RAINBOW FARMS AUSTRALIA                                            

                                                                                                                                            1917- 1 / January to June

                                                                                                          "Sinn Fein Party On the Move - Irish Parliamentary Party Declines."

1917 - 1918 AD  John Redmond, the "leader" of the Irish Parliamentary Party, which was by now becoming more and more "out of touch" with the general Irish population, was to state that he was willing to go to "any lengths" to satisfy the requirements of the Ascendancy Unionists in the Ulster Province, while the "Irish Convention" set up by David Lloyd - George as the British Imperial Coalition Government's previous Home Minister, later on was to turn out to be a "failure," while the proposal of "Dominion Home Rule," moved previously by Sir Horace Plunkett the Chairman and leader of the Irish Dominion League, was to continue to last until 1921.

March: David Lloyd - George, who was now the British Imperial Coalition Prime Minister, was willing to give "Irish Self - Government" to the population of Ireland, but only on "his terms," if they accepted the new British Coalition Government "amended" 4th Irish Home Rule Bill, which would see Ireland "artificially partitioned" under his scheme, but not to those who "rejected his scheme," and he also passed another "Amendment" to the 4th Irish Home Rule Bill that stated that “No force was to be used to "recombine" the "whole" of Ireland," but John Redmond, the Irish Parliamentary Party leader said, "No" to this proposal, as he wanted "total" Irish Home Rule for Ireland. The Irish Nationalist Constitutionalists among his followers were now in "total despair," and they left the British House of Commons at Westminster, and "no decision" was finalised in the debate and although John Redmond's manifesto of "loyalty" to the British Imperial Government came up, he was still compelled to "oppose" them, desperately appealing to the "Irish - Americans" and the "Dominions," to press the British Imperial Government for real genuine "Arbitration," so that they would actually act also toward Ireland as per their original statement on their position of "Small Nations." 

      The Irish poets and the dreamers, who had given their all for Ireland were now "gone," but they were not "forgotten, " and the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood / I.R.B. decided to re - organize the "Irish Volunteers," and the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood was to also set up once again throughout Ireland in the branches of the "Gaelic League," which had not as yet been "proscribed" by the British Imperial Coalition authorities and the Irish now also continued on with the organization of their "political" "Sinn Fein Party," who was assisted by the press in England, who continued to refer to all of the Irish Republicans as "Sinn Feiners," as their aim was still the same to bring about Irish Independence / Irish Freedom in Ireland, under the "guidelines" previously laid down by Arthur Griffith, the founder of the "political" Sinn Fein Party (We Ourselves). The "re - organization" of the "Irish Volunteers," was now also underway under the direction of the young Michael Collins, who was to also draft the "new" Constitution for the revamped Irish organization, and he was to carry this out with Richard Mulcahy, another member of the I.R.B Supreme Council, and once again they were to be the "real military" force in Ireland. (The I.R.B. Constitution, was also "revised" under the scrutiny of Thomas Ashe, Diarmait Lynch, Con and Michael Collins, and it was further strengthened by their "growing membership," who were now in the many "branches" of the "Gaelic League.") Although there was still a "small" number of Irishmen who were left in the former Redmonite National Volunteers under the leadership of Colonel Moore, who continued to act on behalf of John Redmond who was by now a  very "bewildered" leader of the declining Irish Parliamentary Party, but they too soon "left" that organization, and joined in with the "Irish Volunteers." Ernest O Malley, from the Heremonian Ui Briuin Ui Maille Sept in Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the Connacht Province, was one of those who joined up also, and later on he was to become one of the "major players" who were to be against the "Anglo - Irish Treaty" that would be made at the end of the "Anglo - Irish War" to come in 1922 when they would then form the "Anti - Treaty IRA," and bring about a "Civil War" in Ireland in the same year, all due to the "artificial partition" of the 6 Counties, from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province by the British Imperial Coalition Government to suite the continuation of the Ascendancy, and their own political agenda of "bruised egos" to disrupt any chance of final "normality" for the Irish population.

      Arthur Griffiths, the founder of the "Gaelic League" and the '"political" Sinn Fein Party, (We Ourselves), who would become known as the "Father of the Irish Nation," had since been released from Redding Jail in England, and he started the newspaper "Nationality," acting as it's editor, and the "political" Sinn Fein Party was now ready to come into it's own as the next real Irish "political force," for the removal of the continuing "oppression" of the British Imperial Governments over the population in Ireland. The authority of the Irish Parliamentary Party / I.P. Party, which was still under the control of it's leader John Redmond, who had previously called for Irish blood after the 1916 Irish Easter Uprising, was now well and truly in the "decline" considered throughout Ireland now as just  another "tool" to be made use of by the British Westminster Parliament, although this certainly was not true of the likes of John Dillon, John Boland and the old Labour stalwart, William O Brien. Following the 1916 Irish Easter Rising Laurence Ginnell / Lorcan Mag Fhionnghail who was another member of the Irish Parliamentary Party had been the "only" voice heard among them all against the "executions" in the Westminster Parliament, as he personally was not intimindated to speak out against his leader John Redmond, as was also John Dillon.   

January 20th: Count Plunkett, was now "expelled" by the elitist Royal Dublin Society, by a vote of 236 to 58 just for being the "father" of Joseph Plunkett who had "signed" the Proclamation of the Irish Republic for which he had been "executed," and there were also his other two sons, George and John who were now also "prisoners" incarcerated in English prisons to be considered, but his expulsion by this elitist group was to "backfire," as it really "upset" the general population in Ireland. Eamonn de Valera, who was to be a future staid political leader in Ireland, who had also been one of the commanders of the Irish Volunteer Dublin Brgades during the 1916 Irish Easter Uprising, was also still being held in "prison" in England, where he let it be known generally that he personally was not in "favour" of taking on the Irish Parliamentary Party / I.P. Party in the coming "elections," and also that he was also personally of the "opinion" that the "Irish Volunteers" should "refrain" from any "political affiliations." (Time and the resultant actions of the British Imperial Government would soon change his mind)

February: Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith together with the "Irish Republican Brotherhood," the "Irish Nation League" and the "Irish Volunteers," saw it "different" and threw all of their support behind Count Plunkett, who had made up his mind to stand for an "elected" position in the British Westminster Parliament in the coming bye - election for the seat of North Co. Roscommon in his own right as the I.R.B. / Republicans who were now well aware of his anti - British stance supported his nomination at every chance. This election had been called due to the demise of James J. O Kelly, who had been an old "Fenian" himself, and although it was considered an Irish Parliamentary Party / I.P. Party safe seat, Father Michael Flanagan also gave many speeches in "support" of Count Plunkett's candidature and he "won" the seat easily by polling 3,022 votes defeating Divine from the Irish Parliamentary Party / I.P. Party with 1708 votes, and also another Kelly from the Independent Nationalists who had gained 687 votes. Arthur Griffiths, who had founded the "political" Sinn Fein Party was convinced that "non - attendance" at the British Westminster Parliament, by any of those who were successfully "elected" to represent Ireland, was to be the main "crux" of a true Irish Policy, and he was to be relieved when Count Plunkett informed all and sundry that he would "not recognize" the British Parliament in Westminster, but intended to form his own political party, which Arthur Griffith was totally against, as he wanted a combined "joint" Irish Executive from all of the Irish Nationals as a "united" group to be represented by the "political" Sinn Fein Party.

     Michael Collins, meanwhile took over from Joseph Mac Grath as the Secretary of the "Irish National Aid Association," which had been set up to "assist" the families and the dependents of all the Irish who had been held as "prisoners" in the jails in England, who had since been left in desperate circumstances with no chance of any "income" to sustain them through all of this, and "no" information was allowed by the Dublin Castle (The Devill's 1/2Acre) authorities to be publicly known on what was "occurring" in Ireland because of the previous 1916 Irish Easter Uprising to find it's way back to all of the Irish who were still in being held in English Prisons, but despite this much correspondence was received by them from Ireland, concerning "Kathleen Ni Houlihan," the name that was used by them for "Ireland" until the Governor of the English prison was also informed to "black out" all references to her "name."  

March:  David Lloyd - George the Welsh British Imperial Coalition Prime Minister, now moved an "Amendment" to allow the "Ulster Home Rule Bill" to proceed, "artificially partitioning" 6 Counties, from the 9 Counties that made up the "whole" of the Ulster Province, to continue on with the Ascendancy in Ireland, which naturally "upset" the Irish Nationalist Constitutionals in the Irish Parliamentary Party / I.P.P. also, who were still Ireland's "elected" representatives in the Westminster Parliament and together with their leader, John Redmond they walked out of the Parliament in England, again, as they where now also against "Irish Home Rule" being "coupled" with the "Conscription" of Irishmen, as was the Catholic hierarchy. 

March 17th: Count Plunkett, sent a letter to all the popularly "elected" Irish Boards, Irish National organizations and the Irish Nationalists generally, to send 2 delegates each to a "Conference" to be held at the Mansion House on the 19th April, to seek representatives for Ireland at the coming "World Peace Conference" in Paris, as regards to the previous "commitment" on the "political position" of "Small Nations," as it was now hoped that Irish Independence / Irish Freedom from the repression of the British Imperial Coalition Government in England could be finally achieved by this "simple peaceful" process. 

      Eamonn de Valera, the previous staid Irish Volunteer Dublin Brigade commander who was against any "political" involvement and who was still in an English "prison," in a fervour wrote to Simon Donnelly, stating that in his opinion, a defeat at the coming elections might well mean "ruin" for the cause of "Irish Independence," and that the Irish Volunteers "should not" take sides, as in his opinion, none of the candidates should be "officially recognized" as standing in the interests of the "Irish Volunteers". Eventually in a further panic mode, the British Imperial Coalition that the Irish Nationalists might gain representatives in the Westminster Parliament, the British Imperial Coalition was to "arrest" 73 leaders of the Irish "political" Sinn Fein Party without any type of "trial" at all, and "deport" them to England where they "imprisoned" them in English prisons also, while trying to ensure that they were not "physically capable" of participating in the "democratic process" of the General Election, and they were all to be still in English "prisons" when the "1st World War" was to come to an end.  

April: America now also entered the "War," between the British Imperial Government and Germany, and their President Woodrow Wilson with his own "personal" agenda in mind urged the British Coalition Government to settle the ongoing problems with the Irish population, so that it would also "unite" the "American" public towards being involved also in the "War."

     Michael Collins, now put forward Joseph Mac Guinness for the coming bye - election in the seat in Co. Longford in the north - west of Northern Leinster, which was previously another safe Irish Parliamentary Party / I.P. Party seat, who would be the "first" to represent the "political" Sinn Fein Party, in their own right, even though he was also still being held physically a "prisoner" by the British Coalition Government in Lewes Jail in Sussex in England, and the Sinn Fein Party let it be known also that if he was successfully elected he would "not take up" his seat in the British Westminster Parliament and once again, the staid Eamonn de Valera came out, with his own personal opinion, against Joseph Mac Guinness standing, and even went as far as drawing up a statement of "refusal" for him to "sign," that stated that he would not accept the nomination. The "Irish Nation League," the "Irish Labour Party," the Irish Republican Brotherhood / I.R.B. and the "political" Sinn Fein Party, now all "combined" their efforts, once again and formed a "Joint Committee" to foster Irish Unity "politically," just as Arthur Griffith had previously "proposed," an although it had not been fully accepted at first, it had now become a "definite reality." 

May 17th: The Catholic Irish Bishops, also now decided to make a stand on the British Coalition's "artificial partition" of Ireland, into 2 separate parts to continue on with the Ascendancy, and came out declaring the "Partition of Ireland was as dead as a doornail," as far as they were concerned.

May 25th: Joseph Mc Guinness was to be "successful" in winning the seat in Co. Longford in Northern Leinster for the "political" Sinn Fein Party, by 37 votes despite the personal previous involvement of the staid Eamonn de Valera who had been totally against it, and this particular achievement was also to be a further "embarrassment" to the British Imperial Coalition Government's position of their "overall authority" in Ireland under the "Immoral Union."

May 28th: The Irishmen who were still being held "prisoner" in Lewes Prison in England, by the British Imperial Government without trial, went on strike and refused to work, to bring pressure to bear on David Lloyd - George the British Coalition Prime Minister, as they wanted to be treated "officially" as "prisoners of War" as they had also been made aware of their eventual forthcoming "release" from prison, and they intended to pull it off, before he was able to announce the date for their release himself and because of their actions on this occassion, the staid Eamonn de Valera and other individual Irish prisoners were "returned" to Maidstone Prison in England, while some were also taken to Parkhurst Prison in England, to split them up, but they still continued to carry out their "rebellious" acts against the British authorities there also. In the meantime, Cathal Brugha / Charles Burgess back in Ireland was able to create quite an amount of useful "propaganda" because of these ongoing prison "rebellions" being carried out by the Irish in the English prisons, where he was able to blow them out of all proportion to gain "immense publicity" for "political" purposes.

    Countess Constance Markievicz / Gore - Booth, was also still being held in Aylesbury Jail in England, were the conditions were "very bad," and she was so affected by it all that she became a Catholic during this period in her life.

    Eoin Mac Neill, the "Chief of Staff" of the Irish Volunteers, who had tried desperately to stop the 1916 Irish Easter Uprising, by countermanding Patrick Pearse's orders, was now also "arrested" by the British Imperial Government and "imprisoned" once again, as was Terence Mc Swiney from Co. Cork in Southern Munster.  

May: David Lloyd - George the Welsh British Imperial Coalition Prime Minister, called together his intended "Irish Convention," in which he purported to draw up his own "personal" scheme of government in Ireland.

June: Cathal Brugha / Charles Burgess and Dr. Thomas Dillon, were now calling for further "unity" in the "political" Sinn Fein Party ranks, and Arthur Griffith agreed to a committee of 6 members from the "political" Sinn Fein Party, 6 members from Count Plunkett's newly formed "Liberty Clubs," and 6 members of the previous Joint Committee as at this time, the "political" Sinn Fein Party's policy, as outlined under Arthur Griffith's original proposals, was still "restoration" of the Irish Parliament in Ireland, but still under the auspices of the British Crown, while the "Irish Volunteers" and the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood wanted complete Irish Independence / Irish Freedom from the British Imperial Governments.  

June 10th: Count Plunkett and Cathal Brugha, decided to hold a"joint" public meeting to protest at the treatment of the Irish being still held as prisoners by the British Imperial Coalition Government, and the public meeting was then "proclaimed" illegal" by the British Government's authorities in the Dublin Castle, (The Devil's 1/2 Acre), but they continued to hold it anyway, and there was a huge crowd in attendence, and during the meeting many of those present were also "arrested" by the Dublin Castle authorities and a R.I.C. police Inspector was "killed" by a hurling stick.

June 15th: Andrew Bonar - Law the Conservative leader, who was now acting as the Chancellor of the British Exchequer, and the leader of the British House of Commons, announced that the British Coalition Cabinet had decided to "release" the rest of the Irish who were still being held as "prisoners," who had been sentenced to imprisonment by the previous British Imperial Court Marshalls, and they were taken to Pentonville Prison in England, were they were given civilian clothes, and they were to eventually arrive back into Dublin, where they were given a very "warm welcome" by the general population in Ireland, who had previously been "hostile" towards their original efforts to bring on Irish Independence, who now saw things in a very different light. Many of those who were returned to Ireland, from the English prisons, were to continue on with the original struggle for Irish Independence / Irish Freedom, and were by now even "more committed" then ever they had been before. (Once again if you want to make anything stronger - repress it.)

     John Redmond's brother, Major William Redmond the M.P. for East Co. Clare was "killed" in the "War" at Messines, and John Redmond had previously stated in desperation of appeasement to the British Coalition Government that, "He would go to any lengths to satisfy the Northerners," and any one at all who was to now "oppose" him was generally known as a "Sinn Feiner," whether they belonged to the "political" Sinn Fein Party or not.

    Eamonn de Valera, the previous staid Irish Volunteer Dublin Brigade commander, although he also was still in prison in England, was now "put" forward by the "political" Sinn Fein Party for the vacant seat in East Co. Clare (The Banner County), and it seemed that he was now in agreement with this decision, despite all of his previous carrying on over Joseph Mac Guinness being nominated by them. He "accepted" the nomination on the condition, that Eoin Mac Neill the previous leader of the "Irish Volunteers" accompanied him during the rallies, and the Irish Volunteers then organized his "election" with military precision leaving no stone unturned, and he also put forward his "policies," for the return of the Irish "Gaelic" language, for Irish Independence at the "Peace Conference" in Paris, non - attendance at the British Westminster Parliament, no "artificial partition" of Ireland, and an Independent Irish Republic. He also was to be successfull although he too at this time was also still being held in "prison" in England. (This particular seat had been originally the seat in the past of Daniel O Connell - the Liberator, and he won it by polling 5,010 votes against Patrick Lynch a Crown Prosecutor who represented the Irish Parliamentary Party. (The Irish Parliamentary Party, under John Redmond, by now had been "totally in trouble" over the "Irish Home Rule" problems, the "artificial partition" of Ireland, and the British Imperial Coalition Government's "Conscription" issue, and as a result the Irish Parliamentary Party were only able to poll  2,035 votes). The "Irish National Aid Fund" that was now under Michael Collins, as administrator, was to grant Eamonn de Valera 250 pounds to continue his political campaign, in which he was always to appear in his Irish Volunteer "uniform," which was contrary to the "edict" of the British Imperial Coalition Government, and Patrick Lynch who was his opponent on this occasion, was to eventually become his "supporter," and also the Attorney General in his future Fianna Fail (Warriors of Destiny) Irish Government in 1932.

June 18th - July: All of the other Irish popuilation who were still being held "prisoner" in English Jails were now "released," including the staid Eamonn de Valera, who arrived back in Dublin as a member of the "old" Irish Republican Brotherhood / I.R.B. and who was now the accepted "leader" also of the "Irish Volunteer Forces" in Ireland, but he would "not" join in with the new Irish Republican Brotherhood / I.R.B., as it had been "condemned" by the Catholic hierarchy as a "secret society," and once again in his own personal opinion, it had "outlived" it's usefulness. Eamonn de Valera's opinion of the new I.R.B. was also shared by Cathal Brugha / Charles Burgess, who had by now become a "bitter " opponent of it also and they now both "naively" and honestly "believed" that the "Irish Volunteers" would now be "allowed" to work openly within the authority of the British Coalition Government for a new "democratic society" for a peaceful Irish Independence / Irish Freedom.

    

                   Home Page                                                                                             Return to Celtic Heritage                                                             On to 1917 - 2 / July to December