1940 AD - 1 / January to March

1940 In the 6 Counties, artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, by the British Imperial Government and still under their control and that of the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Stormont Government the Local Defence Volunteers were raised, which included the "B" Specials as their nucleus who were to become the Home Guard there eventually.

1940 - 1944 The Belfast shipyards in Co. Antrim the north - east of the Ulster Province, were to produce 140 warships and 123 merchantmen.

January 2nd: The Stormont "Official " Unionist Government's R.U.C police in the 6 Counties, artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, discovered 2 1/2 tonne of the ammunitions taken during the previous Phoenix Park raid, near the border of Co. Armagh, while other quantities were found by the Irish Government's Garda police in Co. Meath and Co. Louth in the north - east of the Leinster Province, all on roads leading to the Ulster Province.  It was then reported in England, that 850,000 rounds of ammunition, that was previously seized by the IRA in the Phoenix Park raid, had been recovered by the Irish Government.           

January 3rd: The Dail Eireann / Irish Parliament met, and Gerald Boland, the Minister of Justice, put forward a Bill to set up Internment Camps for the anti - Treaty IRA, who he noted were being financed from America, and he also stated that a bomb factory was discovered at Killiney Bay to the south of Dublin, while bomb making courses were being conducted all over Ireland. Eamonn de Valera, the Irish Prime Minister, stated, "That no armed group could be countenanced, which though attempting to end the artificial partition of Ireland in their own way, would bring only  difficulties with England, and if they had a plan to bring an end to the artificial partition, they should present it to the elected Government of Ireland." 

January 4th: The Dail Eireann / Irish Parliament under Douglas Hyde as its President, voted 82 to 9 to set up Detention Camps for the anti - Treaty IRA prisoners under the Emergency Powers Act contained in only 25 lines. January 8th: The Irish Government brought in the Emergency Powers Act to intern the IRA prisoners.

January: The Court of Appeals in England, rejected the appeals of Peter Barnes and James Richards, who were convicted over the bombing there in Coventry, and they were sentenced to death, and demonstrations broke out all over Ireland in their defence, and Eammon de Valera wrote to the British National Coalition Government to stay the proceedings, which would show the British Government in a better light, but they refused.  January 24th: John Mac Carthy, representing the Irish underground, went to Germany to get them to assist in getting Sean Russell, who was still in New York, out of America and back to Ireland, but Eduard Hempler, the German Ambassador, was against getting Germany involved in his return.

February 4th: Francis Stuart, the Irish author and lecturer, who was married to Iseult Mac Bride, the daughter of Maude Gonne and John Mac Bride, who lectured in English and Irish at the University of Berlin called on the German Office in Germany, who were responsible for Irish contacts for Seamus O Donovan. Francis Stuart, then met with Captain Hermann Goertz, who informed him that he was intending to parachute into Ireland to contact the IRA, and he advised him to go to his wife, Iseult at Laragh Castle in Co. Wicklow in the south - east of Southern Leinster, if he was in trouble.

February 7th: Peter Barnes and James Richards, were hung on this day in Birmingham in England, which created mass demonstrations in Dublin, Belfast and Armagh, and the night before the Dublin demonstration, the IRA raided the British Imperial Military depot at Ballykinlar in Co. Down in the 6 Counties, artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, where they captured 200 rifles and ammunition. Simon Donnelly, who had previously been a prominent leader of the anti - Treaty IRA, spoke to the crowd in Dublin, informing them that "We know very well what outcome we want from this War, as we want the enemy, who has kept our people in bondage for 700 years, and who continue to pour insults on us to be pitilessly vanquished. If the Government of Ireland will not act to end the partition of Ireland, then Ireland's youth will continue to be sacrificed if the foreign overlordship in Ireland, does not come to an end. "

February: The bombings ceased, as the anti - treaty IRA members now became anti - Sean Russell.  

February 15th: The Germans, landed an agent in Ireland, whose name was Ernst Weber - Drohl, who was also known as Atlas the Strong, who had previously travelled throughout Ireland performing his strongman act, and who had produced 2 sons with an Irish girl, and he carried money with him for the IRA and had been sent to encourage them to attack the British Imperial Military targets, instead of carrying out their own objectives. He also gave them code names to use, for Ireland (Mackerel), England (Bulldog and Portugal (Bullfrog).

February 22nd: 104 members of the old anti - Treaty IRA, who were previously Eamonn de Valera's supporters, met to investigate forming a new IRA movement to take over the government of Ireland, and Simon Donnelly was elected their President, along with a Committee of 15 to achieve the dissolution of the Dail Eireann / Irish Parliament, and hold a General Election to win government with the support of the Opposition. Eamonn de Valera, in response, now had 13 prominent IRA members arrested, while they were holding a meeting. 

February 25th: A Hunger Strike now took place in Mountjoy Jail in Dublin in Eire / Ireland, which was to last for 55 days until 19th April.

March 2nd: Trouble broke out at Mountjoy Jail in Dublin in Eire / Ireland, between the warders and the anti - Treaty IRA prisoners, over 2 of their members who were to be tried by the Military Court, that had been brought in previously by Eamonn de Valera and the Fianna Fail Party, to try and control the various nefarious activities of the IRA.  

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