1922 AD - 3 / April to May

April 6th: A British Imperial Government navel boat was captured by the IRA / Irregulars at Cobh in Co. Cork in Southern Munster that was loaded down with a great store of guns and ammunition, which made Michael Collins wonder why it was there in the first place? Did someone in authority in the British Imperial forces want to increase the potential for further violence in Ireland?

April 13th: Michael Collins the Chairman of the Irish Provincial Government went to see Winston Churchill, the British Imperial Government's Colonial Secretary in England, who he now believed was trying to cut the ground from under him, while the Irish National Army / I.N.A. of the Irish Provisional Government now took over the rest of the barracks in the 26 Counties in Ireland  that were previously under the control of the British Imperial Government.           

April 14th: Rory O Connor  was by now in control as the leader of the anti - Treaty Irregular - IRA and full of conviction he personally decided that Ireland should be controlled by an IRA - Irregular Army dictatorship in preparation for an all out War with the British Imperial Government, but he was opposed in this outlook by Cathal Brugha and Liam Lynch. Despite this, towards this end he gathered together all of his own personal followers in the Dublin area and seized possession of the Four Courts, the Fowler Hall, the Masonic Club and the Kildare Street Club all situated in the Dublin area to be used as IRA - Irregular garrisons under his command. He was to hold onto them for 2 months, as he was left alone by Michael Collins the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government who was hoping in the meantime to diffuse the situation, but many banks were robbed and people were shot during this time. In the meantime the Irish Catholic Bishops, the Labour Party, and many other individuals tried to bring about a peaceful settlement with all of the anti - Treaty supporters.

April 16th: Members of the anti - Treaty Irregular - IRA also now tried to stop Arthur Griffith the President of the 2nd Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly from publicly speaking in Co. Sligo in the north - west of the Connacht Province, where he was to be accompanied by Sean Mac Eoin and the Irish National Army / I.N.A. troops. They also so tried to seize Michael Collins' car in Dublin, not realising who he was, and he also missed being killed narrowly by a bullet, fired by one of them, who he was able to capture personally.

April 20th: Michael Collins as the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government tried to reach a further solution to the split created by the anti - Treaty supporters, and to this end he made a personal agreement to once again give Eamonn de Valera the upper hand, by not standing any of the pro -Treaty candidates against his anti - Treaty candidates at the forthcoming election. He also agreed, to do away with Eamonn de Valera's main objection to the Anglo - Irish Treaty, which was the Oath to the British Crown, by not including it in the Irish Free State Constitution, as Diarmuid O Hegarty had informed Harry Boland, that Michael Collins had been advised by his legal people that the Oath to the British King was not mandatory. Michael Collins had wanted Eammon de Valera to assist with the introduction of the Anglo - Irish Treaty to ensure it's overall peaceful introduction, but even this commitment still did not satisfy Eamonn de Valera, who wanted it in writing and made public immediately, which was impossible to do as the Irish Provisional Government had not as yet gained complete control in Ireland from the British Imperial Government authorities.  

     At an Irish Volunteers Convention in Thurles in Co. Tipperary in the north - east of the Munster Province, Eammon de Valera put forward the argument, " That if the Anglo - Irish Treaty was accepted, the Irish Volunteers of the future, if they should want to continue the push for an Irish Republic, would not have to do it over the bodies of foreign soldiers, but over the dead bodies of their own Irish Countrymen. They would have to wade through Irish Blood of the troops belonging then to the Irish Government and also through the blood of the Irish Free State Government Ministers to achieve their overall goal of uniting the 32 Counties once again." (He personally considered this statement was a prophesy not an incitement).

April 26th: The 2nd Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly met again and Eamonn de Valera showed no interest in the nefarious activities that were now being carried out by the anti - Treaty Irregular / IRA who had become further emboldened.  

April 29th: The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin held a meeting at the Mansion House with Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins, Eamonn de Valera, Cathal Brugha, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and Stephen O Mara the Mayor of Limerick, and Thomas Johnson, Cathal O Shannon and William O Brien from the Labour Party were there also. They wanted to come up with a peaceful solution by holding an election in June on the Anglo - Irish Treaty and the Irish Free State Constitution and the Labour Party put forward a 10 point plan to join all of the interested parties together, but their solutions were rejected by the anti - Treaty group.

April 30th: 8 people were killed and 60 were wounded, in skirmishes now involving the Irish National Army / I.N.A. who were under the leadership of Michael Collins and the Irish Provisional Government in the 26 Counties and the anti - Treaty Irregular - IRA, during this month, and 300 post offices were also robbed.

May 1st: Branches of the Bank of Ireland, were also raided by the Irregular - IRA and 275,000 pounds was taken as a reprisal for Richard Mulcahy the Irish Provisional Government's Minister of Defence refusing to pay the debts of the Irregular - IRA. Michael Collins met personally with the I.R.B / Irish Volunteer officers who had since left the General Headquarters Staff and gone over to the Irregular - IRA. and also with 4 of those who had remained loyal to the 2nd Dail Eireann / 2nd Irish Assembly. He wanted to discuss unification of the Irish National Army / I.N.A. and they all came to an agreement, which was signed by Dan Breen, Tom Hales, H. Murphy, Sean O Hegarty, F. O Donoghue, Sean Moylan, Richard Mulcahy, Eoin O Duffy, Gearoid O Sullivan and Michael Collins himself. Rory O Connor, who was now the outright leader of the anti - Treaty IRA - Irregulars came out against it, and declared that it was meant only as a ploy to split the Irish Republican ranks.

May 4th: On behalf of the Irish Provisional Government the Irish National Army representatives, Eoin O Duffy their Chief of Staff, Gearoid O Sullivan their Adjutant General, and Sean Mac Eoin made a 4 Day Truce with Liam Lynch, Sean Moylan and Liam Mellowes from the anti - Treaty Irregular - IRA, which was extended indefinitely. This resulted in a committee of 10 members from the 2nd Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly being set up, with 5 from each side of the argument over the Anglo - Irish Treaty, to explore the possibility of coming to some mutual peaceful agreement. Those from the pro - Treaty group included, Sean Hales, Seamus O Dwyer, Joseph Mac Guinness, Padraic O Maille and Sean Mac Eoin, while those from the anti - Treaty group included, Harry Boland, Liam Mellowes, Mrs. Clarke, Sean Moylan and P. Rutledge.

May 6th: The R.I.C. Police Barracks in Derry in Co. Derry in the north - east of the Ulster Province, which was in one of the 6 artificially partitioned Counties there, was attacked by the IRA and 7,000 invaders with artillery were repelled from the towns of Pettigo and Beleek along the artificial border.

May 16th: The anti - Treaty group now insisted that the Anglo - Irish Treaty was not to be submitted to the Irish people for their overall decision and this created a further breakdown in the discussions between the pro - Treaty and ant - Treaty groups.

May: The town of Kilkenny in Co. Kilkenny in the south - west of Southern Leinster was to be the battleground over 2 days between the Irish Provisional Government's Irish National Army / I.N.A., under the leadership of Colonel Prout, and the anti - Treaty Irregular - IRA forces for the control of the buildings there and 150 members from the Irregular - IRA were captured with only 2 of them being wounded. - This year the Cuffes who were Land Lords of English descent from Desert Court, a few miles west of Bennettsbridge / Droichead Bheineid in Co. Kilkenny, were burnt out by a raiding party from Co. Tipperary.  

May: The political Sinn Fein Party Convention was now held and Arthur Griffiths wanted Michael Collins to take immediate action against his former comrades in the anti - Treaty Irregular IRA who were now under the overall control of Rory O Connor, but he refused as he still wanted to give them time to come to their senses and bring about a peaceful solution, while they were becoming more emboldened each day.         

May 20th: Michael Collins, in response to Eamonn de Valera's continuing inflammatory anti - Treaty and anti - Irish Provisional Government speeches, met with him again and made an agreement in the interests of coming up with some actual solution to stop the Irish Nation from ripping itself apart by inciting Civil War. It was decided between them, that the political Sinn Fein Party was to put forward a National Coalition Panel that was proportional to the numbers in the existing 2nd Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly, but anyone could contest for the 3rd Dail Eireann against the political Sinn Fein Party. A coalition Cabinet would be formed with a President, while the the Minister of Defence would represent the Irish National Army / I.N.A. together with 9 other Ministers, 5 from the majority party, 4 from the minority party, with each party to choose it's own nominees, and it was received with great enthusiasm. When Arthur Griffith heard about this personal mutual agreement Michael Collins had made with Eamonn de Valera to once again try and appease him, he was very upset as it was in reality a violation of real democracy.  

May 22nd:  The "Official" Unionist Ascendancy Stormont Government set up by the British Imperial Coalition Government to control the 6 artificially partitioned Counties from the 9 in the Ulster Province began to function "officially" in the 6 Counties. 

May 23rd: Michael Collins recommended the mutual agreement he had made with Eamonn de Valera at the political Sinn Fein Party Ard Fheis because he felt it would bring about a unity of purpose in Ireland and defer any chance of Civil War in Ireland.

May 24th: The "Official" Ascendancy Unionist Government under James Craig in the 6 artificially partitioned Counties from the 9 in the Ulster Province, now introduced the Emergency Powers Act and proscribed the IRA there, and this allowed the R.U.C. / Royal Ulster Constabulary to be armed at all times, unlike in England, and also gave them powers to conduct open arrests on anyone and everyone that they wanted to. It was supposed to last only for a year, but was then to be renewed annually until 1933, when they were to make it permanent, and they began it's introduction by arresting 500 Irishmen there in the 6 Counties in Ulster within 24 hours, and put them on a prison ship in the Belfast Loch as suspect members of the political Sinn Fein Party. 

May 25th: Sir Henry Wilson previously the British Imperial Commander - In - Chief in Liverpool in England, and now the Military adviser to the "Official Unionist Government in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province came out personally against the agreement made between Michael Collins and Eamonn de Valera to bring about peace in the 26 Counties.

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