October
1921
|
Oct-01-21/1 |
The Northern Whig reports Richard
Dawson Bates, Minister of Home Affairs in the NI Government, as saying to a
group of Unionists that the responsibility for security still lay with
British officials in Dublin Castle and they “with the excuse of the Truce,
had fettered the hands of the military and police authorities in
Belfast”. There was frustration in Unionist circles about
the delay in handing over responsibility for security to the NI
Government. Parkinson notes “At grassroots level, such frustration with
the absence of strong measures taken against the perpetrators of violent
acts, was difficult to contain.” |
Parkinson (2004), pg 165 |
|
Oct-01-21/2 |
Colonel J. Brind, from the General Staff of
the BA in Ireland sends a long memo to the “commanders of all formations and
units” with orders on what to do in the event of the negotiations breaking
down and “active rebellion break out again”.
He warned that “many of the battalions and
companies [of the IRA] which were collapsing through inaction [before the
Truce] have now been reorganised and rejuvenated”. (See also Oct-09-21/4 for
similar sentiments from Macready.) He
went on to say that “we must expect to meet better organized, better
disciplined and better equipped bodies of men”. With regards preparations, he says that “Every
unit and detachment must be endeavour to seize the initiative”. The key
tactic to be employed was that central units of the IRA (with a particular
emphasis on the staff of IRA GHQ along with those leading divisions and
brigades) were to “be sought out and hunted down … These must be sought for and harried
hunted with ceaseless energy”. Full text of memo given in Kautt. In this memo, Brind downplays the fatalities
experienced by the BA during the WoI by saying “The
total casualties which had been inflicted on the troops during the 18 months
were little, if any, more than many a battalion suffered in a single morning
during the war in France”. Kautt comments “Invoking the Great War’s casualties as a
standard seems to be more a balm on the British
army’s ego than a comment on IRA efficacy.
The IRA were still confounding the [British] Army’s best efforts.” See Oct-04-21/2 for more from Brind. |
Kautt (2014), pgs 197-201 |
|
Oct-01-21/2 |
The RIC’s Constabulary Gazette states that
“the force is unsettled and discontent rife for a variety of reasons, chief
of which is uncertainty of the future”. |
McCarthy (2015), pg
90 |
|
Oct-02-21/1 |
Lieutenant Geoffrey Souchon
of the 17th (Duke of Cambridge’s Own) Lancers is shot and killed
when in a car driving past a ceilidh being held in the Town Hall in
Galway. Scuffles had broken out between Auxiliaries
and Republican Police and shots were fired.
It is unclear who fired the shots which killed Lieutenant Souchon. However,
in the official history of the 5th Division of the BA in Ireland,
it is claimed that he “was shot dead by some rebel”. |
Henry (2012), pgs
232-234; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
(2020), pgs 531-532; Sheehan (2009), pg 110 |
|
Oct-03-21/1 |
Belfast City councillors meet representatives
of Catholics thrown out of work since the July of the previous year.
Few of the expelled Catholics or ‘rotten Prods’ got their jobs back or any
alternative employment – many left the city. The efforts of charity groups such the
American Committee for Relief in Ireland were a great assistance to those
thrown into poverty. By October, the White Cross Society had distributed
about £100,000 in weekly payment to the families of those evicted in the
industrial expulsions of the previous year. |
Parkinson (2004), pg 166 |
|
Oct-04-21/1 |
A bomb thrown at worshippers leaving a
Protestant church in Belfast. |
Parkinson (2004), pg 164 |
|
Oct-04-21/2 |
In a report written by Colonel Brind (The
Senior Intelligence Officer of the BA in Ireland) he complains about the IRA
saying that “although no one knows better than the members of the I.R.A.
themselves what their condition was 3 months ago, they are gradually being
convinced by the boastful speeches of their leaders” that they are the
victors. He also reports to the British cabinet that
“advantage had been taken of the truce to convert the I.R.A. which was 3
months ago little more than disorganised rabble into a well
disciplined, well organised and well armed
force”. For similar from Macready – see Oct-09-21/4. |
McMahon (2008), pgs
60-61 |
|
Oct-04-21/3 |
A young IRA volunteer, James McNally, is
accidently killed as he examines a loaded revolver belonging to Dan Breen
during a training camp near Draperstown, Co.
Tyrone. (O’Farrell gives the date as July 6th
1921 but O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
say October 4th 1921.
McCluskey and Grant place this incident in Truce period.) |
Grant (2018), pg
121; O’Farrell (1997), pg 113; McCluskey (2014), pg 106; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 532 |
|
Oct-06-21/1 |
British Cabinet approves its delegation to
engage in negotiation with the Irish as follows: -
Lloyd George (Prime Minister) -
Winston Churchill (Secretary of State for the
Colonies) -
F. E. Smith (Birkenhead) (Lord Chancellor) -
Austen Chamberlain (Leader of the House of
Commons) -
Hamar
Greenwood (Chief Secretary in Ireland), -
Lamar Worthington-Evans (Secretary of State of
War) and -
Gorden Hewart (Attorney General). (Fanning says that Hewart, who was not in cabinet, was to attend only for
constitutional questions.) Secretaries are Lionel Curtis and Tom Jones
(Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet). There is an interesting background piece on
Curtis in Pakenham. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
79 |
|
Dáil Cabinet meets at which de Valera gives
delegation cabinet instructions as mentioned above – See Sep-14-21/1. Cabinet instructions state that all major decisions
and final text of Treaty have to referred back to Irish cabinet in
Dublin. (See Macardle for text of both the
delegation’s credentials and the cabinet instructions.) However, as cabinet could not limit powers
conferred by Dáil, these instructions were nothing more than suggested
guidelines, and in this sense, Griffith accepted them. However, Pakenham notes “the resulting
position of the Delegates was paradoxical, and might in skilful hands be
turned against them”. Also see Pakenham (page 84) on de Valera,
Stack and Brugha’s responsibility for what
eventually happened since all three had refused to be members of the
negotiating team. Cabinet also discussed ‘Draft Treaty A’ – this
is a confidential document in (very much) outline form with many articles
still to be written. The key item is that Ireland agrees to become an
“external associate of the states of the British Commonwealth” in return for
recognition of Ireland as a sovereign state (and implicitly unified).
The text of ‘Draft Treaty A’ is given as Appendix 16 in Macardle.
A clause concerning the Six Counties was to be
forwarded to the delegation in London. Macardle
notes that Barton was vague about what external association meant “The
definition of the term was vague and even the Delegates had a hazy conception
of what would be its final form”. See Kenny (2021), pgs
40-41 on credentials of plenipotentiaries and cabinet instructions. |
Macardle
(1999), pgs 528-530 |
|
|
Oct-07-21/2 |
The Dáil Ministry of Defence or IRA GHQ issues
Weekly Memorandum No. 16 forbidding compulsory collection of levies by the
IRA and calling on all units to ensure that “no attempt is made to force by
threats or otherwise people to subscribe to our funds”. This was issued due to the widespread practice
of many IRA units throughout the country levying local populations for
funds. However, it was felt not clear
enough and a more explicit Memorandum was issued on October 25th –
see Oct-25-21/4. |
Hughes (2016), pg
176 |
|
Oct-08-21/1 |
In a report from a British intelligence
officer in Berlin, Major John Wallinger (who worked
mainly on Indian nationalists), he gives accurate information on IRA
gunrunning activities in Germany. He reported that two million marks had been
given by IRA GHQ to a ‘Mr. Thompson’ (an alias for Charlie McGuinness) and
that he and Billy Beaumont had succeeded in purchasing arms from the
right-wing Orgesch organisation. The report also stated that the Irish were
working with the German Communist Party to arrange for fishing boats to
transport the arms to Ireland. The
report also named Robert Briscoe and John T. Ryan as acting on behalf of the
IRA in Germany. See Oct-21-21/1. |
McMahon (2008), pg
128 |
|
Oct-09-21/1 |
A young IRA dispatch rider, Michael Geelan is knocked off his motor bike outside Carriftwohill, Co. Cork by a Crossley tender carrying RIC
men. He dies two days later. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
533 |
|
Oct-09-21/2 |
Irish delegation arrives in London to huge
crowds at Euston station. They take up residence in 22 Hans Place in a
fashionable part of London. Missing from the delegation was Collins who
arrived on October 10th and took up residence at 15 Cadogan
Gardens. |
Macardle
(1999), pg 531; Kenny (2021), pg
53; Pakenham (1967), pg 102 |
|
Oct-09-21/3 |
A young Protestant, Joseph Blakely, dies after
sustaining injuries in disturbances in Belfast. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
533 |
|
Oct-09-21/4 |
In his situation report, GOC of the British
Army in Ireland (General Nevil Macready) said that “advantage had been taken
of the truce to convert the IRA, which was three months ago little more than
a disorganised rabble, into a well-disciplined, well-organised and well-armed
force”. |
McCarthy (2015), pg 91 |
|
Oct-10-21/1 |
John Buchanan, who may have been the Master of
a local Orange Lodge, is shot dead at Glendermott
near Derry City. It is not known who
killed him. |
Ozseker
(2019), pg 159; O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
533 |
|
Oct-10-21/2 |
Cosgrave and O’Higgins submit a memo to the
Dáil cabinet about the extremely low level of rate collection in Co.
Leitrim. They wrote that the situation in the county
showed an “irreconcilable anti-rate attitude in the County and there is
reason to believe that no local efforts can possibly remedy this state of
affairs. The local I.R.A. cannot deal with it as it is to be feared that many
of its members are identified with the opposition to the payment of
rates”. The solution was to “give instructions to the
Defence Department to send a picked body of about 40 active and intelligent
men to collect rates in the County”.
Mulcahy subsequently ordered Sean MacEoin
(O/C Western Command, IRA) to undertake this task. Leitrim was possibly an extreme case but
problems with the collection of rates was widespread. |
Hughes (2016), pgs
73-74 |
|
Oct-10-21/3 |
The secretaries to the Irish delegation
(Erskine Childers and John Chartres) meet with the secretaries to the British
delegation (Tom Jones and Edward Grigg) to make preliminary arrangements. |
Pakenham (1967), pg
103 |
|
Oct-10-21/4 |
De Valera issues a proclamation saying that
“it is the duty of all Irishmen to stand together for Ireland now”. |
Gallagher (1953), pgs
322-323 |
|
Oct-11-21/1 |
1st meeting of Conference starts at 11.00am on
Tuesday 11th October in 10 Downing Street, London.
Large crowds assembled at the entrance to
Downing St. The two delegations sat across the table from
each other. The Irish delegation was
Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins, Robert Barton, George Gavan Duffy and Eamon
Duggan. They were accompanied by their two secretaries: Erskine Childers and
John Chartres. The British delegation was David Llyod George,
Austen Chamberlain, F. E. Smith (Birkenhead), Winston Churchill, Hamar
Greenwood, Lamar Worthington Evans and Gordon Hewart. They were accompanied by their two
secretaries: Lionel Curtis and Tom Jones. The first and second plenary sessions took
place on this day. The third plenary session took place on
October 13th – see Oct-13-21/1 |
Curran J M (1980), pgs
81-82; Macardle (1999), pg
532; Fanning (2013), pgs 271-274; Pakenham (1967), pgs 89-94 & 103-104 |
|
Oct-11-21/2 |
Eamon Corbett (see Sep-1921/3) had returned to
Mayo and stayed in Straide which is in the area of
North Mayo Brigade of the IRA. Men from the East Mayo Brigade surround the
house in which he is staying. The O/C
of the North Mayo Brigade orders the East Mayo men out of his area. Commandant Reynolds, from Galway arrives with
his Intelligence Officer, P. Fahy, and they rescue Corbett but when they are
waiting at the railway station in Kiltimagh,
shooting breaks out in which a civilian is badly injured. Subsequently, the entire IRA Kiltimagh Company is suspended. |
Price (2012), pg 183 |
|
Oct-12-21/1 |
At a meeting of the Truce observation
committee an agreement drawn up on disputed items and it is agreed that 72
hours had to be given on any termination of the Truce. The members of the committee were Collins,
Barton, Duggan and Art O’Brien (on the Irish side) and Worthington Evans,
Greenwood, Anderson, Cope, Macready and Tudor (on the British side). |
Macardle
(1999), pgs 540 |
|
Oct-12-21/2 |
Lance-Corporal Samuel Smith of the BA’s Argyll
and Sutherland Highlanders (Prince’s Louise) is shot dead by a BA sentry when
he “failed to heed an order to stop”. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
533 |
|
Oct-12-21/3 |
Seven year-old, Mary Ruxton, is knocked over
by a BA vehicle in James’s St in Dublin.
She dies the following day in Dr Steeven’s
Hospital. A witness says that the car was going too fast
and did not sound its horn. However,
the driver of the car, Lance-Corporal Elred of the
RASC, is subsequently acquitted of manslaughter. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
533 |
|
Oct-13-21/1 |
The
3rd plenary session of British and Irish delegations starts at 12
noon. The discussions began with arguments about
truce violations. The British
complained about public drilling by the IRA and the public hearing of Dáil.
However, the Irish countered with that the British Army had commandeered
properties in Sligo without consultations.
Macready is pulled into the meeting to explain the actions of his
forces. He said that the seizure of public offices was unfortunate and
promised to telegraph for further details.
The matter was referred to the Truce subcommittee. The rest of the session was spent on trade,
fiscal and industrial matters. As noted, the two biggest issues were Crown
and Ulster. However, the Irish side still did not have the clauses
omitted from ‘Draft Treaty A’ on Ulster and External Association. Griffith
wrote to de Valera on this day saying that “unless we can get in our Treaty
proposals by Monday [October 17] the initiative will pass to them. If we
cannot have the Ulster and other omitted clauses by ten o’clock Monday at the
latest, we must fight them on ground of their own choosing” The fourth plenary session takes
place on October 14th – see Oct-14-21/1. |
Curran J M (1980), pgs
82-83; Macardle (1999), pgs
532-533; Pakenham (1967), pgs 122 and 126-128 |
|
Oct-13-21/2 |
RIC Constable Henry
Morgan commits suicide in the RIC Barracks in Keady, Co. Armagh. |
Abbott (2019), pg 410; O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
533 |
|
Oct-14-21/1 |
4th
plenary session – this session took place in the British PM’s
office in Downing St, London starting at 11.00am. The discussion centred mostly on ‘Ulster’ - a
boundary commission and local opts-out were discussed but Griffith was
playing for time as he did not yet have de Valera’s proposal on Northern
Ireland (see Oct-13-21/1). More Detail
and Comment on Llyod George’s Strategy during the Negotiations The fifth plenary session took place on
October 17th – see Oct-17-21/1. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
83-84 & 308; Macardle (1999), pgs 543-544; Fanning (2013), pgs
279-282 and 359-361; Matthews (2004), pg 42; Pakenham
(1967), pgs 128-131 |
|
Oct-14-21/2 |
In one of his regular reports on revolutionary
organisations for the British government, Basil Thomson outlines a report
that with the assistance of the Bolsheviks, Sinn Féin were going to the
leading player bringing together Indian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian
revolutionaries to carry out a co-ordinated campaign of violence against the
British Empire. He said that the Irish were trying to
“encourage all anti-British Revolutionaries to emulate the methods of Sinn
Féin” and that they were “imbued with such hatred” that they would “work for
the downfall of the British Empire”. |
McMahon (2008), pg
122 |
|
Oct-16-21/1 |
A sheriff’s officer (civil bill server),
Bernard Mailey, is killed in Raphoe,
Co. Donegal. It would seem that he was
killed by the IRA (led by Peadar O’Donnell) to stop
him giving evidence in Lifford Quarter Session of having served legal
documents on particular individuals. |
Ozseker
(2019), pg 186; O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
534; Hughes (2016), pg 44 |
|
Oct-17-21/1 |
5th
plenary session This session again took place in 10 Downing St
and started at 3.30pm. Like the previous session, this session was
again mostly on Northern Ireland. Griffith argued on the basis of carefully
prepared maps and statistics for five of Ulster’s nine counties should be
governed from Dublin. He pointed, for example, that the whole of Ulster
would have 890,000 Protestants and 700,000 Catholics while the six counties
of Northern Ireland would have 820,570 Protestants and 429,161 Catholics. However, Griffith did not put forward de
Valera’s full proposal (which he had received on October 14th - see
Oct-14-21/1) but asked Britain stand aside while Sinn Féin made the unionists
a fair offer. If agreement was not reached then the Six Counties must
be allowed to decide on its future by local option (with poor law areas being
the best unit for local option). The remaining area could have its own
parliament but subordinate to the Dublin parliament, not Westminster. Significantly, none of the Irish delegates
insisted on the majority Unionist areas being brought into the Irish state
against their will. Llyod George said that the six county boundary
embodied in the British Government of
Ireland Act was “a compromise, not our proposal, but a compromise”. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
85; Phoenix (1994), pgs 150-151; Fanning (2013), pgs 279-282; Matthews (2004), pg
42; Kenny (2021), pgs 36-65 & 65 & 73;
Pakenham (1967), pgs 132-136 |
|
Oct-17-21/2 |
After a report sent to GHQ by Capt T. Burke on this date, the 3rd Western
Division of the IRA was set up comprising five brigades: North and South Sligo, North Leitrim, North
Roscommon and East Mayo. Liam Pilkington is appointed Divisional O/C;
Frank Carty is appointed O/C South Sligo Brigade and Seamus Devins is appointed O/C North Sligo Brigade. Brian MacNeill (son of Eoin MacNeill) is
also appointed to the divisional staff. |
Farry
(2012), pg 84 |
|
Oct-17-21/3 |
Having received no response to his memos of
June 29th (see Jun-29-21/1) and September 13th (see Sep-13-21/2), Macready
writes to the British Secretary of State for War saying that, in the absence
of a decision by the British cabinet, he proposed taking the drastic steps
outlined in his memos 72 hours after the breakdown of negotiations. No reply was received. In its official history, the Dublin District
of the BA says that “Complete new plans for operations based on martial law
throughout Ireland were drawn up after the truce commenced. … Had hostilities broken out, a complete withdrawal
to the coast would probably have been desirable …It was decided to earmark
certain suitable towns, such as Howth and Bray, for refugees. RIC detachments
would have remained in these places, and the refugees would be armed … Where
communities of ex-soldiers were in the ascendancy, as at Navan, it was
proposed to arm them and use their position also for refugees.” |
Kautt
(2014), pg 176; Sheehan
(2007), pgs 72-73 |
|
Oct-19-21/1 |
At the only meeting of the finance
sub-committee, they agreed to exchange memoranda on October 22nd.
The British side calculated Southern Ireland’s
liability for debt and pension charges at £153 million sterling.
Collins countered that on the basis of past over taxation since the Union and
retardation of Ireland’s development, the charge should be about £3 billion
sterling on Britain. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
308 |
|
Oct-19-21/2 |
The leader of the Roman Catholic church, Pope
Benedict XV, sends a telegram to Britain’s King George V rejoicing at the
resumption of Anglo-Irish negotiations and that he prays that the Lord “may
bless them and grant to Your Majesty the great joy and imperishable glory of
bringing to an end the agelong dissension”. King George, in his reply, says that he joins
in his prayer that the Conference may achieve a settlement of the troubles in
Ireland and “may initiate a new era of peace and happiness for my
people”. See Oct-20-21/2. |
Macardle
(1999), pgs 535-536; Curran J M (1980), pg 86; Gallagher (1953), pg 326 |
|
Oct-20-21/1 |
The Governor of Wormwood Scrubs prison writes
a memo of compliant about Michael Collins’s visit to the prison the previous
day along with two companions to see Irish prisoners (N. Kerr, R. Stack and
L. Breen). According to the Governor,
he was drunk and truculent. The
Governor also said that he boasted “about all the loyal people he has shot”. |
Dolan and Murphy (2018), pgs
98-99 |
|
Oct-20-21/2 |
De Valera writes to Pope Benedict saying that
the ambiguities in the letter from King George may not mislead him “into believing
that the troubles are ‘in’ Ireland, or that the people of Ireland own
allegiance to the British King”. Rather the troubles had sprung from
Britain’s attempt to impose its will on the Irish people who had declared
their independence. He goes on to say that the “we [the people of
Ireland] long to be at peace and in friendship with the people of Britain …
but the same constancy through persecution and martyrdom that has proved the
reality of our people’s attachment to the Faith of their Fathers, proves the
reality of their attachment to their national freedom and no consideration
will ever induce them to abandon it”. British newspapers branded de Valera’s action
with adjectives such as impertinent, unmannerly and churlish. For example,
the Times of London says (on
October 21st) that “What value can attach to Mr. De Valera’s
assurance that “we long to be at peace and in friendship with the people of
Britain” when he deliberately flouts the settled convictions of the British
people upon the only terms on which peace and friendship between the British
and Irish peoples are possible?”. |
Macardle
(1999), pg 536; Curran J M (1980), pg 86; Gallagher (1953), pg
327; Pakenham (1967), pg 137 |
|
Oct-21-21/1 |
After being tipped off by the British, the
German police search a ship called the Anita
in Hamburg. They find a large quantity
of arms due to be shipped to Ireland (and crewed by German Communists). Charlie McGuinness is arrested but gets off
with a light fine. This incident leads to a row at the negotiations
in London – Oct-21-21/2. See also Oct-28-21/1. |
McMahon (2008), pg 129 |
|
Oct-21-21/2 |
6th
Plenary Session The session took place, as usual, in 10
Downing St and started at 12 noon. After arguments over breaches in the Truce and
King George V’s response to Pope Benedict XV, the negotiators got down to
discussing defence. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
87; McCarthy (2015), pg 93; Pakenham (1967), pgs
138-142 |
|
Oct-21-21/3 |
A codeword is issued to the BA in Ireland to
prepare of an imminent resumption of hostilities. (Presumably this happened after the
discovery of the arms destined for Ireland in Hamburg.) |
McMahon (2008), pg
63 |
|
Oct-21-21/4 |
The Derry
Journal says that forty poitín stills had been
discovered in the previous fortnight by the IRA in the Inishowen
Penninsula in Co. Donegal. This was part of the IRA’s drive against poitín making. |
Ó Duibhir (2011), pg 31 |
|
Oct-22-21/1 |
IRA man, Hugh O’Neill shoots himself in the
hand. When the wound was healing, it developed tetanus and he dies on the
General Hospital in Newry, Co. Down. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
534 |
|
Oct-22-21/2 |
IRA man, Maurice ‘Mossy’ Casey from the 2nd
Battalion. Kerry No. 2 Brigade, is badly burnt when making “black powder” at
a farm in Molahiffe. He dies five days later in Tralee Union
Infirmary. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs
534-535; O’Shea (2021), pg 158 |
|
Oct-24-21/1 |
7th
Plenary Session and 1st Sub-Conference This session started at 5pm and took place, as
usual, in 10 Downing St. The Irish
side present Draft Treaty A and it is discussed in depth. Later that evening, at the request of the
British, the first of the sub-conferences take places with only Llyod George,
Chamberlain, Griffith and Collins present. |
Curran J M (1980), pgs
88-90; Fanning (2013), pg 283; Matthews (2004), pg 43; Boyce (1972), pg 156;
Pakenham (1967), pgs 94-95 & 144-151 |
|
Oct-25-21/1 |
When de Valera received Griffith’s letter and
the minutes of the Plenary Session on October 24th, he was concerned that
Griffith had offered some form of association to the Crown if unity was
guaranteed. De Valera writes to Griffith saying that
"there can be no question of asking the Irish people to enter an
arrangement which would make them subject to the Crown or demand from them
allegiance to the [British] King. If war is the alternative, we can
only face it, and I think that the sooner the other side is made to recognise
it, the better." See Oct-26-21/1. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
90; Pakenham (1967), pg 150 |
|
Oct-25-21/2 |
Meeting between de Valera (along with the
members of his cabinet who are in Dublin) and IRA GHQ staff at which it was
agreed to re-administer an Oath of Allegiance (see Aug-19 to 20-19/1) to all
members of the IRA. However, this was not carried out. In addition, a move was made at this time to
issue new commissions to all IRA officers but this got bogged down in
appropriate titles – see Nov-16-21/3 for more detail. |
O’Donoghue (1954), pg
199; Curran J M (1980), pg 96; Macardle
(1999), pg 549 |
|
Oct-25-21/3 |
2nd
Sub-Conference Collins and Griffith meet Chamberlain and Hewart to discuss Ulster. The Irish suggest opt out on the basis of the 1918
parliamentary constituencies with those constituencies who voted for
exclusion keeping the powers conferred the Government of Ireland Act but
under the authority of the national Irish parliament. The British side rejected this but put
forward, tentatively, the six counties are left intact with the powers
conferred the Government of Ireland Act but under the authority of the
national Irish parliament. Griffith refuses (but privately with Collins,
he says that he thought it might form the basis of an agreement). Griffith
states again that any association with the Crown was contingent on Ulster’s
agreement to essential unity saying “no Irishman could even discuss an
association with the British Crown the ‘essential unity’ of Ireland was
agreed by the parties”. When Chamberlain reported to his colleagues on
Griffith’s insistence on any allegiance to the Crown depended on Irish unity,
Churchill responded “We can’t give way on the Six Counties; we are not free
agents” and Birkenhead agreed. Given the logjam, Llyod goes for another
strategy. He says that he is going to
put the question of Northern Ireland to one side and seek agreement on other
issues. He says that “If they accept
all subject to unity we are in a position to go to Craig; if they don’t the
break is not on Ulster”. |
Curran J M (1980), pgs
92-93; Fanning (2013), pg 284; Matthews (2004), pg 43; Pakenham (1967), pgs
156-157 |
|
Oct-25-21/4 |
Following Weekly Memorandum No. 16 (see
Oct-07-21/2), a Special Memorandum is issued on this day by IRA GHQ to “make
it clear that levies in whatsoever form must be stopped absolutely”. However, some IRA brigades continued to
collect a levy and this led to many complaints to IRA GHQ from the people
affected. |
Hughes (2016), pg
176 |
|
Oct-26-21/1 |
De Valera’s letter of the previous day creates
consternation among the Irish delegation.
Griffith said that he would go home unless de Valera and the rest of
the Irish cabinet left their hands free.
Collins was angry. He said that
there were people on Dublin trying to get him “to do the dirty work for them”
and that he was being led into a trap by Brugha and
Stack. The full Irish delegation writes to de Valera
saying that his letter was inconsistent with their powers and limited their
freedom of discussion. They stated that “The responsibility, if this
inference breaks the very slight possibility of a settlement, will not and
must not rest on the Plenipotentiaries.” More specifically they stated that
"Obviously any form of association necessitates discussion of
recognition in one form or other of the head of that association."
See Oct-27-21/1. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
91; Pakenham (1967), pg 150 |
|
Oct-26-21/2 |
Private John Anderson of the BA’s Cameron
Highlanders is captured by the IRA when he is walking on Fota
Rd. near Cobh in Co. Cork. He is taken
to Knockraha and executed. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
534 |
|
Oct-27-21/1 |
Having received their letter of October 26th,
de Valera writes back to the Irish delegation saying that there had been a
misunderstanding. He says that, except when he explicitly states otherwise,
he was only keeping them informed as to Cabinet views as Cabinet would have
to decide on policy when the delegation returned to Dublin. The delegation seems to have accepted this
explanation as Griffith wrote back to de Valera the same day expressing his
gratitude. Pakenham notes that the Delegation “had
recorded, and it seems won, acceptance of the view that External Association
involved some form of association with the [British] Crown”. However, he also notes that de Valera had put
down a critical ‘red line’ that if the settlement meant allegiance to the
British Crown (and, by implication membership of the British Empire) then “If
war is the alternative, we can only face it.” |
Curran J M (1980), pg
91; Pakenham (1967), pg 151 |
|
Oct-27-21/2 |
Third
Sub-Conference Collins and Griffith meet with Llyod George
and Birkenhead. Griffith understood the British to say, that
if Sinn Féin would accept the Crown, then they would, as Griffith wrote to de
Valera, send for Craig and “force Ulster in as I understand it”.
Fanning says that this was a misunderstanding on Griffith’s behalf and that
coercing Ulster was always anathema to Llyod George. Afterwards, the British send the Irish
delegation a memorandum saying that “The Crown is the symbol of all that
keeps the nations of the Empire together and, “subject to agreement being
reached on the question of Irish unity”, they ask, inter alia, if the
Irish would maintain allegiance to the Crown and acknowledge the common
citizenship and full partnership in the Empire it entailed? They also asked
for the Irish delegation’s position on defence facilities, neutrality and
free trade. The Irish delegation reply on October 29th
– see Oct-29-21/1. Curran says that in his opinion “a republic
associated with the Empire, or even inside it, was just not practical
politics in the 1920s”. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
94; Fanning (2013), pg 285; Pakenham (1967), pgs 157-159 |
|
Oct-27 to 28-21/1 |
Sinn
Féin Ard Fheis This takes place on October 27th
and 28th. De Valera is re-elected President. In his speech, referring to the on-going
negotiations, de Valera said “One question, the allegiance question, is
closed from our point of view. The question of some form of association
with the States of the British Empire is open. There is no reason why
this nation should not associate itself with other nations provided that
association was one that a self-respecting nation might enter.” In the same speech, referring to the possible
outcomes of the negotiations “I am anxious that you should realise the
difficulties that are in the way, and the fact that the best people might
legitimately differ on such a scheme. The worst thing that could happen
would be that we should not be tolerant of honest differences of opinion.” |
Macardle
(1999), pg 548; Gallagher (1953), pgs 328-329 |
|
Oct-28 to 29-21/1 |
C P Scott, editor of the Manchester Guardian, writes in this diary about Bonar Law (who
had come back quite recovered from his ‘illness’ – see Mar-17-21/2). Describing Bonar Law, Scott says “At heart he
was an Orangeman and a fanatic and the Orange fanaticism was there. He had brought with him from Canada. He might at any time, in defence of what he
regarded as an attack on Ulster, lead a Tory revolt”. |
Fanning (2013), pg
285 |
|
Oct-28-21/1 |
Robert Briscoe, who had been sent by Michael
Collins to Germany in late 1920 to purchase arms, had bought a small tug
called the Frieda and, according to
McCarthy, on this date, it left the port of Hamburg with 300 guns and 80,000
rounds of ammunition on board under the command of Charlie McGuinness from
Derry City (and a German crew from the rightwing Orgesch organisation who spoke no English). Its destination was Helvick
Head in Co. Waterford. Briscoe sent a pre-arranged telegram to Liam Mellows,
the IRA’s Director of Purchases who alerted Pax Whelan, O/C Waterford
Brigade. Whelan put a watch on Helvick
Head for the approach of the Frieda. Mellows came from Dublin to join the watch
but, after a week, with no sign of the Frieda,
they concluded that it must have sunk.
(McMahon says that the Frieda
left Hamburg on November 1st – he also says that the cargo was “at
least 200 rifles and 10,000 rounds of ammunition”.) See Nov-10-21/1. |
McCarthy (2015), pg 93; McMahon (2008), pgs
129-130 |
|
Oct-28-21/2 |
A Lewis machine gun, a revolver and ammunition
are stolen from G Company of the Auxiliaries based in Corofin,
Co. Clare. |
Power (2020), pg 13 |
|
Oct-29-21/1 |
The Irish delegation respond to the British
memorandum of October 27th (see Oct-27-21/2) by sending a memorandum which
says that they would recommend that “the elected Government of a free and
undivided Ireland, secured in the absolute and unfettered possession of all
legislative and executive authority, should, for the purposes of the
association, recognise the Crown as symbol and accepted head of the combination
of signatory states". (Macardle says that
the latter formulation was drawn up by John Chartres and Pakenham calls it
the “Chartres Crown”.) The Irish memorandum agrees to coastal
facilities for the British Navy subject to the condition of no armed occupation
or political control and only for such time as until the Irish shall be able
to provide for their own defence. The British are disappointed with the Irish
memorandum. Chamberlain claimed that he did not know what the document
meant. Also, on this day, ultra-Conservatives in the
Westminster parliament (the ‘Die-Hards’) put down a resolution condemning the
negotiations – see Oct-31-21/2. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
90 & 94; Macardle (1999), pg
547; Fanning (2013), pgs 286-287; Pakenham (1967), pgs 147 &158 |
|
Oct-29-21/2 |
Writing to Macready, Vice Admiral E. Gaunt
(who was commanding the Royal Navy in Ireland) says “the rebels will try to
prolong negotiations until the end of the winter and then force a break”. |
McMahon (2008), pg
59 |
|
Oct-30-21/1 |
4th
Sub-Conference Griffith and Collins meet with Lloyd George,
Birkenhead. At this meeting, according to Collins, the two sides reached
“absolute dead level” – See Oct-31-21/1 for what Collins wrote to Gearóid O’Sullivan about this meeting. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
95; Macardle (1999), pgs
553-554; Fanning (2013), pgs 287-288; Matthews
(2004), pgs 43-44; |
|
Oct-30-21/2 |
In a private meeting in Churchill’s house at
9.30pm between just the two of them, Llyod George tells Griffith that the
Irish memorandum (see Oct-29-21/1) was so worded that he did not understand
where the Irish side stood. Griffith
replies that the British memorandum (see Oct-27-21/2) was obviously couched
for publication in the event of a breakdown in the talks. Lloyd George was to face a motion from the
Ultra-Unionists in Westminster the following day which condemned the on-going
negotiations (see Oct-29-21/1). In
this context, he asks Griffith for personal assurances on the Crown, free
association with the Empire and naval facilities and if Griffith gave them to
him he would “go down to smite the Die-hards and would fight on the Ulster
matter to secure ‘essential unity’”. Griffith relays these comments to de Valera
the following day – see Oct-31-21/3. (For
a comment on Llyod George’s promise of ‘essential unity’ – see Oct-31-21/3.) This request from Llyod George to Griffith was
also in the context of a large meeting of the Conservative and Unionist Party
due to take place in Liverpool on November 17th (see Nov-17-21/2).
Griffith undertakes to write a personal letter to Llyod George with a number
of undertakings. Griffith shows his proposed ‘personal
undertakings’ to the rest of the Irish delegation on November 1st – see
Nov-01-21/1. |
Curran J M (1980), pg
95; Macardle (1999), pgs
553-554; Fanning (2013), pgs 287-288; Matthews (2004),
pgs 43-44; |
|
Oct-31-21/1 |
Writing to Gearóid
O’Sullivan about the previous day’s meeting, Collins says the British were
insisting that, in return for a united Ireland, the Dáil would have to accept
membership within the British Commonwealth, along with safeguards for the
Ulster Unionists and guarantees on British security. Otherwise, there would be war and “no
fooling about it either”. |
Matthews (2004), pg
43-44; Fanning (2013), pgs 287-288; Boyce (1972), pg 158; Pakenham (1967), pg 160 |
|
Oct-31-21/2 |
Ultra-Conservative [Die Hard] motion of
censure defeated in House of Commons by 439 to 43 (with Labour and Liberal
opposition supporting Government). Llyod George argued that the only alternative
to talks was the imposition of terms on Ireland and suppression of dissent –
before they could get the support of the British people for this course of
action, they must be sure that they cannot be a settlement via talks. However, according to Macardle,
Matthews and Fanning, Llyod George also promised Unionists that he would
immediately take steps to have powers conferred on the Northern Ireland
government by the Government of Ireland Act transferred to it. See Nov-09-21/1. Comment
on the ‘Die Hards’ and the Progress of the Negotiations
|
Curran J M (1980), pg
95-; Macardle (1999), pg
554; Fanning (2013), pg 330; Matthews (2004), pg 62 |
|
Oct-31-21/3 |
Furthermore,
Griffith said that Llyod George stated that he could carry a Six-County
Parliament subordinate to a National, i.e. Irish, Parliament. Alternatively,
he said that he would try to carry a plan for a new boundary, or a vote by
Ulster as a single unit on inclusion or exclusion but that “he was not
hopeful of doing so”. See Nov-01-21/1
for more on Griffith proposed undertakings to Llyod George. Comment
on Llyod George’s Promise on ‘Essential Unity’ |
Matthews (2004), pg
43-44; Fanning (2013), pgs 287-288; Boyce (1972), pg 158; Pakenham (1967), pg
160; |
|
Oct-31-21/3 |
Four Cumman na mBan members escape from
Mountjoy Jail. They were Eithne Coyle,
May Burke, Aileen Keogh and Linda Kearns.
(One of the people aiding the escape is Dr St John Gogarty.) |
Ó Duibhir (2011), pgs 33-36 |
|
Oct-1921/1 |
Roddy Connolly (son of James) founds the
Communist Party of Ireland along with small number of comrades. They get backing from the Soviets. |
McMahon (2008), pg 120 |
|
Oct-1921/2 |
Belfast Brigade of the IRA had gone from 998
pre-Truce to 1,506 by October – in addition they were bringing in
considerable number of arms and, by May 1922, had brought in 600 rifles and 5
Thomson machine guns. |
McDermott (2001), pg 106 |