First meeting of Commission of Inquiry
into the Industry and Resources of Ireland
Introduction from
Chronology
This Commission was set up in June by the Dáil (See Jun-18-19/1).
More Detail
This first meeting is held in the Mansion House in Dublin. (Mitchell
says September 19th as does O’Sullivan Greene.) Griffith told the meeting that the Commission
was a “responsible, autonomous and independent body”. This was an attempt to distance the
Commission from the Dáil in the hope of less interference in its work from
Dublin Castle. (This did not work.)
Darrell Figgis had been appointed Secretary of the Commission (after the
British closed down his paper (The Republic) in response to the paper
carrying advertisements for the Dáil Loan).
The Commission decides to focus on the matters of food, power, textiles
and minerals (but concentrated on the first two).
An attempt was made to hold a public meeting in Monaghan on November 24th
but it was stopped by the RIC. However,
starting a week later, the Commission held public meetings in the City Hall in
Dublin over six days. Numerous reporters
from around the world were present.
Dublin Castle did not try to stop these public meetings but decreed that
reports of the meetings could not be printed in the Irish press (but were
reported in the British press!). Many
people gave statements to the Commission (some opposed to Sinn Féin).
After these meetings, Dublin
Castle decreed that there would be no further meetings of the Commission –
public or private. However, the
Commission went onto hold public meetings in Cork. See Feb-1920/1.