"RAINBOW FARMS"

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                                      The Hunter Valley - New South Wales - Australia.                                       

 

 

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                                                                                      1909 - 1910 

1909 Queen's University in Belfast in the Ulster Province now became attractive to Irish Catholics, due to the introduction of Celtic Studies, a new department of Philosophy, and as an added bonus the Catholic Mater Misercordiae Hospital was to be used as a teaching hospital. - William O Brien the old Labour stalwart from Co. Cork in Southern Munster, was still in there working for equality for all of the population in Ireland, but he failed to reach an understanding with the Sinn Fein Party, and he resigned from it, and with the other great Socialist leader, James Larkin, he then co - founded the Irish Transport & General Workers Union. - Countess Constance Markievicz nee Gore - Booth, who was of English origins originally, and a non - Catholic, who had been born at Lissadell in Co. Sligo in the north - west of the Connacht Province now joined the Sinn Fein Party, and also founded the Daughters of Erin. Together with Helena Molony, she also co - founded the Fianna Eireann where they trained young Irish men in a similar manner to the Boy Scouts and later on most of these particular boys would grow up to become instructors in the Irish Republican Brotherhood /  I.R.B., including Con Colbert and Liam Mellowes. Bulmer Hobson who was also of English origins, was for passive resistance against the continuing British Imperial oppression, during his personal efforts to gain Irish Independence, and he was later to introduce the principles of the Sinn Fein Party into America. 

     The Wyndham Land Purchase Act was amended and upgraded, as to the financial provisions, for the Irish tenant farmers in Ireland to be able to buy back their own land, and it had resulted in 270,000 Irish land holdings being able to be purchased back, with another 46,000 pending out of the original 500,000 that had still been left in 1903. The Congested Districts Board, was now given compulsory powers to purchase and redistribute what was another 1000 Land Lord Estates, that all up was comprised of nearly 2,000,000 further acres in Ireland.  - This year a monument was to be erected on Grosse Isle in Canada, in memory of all those Irish who perished during migration to there, which read, "Thousands of the children of the Gael were lost on this Island, while fleeing from foreign tyrannical Laws and artificial Famine in the years 1847 - 1848 AD. God Bless Them. God save Ireland."

April: David Lloyd - George the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the People's Budget into the Westminster Parliament in England, which would finally bring about a major change on the ongoing negative political situations that had previously existed in relation to Ireland, where the Ascendancy Conservative House of Lords in England, always had the veto over all legislation there in the British House of Commons, especially anything to do with reform in Ireland.

November: The British Conservative House of Lords in England, who were never ever elected to represent anyone, but who nevertheless always had the final say (veto) in English politics, was to finally overstep their mark on a matter that had nothing to do with in any way with Ireland or Irish reform. They had thrown out the People's Budget that had previously been presented to the British Westminster Parliament by the elected British Liberal House of Commons, usurping their elected rights, by a vote of 350 - 75, which not only caused the British Parliament to be dissolved, but also forced the hand of Herbert Asquith the British Liberal Prime Minister. He then tried to get Edward V11 the German British King, to create many new Liberal Peers as one way of obtaining the numbers in the House of Lords, to have the legislation passed. Another positive result of this dispute between the Liberal Government and the Conservative dominated House of Lords was to change the previous independence of the Liberals, who now needed the Irish votes, which put the Irish Parliamentary Party now in a much better bargaining position, and their leader, John Redmond was to receive a promise that Irish Home Rule would be included in their future Liberal Party platform.

    Michael Collins, who was of Gaelic Irish descent was from Co. Cork in Southern Munster, and he was to become an outstanding major player in Irish politics. and at this time he had gone to London where he was working in the Post Office. Still only 18 year old he had joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood / I.R.B. there, and showed determined leadership qualities when he read them a paper, condemning the Catholic Church in Ireland for it's inaction against the ongoing British Imperial oppression still being carried out by those in authority in England. - Queen's University in Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province, broadened their scholastic teachings further and many more Irish Catholics began to attend there.  - John Millington Synge (1871 AD - 1909) the 38 year old dramatist, who had been born at Rathfarnham / Rath Fearnain (Fearnan's Ring Fort) in Co. Dublin in the north - east of Southern Leinster  died this year. He had written, "The Shadow of the Glen," " Riders to the Sea," "The Well of the Saints," "The Playboy of the Western World" and "The Tinker's Wedding" all within four years from 1903 - 1907,

1910 The Irish Nationalists from the political Irish Parliamentary Party, were now to hold the balance of power in the Westminster Parliament in England and they were all Irish Constitutionalists. (So much for the previous Conservative Ascendancy's comment during the setting up of The Immoral Union, "That they would be lost in the numbers.")

January 8th: Eammon de Valera, who was to become the future Taoiseach / leader and President of Ireland, was married this year to Sinead Flanagan, who was 4 years older then him and his Gaelic teacher at St. Paul's Church at Arran Quay in Dublin. - Due to the Westminster Parliament in England previously being dissolved over the veto of the People's Budget, by the Conservative House of Lords, a General Election was held for the Parliament in England, with the members in the Irish Parliamentary Party also split among themselves over supporting the Liberal's Budget, as this was also a threat to the distillers and publicans. After the General Election was held, the Liberal Party's M.P. numbers were down, and the Irish Parliamentary Party M.P. numbers had fallen also to 70 seats, with the other 11 Irish seats going to various Independent Irish Nationalists, but despite this the Irish Parliamentary Party with their remaining numbers were still able to retain the balance of power in the Westminster Parliament. The Liberal Party seats overall had fallen to 275, while the Conservative Unionists had risen to 273, with Labour holding onto 40 seats who were also supporting the Liberal Party who were nevertheless still dependent on the Irish Parliamentary Party votes from their leader, John Redmond. The ongoing conflict with the Conservative controlled House of Lords was to continue on for another 18 months until the British Liberal Government finally were able to curb their powers after Centuries of vetoes of any chance of reform legislation from this non - elected body occurring in Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland.

May: Edward VII, the German British King, died.   

June 20th: Fr. Michael Flanagan became the vice - President of the Irish Sinn Fein Party, and was to eventually also become the Chaplain of the 1st Dail Eireann / 1st Irish Parliament when it would be elected in the future. Meanwhile, their previous secretary, Bulmer Hobson had resigned from the Sinn Fein Party. 

November: Negotiations between the Liberal Party and the Conservatives in both Houses of the Westminster Parliament to find a solution to bring about Irish Home Rule broke down, with the Conservative controlled House of Lords continuing to reject any of the proposals that were put forward.

     James Connolly the Socialist leader, had returned to Ireland, were he began his new Irish newspaper, "The Harp," and also co - founded the International Workers of the World Association and was also the organizer in the Ulster Province for the Irish Transport & General Workers Union. He had previously put all of his effort into trying to interest the workers in Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province in the advantages of Socialism, until he had been called down to Dublin to assist James Larkin the Labour leader who was to lead the workers in Dublin on a number of strikes for better working conditions. James Connolly although of a very different political persuasion was also friendly with Arthur Griffith the founder of Sinn Fein / Irish Republican Party, who also had the same goals of an Independent Ireland from the ongoing repression of the British Imperial Government. The ideas of Irish independence that emanated from these two men, was added to further by the Gaelic revival happening at this time, mixed in with a little Fenian encouragement, and things were soon bound to happen in Ireland.  - The old Labour stalwart, William O Brien from Co. Cork was also launching an All for Ireland League this year, and Timothy Healy, who had become a King's Counsel / K.C. and an advocate for Women's Rights / Suffragettes and a Sinn Fein Party sympathizer, also joined in with him. 

     The British Imperial Government lost control of Killorglin Castle / Castle Conway this year in Co. Kerry in the south - west of the Munster Province under the Irish Land Act, that had been the previous home of the Heberian Eoghanacht Moriartys, the Mac Carthys, and the Anglo - Irish Fitz Geralds, which had been previously taken over by Lord Ventry.  -  48,000 acres of Ireland was now sown down to wheat. - A 20 mile boundary wall was constructed by the Belfast Water Commission this year around Silent Valley in the north - east of the Ulster Province, which contained the Reservoir that would be finally finished in 1922.  - Tom Clarke the Old Republican created a centre for the Irish Republican Brotherhood Organization / I.R.B. to meet in Dublin when he opened his shop there.         

     Edward Carson was now the non - Catholic Unionist M.P. for Trinity College, who had been born and lived in Dublin, and he was to become the leader of  the non - Catholic Unionist Party in the Ulster Province later on, during which time he was to openly threaten the British Imperial Government with armed force and that he would also create a separate Government there in Ulster, if they did not respond to his demands. He also flagrantly ran guns and got away with it all, which was to affect the thinking and the views of the Irish Republicans in the future also, that they could do the same, and yet the British Imperial Government was to eventually give him a Knighthood.  

December: The British Liberal Government, this month called for a Second Election for the year after the British Conservative dominated House of Lords had gone too far and vetoed their Supply / Money Bill, and this enabled the Liberal Party to win it with the assistance of the Irish Parliamentary Party, as the numbers basically remained the same as before. The Conservatives, under Arthur "Bloody" Balfour had made the opposition to Irish Home Rule their main platform, and they now also had a Liberal victory over their allies, the Conservatives in the House of Lords, but still had their Conservative Orange Card to play. The Irish Parliamentary Party once again held the balance of power in the British Westminster Parliament and also felt well in control of the Irish population, and also of their political opposition in Ireland, the Sinn Fein Party, who was presented by them to the Irish people as only obstacle to unity - The previous British Governments over the last 93 years had charged 325,000,000 pounds to the debt of Ireland.  - Labour Exchanges were this year established in Britain.

      Michael Collins, Ireland's future bright light, was now 19 year of age and was promoted to be the Section Master of the Irish Republican Brotherhood / I.R.B. in England, where he had also delivered an impressive paper on the 1847 AD Famine and had by now moved on and joined a firm of Stockbrokers in London, which gave him further economic administration experience.

                                                                         +On to 1911 

 

                                                                          

 Situated on the western bank of the Hunter River, midway between Muswellbrook and Denman the doorway to the Heart of Australia's "Horse Capital" in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales., Australia.  

                                                                                   John & Sue Markham  

                                              RAINBOW FARMS  603 Roxburgh Road., Muswellbrook., 2333.

                                                                 02 65 479 100 - Fax: 02 65 479 102         E - Mail: www.rainbowfarms@bigpond.com