RAINBOW FARMS    AUSTRALIA                                            

                                                                                                                                                            1922 AD - 2 / February to March

February: Irish Catholic teachers from Omagh in Co. Tyrone in Central Southern Ulster, which was one of the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province, by the British Imperial Government, met together and condemned the control of education by the "Official" Unionist Conservative Ascendancy Government there at Stormont. They demanded that the administration of education there be under the Irish Provisional Government and that they finance the Catholic schools there. An inquiry conducted by the Lyn Committee found that 22,000 children in the 6 Partitioned Counties in Ulster that were now under the control of the Stormont Ascendancy Government were unable to attend school because there were no places allowed for them. 

February: Michael Collins who was now the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government expressed his apologies to John Devoy the leader of the Clann na Gael in America for the previous misunderstanding with the 1st Dail Eireann / 1st Irish Assembly in Ireland over the remarks and actions of Eamonn de Valera while he was previously in America.

February: The anti - Anglo - Irish Treaty IRA Irregulars attacked a train at Clones in Co. Monaghan in the south of the Ulster Province and there were 18 "B" Special Police on the train and several were killed and the rest were taken prisoner. 

February 2nd: James Craig the "Official" Unionist leader in the British Imperial Government's, 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province had a meeting with Michael Collins the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government in London, under the auspices of Winston Churchill. James Craig assured Michael Collins that he would protect the Catholic Irish in the 6 Counties now under his control in Ulster and Michael Collins agreed to withdraw the boycott from Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of Ulster and secure the release of any persons kidnapped by the anti - Treaty IRA Irregulars.         

February 6th: Michael Collins the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government was still in London for discussions with David Lloyd - George the British Coalition Prime Minister over the setting up of the Irish Free State. February 7th: The Ard Fheis or political Sinn Fein Party Convention that was previously set down had to be postponed again until February 21st.

February 12th: Eamonn de Valera began to speak out vehemently at an anti - Treaty Rally in O Connell Street in Dublin, in sight of the General Post Office where the Irish 1916 Easter Rising had originally begun to bring about an Irish Republic and his vitriolic comments were endorsed by the mother of Patrick Pearse who had led the 1916 Easter Rising and was executed for it by the British Imperial Government.   

February 15th: Michael Collins the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government had to return to London for more discussions with David Lloyd - George and his British Coalition Cabinet, over continuing to set up the Irish Free State. February 18th: Liam Forde an I.R.A. Volunteer Brigadier from Limerick in Co. Limerick in the mid - north - west of the Munster Province repudiated the Irish Volunteer G.H.Q. orders and declared the Chief of Staff a traitor. February 19th: Eamonn de Valera spoke out, once again, against the Treaty at another anti - Treaty Rally held in the City of Cork in Co. Cork in Southern Munster.

February 21st: Arthur Griffith as the President of the 2nd Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly appealed to all to accept the Anglo - Irish Treaty, while Michael Collins called for a show of unity as the British Imperial Government was looking for any reason at all to take over once again in Ireland, as Winston Churchill had already informed him that if an Irish Republic was muted, it would be followed by a state of War with the British Imperial Empire.  - The political Sinn Fein Party Convention that was previously planned was once again held over until the next day.

February 22nd: Michael Collins and Eamonn de Valera were to carry out discussions prior to the beginning of the political Sinn Fein Party Convention were Michael Collins made a further effort to try and appease Eamonn de Valera, agreeing with him that the Treaty was not to be discussed and that the political Sinn Fein Party was to adjourn for 3 months continuing on as it is. They agreed that the 2nd Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly was also to continue on as it was, while no Pro - Treaty members were to stand against the anti - Treaty members, with the General Elections to be held within 3 months. This would be when the Irish Free State Constitution would be put before the Irish people at the same time as the Anglo - Irish Treaty. (By agreeing to these provisions Michael Collins had allowed things to settle down somewhat.)   

February 26th: Despite the fact that Michael Collins had made an accommodation with him, Eamonn de Valera still continued to speak out again at another anti - Treaty rally in Ennis in Co. Clare in the north - west of the Munster Province, hoping to bring down any idea of an Irish Free State, and he then followed this up with another at Limerick in Co. Limerick in the mid - north - west of the Munster Province along the same lines.

February 28th: The 2nd Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly had a meeting where Eammon de Valera and his followers stated that, "They would recognize the Dail Ministers, but not the Irish Provisional Government, and real trouble was already in the air when certain buildings in Limerick in Co. Limerick in the mid - north - west of the Munster Province were taken over by  anti - Treaty IRA Irregulars.

March:  Sir Henry Wilson, the previous Chief of the British Imperial Staff, who was now the M.P. for Northern Co. Down, had since been appointed Special Military Adviser to the "Official" Unionist Ascendancy Government at Stormont in the 6 artificially partitioned Counties from the 9 in the Ulster Province. He also wanted to re-establish the British Imperial Government law and order also in the 26 Counties in what was to be the Irish Free State, when 3 British Imperial Government Military officers were kidnapped in Co. Cork in Southern Munster who were later killed. He also went on the attack against the British Coalition Government and at Donaghdee in Co. Down in the south - east of Ulster he stated that David Lloyd - George the British Coalition Prime Minister was unfit to govern and wanted Army officers to be put in charge of the the R.I.C. police and also attacked the Irish Provisional Government as totally unfit to govern. The Tories / Conservatives in England were at this time actively trying to discard David Lloyd - George the Coalition Prime Minister of Britain and his Government. - Meanwhile many Catholic Irish were being killed in the ethnic and religious sectarian violence now occurring in the 6 Counties previously partitioned in the Ulster Province, and at Clones a skirmish occurred between the anti - Treaty IRA Irregulars and the "Official" Unionist Special Police, where an Irregular IRA commander and 4 Special Police were killed. - Michael Collins the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government had a further meeting with Sir James Craig the "Official" Unionist leader in Stormont and they both declared Peace.  

March 13th: Michael Collins as the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government addressed a huge crowd in Cork City in Co. Cork in Southern Munster in support of the Anglo - Irish Treaty and shots were fired over their heads, and in Killarney Michael Collins and Sean Mac Eoin were warned by the leader of the IRA Irregulars that they would not be allowed to hold a meeting there. Michael Collins then pushed him aside, and continued on regardless, and they later also tried to stop him at Castlebar, but he continued in with his speech there even though shots were also fired.

March 15th: The 2nd Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly refused to allow an Irish Army Convention in case it led to the anti - Treaty IRA Irregulars, who were previously in the I.R.A. taking over Ireland and turning it into a Dictatorship. Eammon de Valera met with his anti - Treaty supporters and they set up Cumann na Poblachta (The Association of the Republic) at which he was elected the President. Cathal Brugha, Mary Mac Swiney and Austin Stack were also elected the vice - Presidents, but it was to only last as an Association until 1924, and Eamonn de Valera continued to travel throughout Ireland, week after week, putting forward the anti - Treaty side of the argument. March 16th: Eammon de Valera finally went beyond the bounds of common sense, when he made a speech at Dungarvan in which he stated, "Only Civil War would bring about Independence." March 17th: Eammon de Valera made another speech at Thurles in Co. Tipperary in north - east of the Munster Province, which did no one in Ireland any good, when he also stated that, "The Anglo - Irish Treaty would be accepted over the dead bodies of their own Countrymen, who would wade through Irish blood, including that of the Irish Provisional Government." This particular violent anti - Treaty speech was to incite those present and all of those who were eventually informed of it's content, while at Carrick - on - Suir he further stated that the "Irish would fight Irish for Irish Independence."

March 18th: The anti - Treaty officers in the I.R.B / Irish Volunteers held a meeting at the Mansion House in Dublin and Cathal Brugha and Harry Boland were there, and they decided to elect 16 Executives to control their anti - Treaty IRA Irregulars in the Irish Republican Army and the split was now official within the I.R.B / Irish Volunteers. They became officially the Irregular Army / IRA as against the Irish National Army / I.N.A who were to remain loyal to the 2nd Dail Eireann / 2nd Irish Assembly and the Anglo - Irish Treaty. March 19th: Eamonn de Valera spoke out again in Killarney in Co. Kerry in the south - west of the Munster Province stating that, " Irishmen would march over the dead bodies of their own brothers and wade through Irish blood if the Anglo - Irish Treaty was accepted."

March 20th: Richard Mulcahy the Minister of Defence for the Irish Provisional Government put forward a joint Council for association with the I.R.B / Irish Volunteers and the Irish Provisional Government,  for the recruitment of the Irish Provisional Government police to be known as the An Garda Siochana / Civic Guards. March 23rd: The anti - Treaty forces held a meeting in opposition to the ban on the Irish Volunteer Convention, as half of the Irish Volunteers / I.R.B. were Irish Republicans and they decided to hold their own meeting of the I.R.A. / Irish Republican Army.

     In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province and still under the control of the British Imperial Government and the Ascendancy "Official" Unionists there in Stormont, sectarian riots were to occur again in Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of Ulster. All up 138 Irishmen and Irishwomen were to be killed there, with 30 just in one night, with three quarters of these once again being Catholic Irish, as the Ascendancy Unionists there tried again to upset and involve Michael Collins the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government with their own agenda. By creating these terrible further "Troubles" they were hoping to bring back the British Imperial Army forces to Ireland, while at the same time, carry out further ethnic and religious cleansing there, and their last objective was to be quiet successful to a degree, as many of the Catholic Irish there who were in fear of their lives were to cross the artificial partition border to gain the protection of the Irish Provisional Government. Michael Collins understood what they were really all about and knew he could not interfere there personally, so he encouraged Rory O Connor to send help to the people there in the 6 Counties in Ulster to try and counteract the ethnic and religious violence being carried out there against them. The murder of the Mac Mahon family in Belfast in Co. Antrim was a typical example of the terrible type of ethnic and religious violence being carried out there against the Irish Catholics, as 5 out of the 6 members of the family were killed by the "Murder Gang" there, with only their younger child surviving the ferocity of the attack. The "Murder Gang" was made up of former British Imperial Army soldiers, members of the Unionist Volunteer forces, the Royal Irish Constabulary / R.I.C and their "B" Specials who were to continue to carry out their raids on the Catholic Irish there. Their agenda was a two edged sword combining ethnic religious cleansing and the destruction of the Anglo - Irish Treaty, while attempting to get Michael Collins to personally respond to the ongoing violence being carried out there. Although Arthur Griffith the President of the 2nd Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly was known for his passivity he really wanted Michael Collins, as the leader of the Irish Provisional Government, to take some type of action to stop the mutilation and carnage there in the 6 Counties of Ulster.

March 26th: The delegates from the newly formed anti - Treaty IRA Irregulars reaffirmed their aim, for the return of the whole of the 32 Counties of Ireland, to become the Irish Republic for the population of Ireland be totally free of the British Imperial Government's continuing oppression. To this end, they also elected to appoint an Executive of 16 and broke away from the official Irish National Army and disowned the 2nd Dail Eireann / 2nd Irish Assembly and also Eammon de Valera. (They were to call themselves the Irish Republican Army Council / IRA Council. Liam Lynch was appointed their Commander in Chief to control Southern Munster, while others elected were Joseph Mac Kelvey, Ernest O Malley, Joseph Griffin, Liam Mellowes, Seamus O Donovan and Sean Russell. Rory O Connor as the anti - Treaty IRA Irregular Director of Publicity, declared the Irregular IRA independent of any political party, but gave the interview from the building in which Cumann na Poblachta, the new political party of Eammon de Valera, operated out of. Eammon de Valera stated also that his new political party was independent of the IRA Irregulars, and that he acted on his own, but he was to support the Irregular IRA, and he never repudiated Rory O Connor in the 2nd Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly, and was to meet with their leaders, Liam Mellowes and Rory O Connor on several occasions.

    Michael Collins now arranged with Liam Lynch to try and give some support to the Irish Catholics who were now under the sectarian siege in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, as his hands were tied personally. The Ascendancy Unionists were just waiting for Michael Collins to make some sought of move, so they could bring back the British Imperial Government Army forces also, into the other 26 Counties that would soon become the Irish Free State. Liam Lynch was to later on resign his position in the Irregular IRA due to a conflict with the methods they were using, but he was to still fight for their cause in the Civil War to follow, and the IRA Irregulars were to eventually come totally under the control of Rory O Connor their IRA Director of Engineering and Publicity who commanded the Dublin area. Although the Anti - Treaty IRA Irregulars had publicly also disowned Eammon de Valera he continued during this period to go around verbally attacking the introduction of the Irish Free State in the 4 different Provinces in Ireland, while continuing to make intimidating speeches against the members of the Irish Provisional Government. March 30th: Rory O Connor, who was at this time one of the leaders of the Anti - Treaty IRA Irregulars in Dublin, raided the Freemans Journal newspaper were he smashed the printing plant for producing articles taking the pro - Treaty side. March 31st: The political Sinn Fein Party Standing Committee issued a statement that, "Free Speech was not to be interfered with by either side," which was also signed by Eamonn de Valera and Cathal Brugha.

March 30th: Sir James Craig the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist leader in the 6 Counties artificially divided from the Ulster Province, and Michael Collins the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government, met to declare Peace, and if the IRA ceased their activities in the 6 artificially partitioned Counties in the Ulster Province he would allow Irish Catholics to be recruited into the "B" Specials, especially in Irish Nationalist areas, but it just did not happen.

      Sir James Craig the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist leader signed an 11 Point Agreement together with Lord Londonderry and E.M. Archdale on behalf of the 6 artificially partitioned Counties from the 9 in the Ulster Province, still under the control of the British Imperial Government and the "Official" Unionists, while Michael Collins, Arthur Griffith, Eammon Duggan and Kevin O Higgins signed on behalf of the Irish Free State and Winston Churchill together with Sir Worthington - Evans signed for the British Imperial Government. This was to try and stop the ongoing ethnic and religious conflicts in the 6 Counties in Ulster between the people who were still living there, and to bring in the artificial partition boundary, and also to release the boycott in Belfast, but it was to only last just over a week.

      The Orange Order Annual  Convention was held for equal rights, equal liberties, and equal opportunities, in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province no matter what religion or political persuasion.     

     232 people were to be killed in the 6 artificially partitioned Counties from the 9 in the Ulster Province, including 5 "Official" Unionist MP’s and 1,000 people were also wounded.

   Cardinal O Donnell was the Bishop of Armagh at this time in Co. Armagh in the south - east of the Ulster Province.

 

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