 
 Lucas, General, Reprisal for 
 kidnapping, 319. 
 
 Lynch, Mr. P., defeated at East 
 Clare election, 48. 
 
 McCormaek, Captain, Murder of, 
 156. 
 
 MacCurtain, Alderman, His 
 murder, 79, 80. 
 
 MacDonagh, Thomas, signs 
 Proclamation of Rebellion, 21; 
 surrenders, 40. 
 
 McLean, Captain, Murder of, 
 152. 
 
 MacMahon, The Hon. James, 
 becomes joint Under-Secretary, 
 86. 
 
 McNeill, John, 9, 11, 13, 14; 
 presides at a Convention of 
 Irish Volunteers in the Abbey 
 Theatre, Dublin, 9; leader of 
 the Sinn Fein party of National 
 Volunteers, 11, 13; strength of 
 his party in Dublin, 14; and 
 in the provinces, 14; presides at 
 a meeting and votes against an 
 insurrection, 14; is over-ruled at 
 Easter Rebellion, 18; appointed 
 to committee of Sinn Fein, 391. 
 
 Macpherson, Mr. Ian, resigns, 81. 
 
 Macready, Sir Nevil, assumes 
 command of forces in Ireland, 
 86; his speech to police, 86n;.a 
 proclamation by, 406 — 409. 
 
 Macroom, Outrage at. 158 — 160. 
 
 McSwiney, Terence, becomes 
 Mayor of Cork, 80; his arrest, 
 102; his career, 103—104; docu- 
 ments found in his possession, 
 104 — 106; is court-martialled, 
 106; transferred to Brixton 
 Gaol, 106; Government's reply 
 to appeals for his release, 106 — 
 108; manifesto by his relatives. 
 109—113; his death, 113; funeral, 
 113, 114; letter concerning 
 bombs, 201; possible connection 
 with Col. Smyth's murder, 220. 
 
 Mahon, Mr., Murder of, 151. 
 
 Mails, Proclamation concerning, 
 233; raids on, 230—234. 
 
 Mallow, Attack on Barracks at, 
 205. 
 
 Mannix, Archbishop, His case, 
 118—119. 
 
 Markievicz, Countess, presented 
 with Freedom of Kilkenny, 46; 
 Chief of Fianna, 185; her letter 
 concerning unemployment, 290. 
 
 Martial Law, proclaimed in 
 Dublin, 27; in all Ireland, 27; 
 the use of, 404 — 406; proclama- 
 tion of, 406. 
 
 Maxwell, Sir John, arrives in 
 Dublin, 38—39. 
 
 Mayo, Co., Sinn Fein in, 56. 
 
 Meath, Co., Sinn Fein in, 56; 
 Sinn Fein set-back in, 63. 
 
 Metropolitan Police, see Dublin 
 Metropolitan Police. 
 
 Milltown Malbay, Outrage at, 301 
 —304. 
 
 Mizen Head Lighthouse raided, 
 207. 
 
 Montgomery, Col., Murder of, 155. 
 
 Morning Post, comment on 
 Countess Markievicz, 291; on 
 R.I.C., 273. 
 
 Morris, Cadet, Murder of, 152. 
 
 Moyode Castle, The Rebels at, 29. 
 
 Mulherne, Sergeant, Murder of, 
 219. 
 
 National Volunteers, The, Gun- 
 running by, 2; membership in 
 Dublin in 1916, 44; numbers 
 recruited for army, 12; strength 
 of, 1; they split into three, 11; 
 their strength at Rebellion, 11; 
 they join Sinn Fein, 63. 
 
 Newbury, Capt., Murder of, 153. 
 
 EE 
 
466 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 O'Connell, John, letter about him 
 to McSwiney, 146. 
 
 O'Connor, Lord Justice : His 
 charge to Grand Jury, 76, 77. 
 
 O'Flanagan, Father, 418, 424, 426. 
 
 Oglaigh na H'Eireann (see 
 also Irish Volunteers), 197; 
 circular letter concerning police 
 forces, 286; general order of, 276. 
 
 Orange Lodges, Manifesto by the, 
 328. 
 
 Oranmore barracks attacked, 28. 
 
 Outrages (for attacks on in- 
 dividuals see under proper 
 names; see also under ' Mails, 
 Raids on') ; classification of, 212 
 statistics of on civilians, 223 
 ditto on Military Forces, 220, 
 ditto on police, 212; ditto on 
 police returning from Mass, 
 235 — 237; outrages on women, 
 234; ditto on donkey, 235; table 
 of in 1919. 93; table of those 
 attributed to Sinn Fein, 72; 
 totals for second six months of 
 1920, 97. 
 
 At Balbriggan, 31(^314; 
 Ballymacelligott, 373 — 380; 
 Ballyvourney, 221; near Borri- 
 soleigh, 213; Broadford, 213; 
 Dillon's Cross, 160; Drimo- 
 league, 214; Dublin, 150; Dun- 
 dalk, 350; Dunmanway, 222- 
 Ennistymon, 301—304, 307; near 
 Golding's Cross, 213; Kil- 
 michael, 158—160; Knockalong 
 143; Lahinch, 301—304, 307, 
 Leitrim, 214; Macroom, 158— 
 160; Monk's Bakery, 138- 
 O'Brien's Bridge, 213; Queens- 
 town, 320; Rushbrooke, 147 
 Solo Head Beg, 142; Thurles 
 318; Tuam, 319; Tubbercnrrv 
 215—217, 304, 308—310; Tullow 
 320; near Waterville, 214. 
 
 Peace Conference at Dublin, 119— 
 128; its constituents, 123; resolu- 
 tions, 124. 
 
 Peace Preservation Act of 1856 
 
 187; of 1870, 188. 
 Peace Preservation Force, 268. 
 Pearse, P. H., signs Proclamation 
 
 of Rebellion, 21; becomes Com- 
 
 mander in Chief of I.R.A., 22; 
 
 surrenders, 40. 
 Petrol, Raids for, 258. 
 Police, Dublin Metropolitan, see 
 
 " DUBLIN METROPOLITAN POLICE." 
 
 Police Forces, Acts concerning, 
 268—273. 
 
 Medal, 86n. 
 
 , the Irish, see " royal irish 
 
 CONSTABULARY." 
 
 Political Prisoners, The question 
 of, 83, 84; hunger-striking by, 
 84; they are liberated, 85; their 
 status defined, 85. 
 
 Post Office, Dublin, Raid on, 231. 
 
 Price, Captain, Murder of, 155. 
 
 Prime Minister, see George, Mr. 
 D. Lloyd. 
 
 Queen's County, The Rebellion 
 in, 27; recruiting in, 47; Sinn 
 Fein in, 47. 
 
 Queenstown, Outrage at, 320. 
 
 Raids on mails, 230 — 234; procla- 
 mation concerning, 233; on rail- 
 way stations, 252, 253. 
 
 Railway-men, Irish, Dismissal of, 
 254, 257; intimidation of, 244— 
 252; outrages on, 250—252; 
 proclamation by Union of, 265 
 — 267; refusal to convey troops, 
 245—248; refusal to handle 
 munitions, 87; unpersuaded by 
 Sinn Fein, 145. 
 
 Railway Stations, Raids on, 262, 
 253. 
 
 Railway Strike, The Irish, 87 — 
 90; policy of Railway Com- 
 panies, 254; report on, 255 — 
 257. 
 
 Railways, Description of Irish, 
 249; situation at end of 1920, 
 260—265, 268; stoppages on, 
 245—258. 
 
 Rebellion, The Easter (1916), 
 heralded by a proclamation, 19; 
 begins, 21; its progress in the 
 country, 27 — 31; its total 
 casualties, 41 ; and cost, 41 — 42. 
 
 Recruiting in Ireland, figures for 
 in 1915, 12; the campaign 
 against, 12 — 13; in Kerry during 
 1919, 45; in Kildare during 1916, 
 44; in Kilkenny, 44; in Queen's 
 County, 47. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 467 
 
 Bed Hand Magazine, The, 398. 
 
 Redmond, Cmsr., murdered, 71. 
 
 Redmond, John, gives a pledge 
 for Irish Volunteers, 4; issues 
 a manifesto on outbreak of war, 
 4; his pledge denounced by Pro- 
 visional Committee, 5 — 9; leader 
 of the National Volunteers, 11; 
 strength of his followers up to 
 the Rebellion, 11 (see national 
 volunteers); is protected by 
 patrols, 47. 
 
 Regulations, see " Acts." 
 
 Reprisals, Sir H. Greenwood's 
 speech on, in Parliament, 311 — 
 315, 323; ditto to R.I.C., 315; 
 order from Dublin Castle on, 
 316; refutation of alleged, 31&— 
 325; Sinn Fein propaganda on, 
 317 — 325; Sinn Fein reports on, 
 370; statistics for 1919, 369. 
 
 At Abbeyfeale, 322; Balbrig- 
 gan, 310—314; Ennistymon, 301 
 —304; Fermoy, 319; Galway, 
 321; Inniscarra, 320; Kildorrery, 
 319; Lahinch, 301—304. 307; 
 Limerick, 318; Milltown Malbay, 
 301—304; Naas, 320; Queens- 
 town, 320; Shanagolden, 319; 
 Thurles, 318; Tipperary, 319; 
 Tuam, 319; Tubbercurry, 304— 
 306, 308—310 ; TuUow, 320. 
 
 Republican Army, The Irish, see 
 
 IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY. 
 
 Republican Brotherhood, see 
 
 IRISH REPUBLICAN BROTHERHOOD. 
 
 Ronan, Lord Justice, His charge 
 to Grand Jury, 77, 78. 
 
 Royal Irish Constabulary, 
 acquires the title ' Royal,' 274 ; 
 Acts constituting, 268—273 ; 
 auxiliary division of, see 
 auxiliary division; boycott of, 
 130, 131, 137, 276; daily life of, 
 289; difficulty in clothing, 278; 
 increase in strength, 145; 
 intimidation of, 276 — 277; plans 
 for attacking, 136; recruiting 
 for, 277; strength in 1920, 145, 
 278. 
 
 Rushbrooke, Outrage at, 147. 
 
 Sabotage, Examples of, 263, 254. 
 Secretary, The Chief, see Green- 
 wood, Sir Hamar. 
 
 Shaw, Gen. Sir F. Proclamation 
 by, 192. 
 
 Sherwood Foresters, The, casual- 
 ties in, 37. 
 
 Sinn Fein, Activities in Belfast, 
 341, 398, 399; clubs, 47, 58, 68; 
 collections made, 53; conscrip- 
 tion, movement against, 53; 
 'ditto, " Measures for Combat- 
 ing," 58 — 62; constitution of, 
 12, 389—392; Convention in 
 Dublin, 389; courts established 
 by, 90 — 92, 144; elections, 
 success at, 48, 70 ; discourages 
 emigration, 177; funds of, 54; 
 relations with Germany, 18, 
 357—361 (see also Casement); 
 Government of Ireland Act, 
 their position under, 429 — 4'jl; 
 growth of, 11, 13, 48, 56, 56, 
 341, 398—399; hunger-strikers, 
 responsibility for deaths of, 
 117; intimidation of railway- 
 men by, 244—262; leaders, 
 effect of arresting, 54, 55; local 
 authorities unpersuaded by, 
 145; Londonderry, progress in, 
 341; meaning of name, 392; 
 membership, in 1915, 14, 47; 
 in 1917 and 1918, 58; in 1919, 68; 
 murder campaign, failure of, 
 144, 149; responsibility for, 94, 
 96, 393—394; objects of, 390—392; 
 pamphlet issued by, 389; their 
 peace proposals, 418; Mr. Lloyd 
 George's reply thereto, 418 — 426; 
 their policy, 395—399; political 
 parties absorbed by, 50 — 52; 
 press captured by, 50; procla- 
 mations by, 402; railway-men 
 intimidated by, 244—252; their 
 order to ditto, 250; outrages on, 
 250 — 252; are unpersuaded by, 
 145; refusal of Government to 
 recognise, 400 — 403; their rise 
 from National Voliinteers, 11, 
 13, •48, 55. 56, 341, 398—399; 
 their strength, 11, 13, 48, 65, 
 56, 341, 398—399; Ulster activi- 
 ties of, 341, 398, 399; their 
 weakening, 63, 149. 
 Smith, Mr. T. H., Murder of, 152. 
 Smyth, Col., Murder of, 218. 
 Smyth, Major, Murder of, 220. 
 
468 ADMINISTRATION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Solicitors, Sinn Fein instructions 
 
 concerning, 133. 
 Solo Head Beg, outrage, 142. 
 Special Constabulary, The, 296. 
 Strickland, Gen., Attack on, 242. 
 
 Thurles, anti-conscription meet- 
 ing at, 54; outrage at, 318. 
 
 Thyra, 8.S., raided, 197. 
 
 TippERARY, Co., Increase of Crime 
 in, 67; the Town Hall burnt, 
 147. 
 
 Tracy, John, 143. 
 
 Tralee, an attempt to murder at, 
 53. 
 
 Troops in Ireland, Government 
 statement concerning, 238; 
 discipline of, 241, 242; their 
 duties, 240 — 244; number in 
 Dublin at Rebellion, 31 et seq. 
 
 Tuam, Outrage at, 319. 
 
 Tubbercurry, Outrage at, 215 — 
 217, 304, 308—310; reprisal at, 
 304—306. 
 
 Tudor, General, appointed Police 
 Adviser, 86. 
 
 Tullow, Outrage at, 320. 
 
 Ulster (see also Belfast, London- 
 derry), conference at Craig- 
 avon, 336; Covenant by, 331; 
 definition of, 326; population of, 
 326; Sinn Fein activities in, 
 388, 399; Solemn League in. 
 
 331; Unionist Clubs in, 333, 342; 
 Unionist Council of, 328. 
 
 Ulster Volunteers, The, Disloy- 
 alty shown by, 3; enlistment in 
 Army by, 4, 12; gun-running 
 by, 1 — 2; organization of corps, 
 336—338; statistics of, 333—335; 
 strength of, 2, 4, 335, 339. 
 
 United Irish League, joins Sinn 
 Fein, 50. 
 
 United States of America, Con- 
 vention held at New York, 364; 
 " Friends of Irish Freedom," 
 364; Irish propaganda in, 363— 
 370; Irish question a political 
 one in, 362, 372; maintains 
 relations with Germany, 364, 
 365; money received from, 15. 
 
 Veteran Corps Ambushed, 26. 
 Viceroy, The, see French, Lord. 
 Volunteer, The Irish, 8, 10. 
 Volunteers, see Irish Volun- 
 teers, National Volunteers. 
 
 Waterville, Outrage near, 214. 
 Weekly Summary, The, 293. 
 Westmeath, Co., Sinn Fein in, 47. 
 Wexford, Co., Rebellion in, 30. 
 White, Captain, Murder of, 221. 
 Wicklow, Co., Mr. Redmond in, 
 
 47. 
 Wilde, Lieut.. Murder of, 156. 
 
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