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                                                                                May to June 1916 / 3

Monday - May 1st: 238 Irish prisoners were now taken to the Richmond Barracks, by the British Government's Imperial Military Forces, and on the way there they were to be saddened by what seemed to be a lack of understanding, at this stage, by the people who were looking on, of what their previous efforts had been all about, as there were few among them, who seemed to show any real sympathy with their previous attempts, during the Easter Uprising, to try and bring about Irish Independence. On arriving at the Richmond Barracks, they were separated from each other, with all of those removed who were identified by the British Government's "G Men," who had their stronghold in Dublin Castle (the Devil's 1/2 acre) They endeavoured to separate off the Irish leaders, and those who they considered were still dangerous, which included Michael Collins, Con O Donovan and Jack Shouldice. As Fate would have it, Michael Collins then thought he heard a voice calling out to him, to come out of the particular group that he was in, which was again repeated, two more times, until he eventually responded to the call, and through this intervention he was able to survive to fight another day, and in his own right go on to change the course of Irish History. He was then to be sent on instead, to British Prisons in Stafford in England, and from there to their prison in Frongoch in Wales, where he was to become their leader there. (The British Imperial Government now in desperation continued to carry out blanket arrests of any Irish men at all without any real cause all over Ireland.  Eamonn de Valera, one of the Irish Volunteer Dublin Brigade's commanders, was placed in with Count Plunkett, John O Mahony and Lawrence O Neill, where he was to await his sentence, naturally fearing the worst. The "selected" group, were to be put before a British Imperial Government Court Marshall, while the rest of the Irish prisoners were to be shuffled off to Concentration camps in England, without a trial, to serve 8 months imprisonment, and those who were not required for the British Court Marshalls were then forwarded on to the Stafford Detention Barracks in England, where the numbers of Irish men imprisoned there, was to eventually grow to 2500 whether they were involved or not. With their ongoing usual Imperial acts of stupidity, more arrests were then carried out, by the British Imperial Government in Ireland, with any Irish man or woman, being arrested at random, regardless of whether they had been involved in the Easter Uprising or not, which certainly did not help the British Imperial Government cause at all.   

    Among those arrested was Hanna Sheehy - Skeffington, who was also imprisoned, and when she was eventually released, she refused an offer of 10,000 pounds for Blood Money made to her by the British Imperial Government for the cold blooded murder of  her husband, Francis Sheehy - Skeffington who was a peace loving person, and a well known definite pacifist, who had been arrested while he was trying to stop looters and then imprisoned in the British Military barracks also. Captain Bowe - Colthurst, an English officer, had also arrested two innocent journalists in Thomas Dickinson, and Patrick Mac Intyre, and then went on to carry out the cold - blooded murder of the three of them at the same time, when he had them placed up against a wall and executed by a firing squad, on his own volition for no particular reason. As usual he was eventually acquitted by the British Imperial Government authorities on the grounds of "Insanity," Eventually, in another act of British Imperialism 15 Irish men, who were involved in the Easter Uprising, were to also be executed in cold blood, by the British Government without even a trial over a long drawn out period, which was to eventually show, for all to see their, Imperialistic attitude of indifference and stupidity.  

      In the meantime, the National Volunteers, which were still operating under John Redmond the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, who were now known as the "Redmonites" had assisted the Dublin Castle's R.I.C police and the British Military Forces, and the general public was also hostile to the remaining Irish prisoners being held in Dublin Prisons, as they were lead away to the Rotunda Hospital, where they were to be left until the following Sunday morning. John Redmond, the leader of what was by now a failing Irish Parliamentary Party, still hoping to win brownie points, sought his opportunity, and also publicly denounced them in the Westminster Parliament in England, and although the Irish Republicans had been prepared for a military defeat, their spirits were very low, as they now also faced a moral defeat. The Easter Uprising in the end, had only involved a small percentage of the Irish Volunteers in the Dublin region, with about 1,800 of the Irish population themselves, actually taking part all over Ireland, against 5,500 British Imperial Military Forces, and the total casualties overall, was to be 1,500, amounting to 450 men, women and children killed, which also included on the Irish side, 56 of the Irish Republicans, and 216 civilians, while on the British Imperial Government side, there were 130 English troops killed, including 17 officers, with another 9 men missing altogether. 357 British Imperial soldiers were wounded, with 2,614 people being wounded all up, which including 116 soldiers, and 16 R.I.C. police, while 3 members of the R.I.C. Metropolitan Police were also killed and 3 of them wounded. 179 buildings had been destroyed, and overall damage was estimated at 2,500,000 pounds 

     Sir John Maxwell, the British Government's appointed Commander in Chief, had by now replaced Augustine Birrell the previous British appointed Chief Secretary in Ireland, who had resigned his position, warning Herbert Asquith the British Prime Minister, that, "It was not an Irish Rebellion, but it could easily become one." Sir John Maxwell, with the usual British Imperial Military disregard towards any sign of humanity, passed 90 Death sentences, of which 75 were to be eventually committed to Penal Servitude, while picking out a further 15 of the Irish, who were to be executed in cold blood, without any trial, whose sentences were to be finally read out, after they were executed. To make matters even worse, the executions of these 15 were to be dragged out over a 10 day period, when all were to be exterminated by shooting them in cold blood, including the 7 men who had had the intestinal fortitude to sign the Proclamation of Irish Independence. Even Edward Carson, who was the leader of the Ulster Unionists, also tried to stop the shootings, and warned the British Imperial Government, that they were creating Irish Martyrs, while Arthur Griffith, the leader of the political Sinn Fein Party, was appalled at the continuing stupidity of the British Imperial Government in carrying out these executions, although he also said that he, "Knew that they were obtuse and brutal enough to do it."

May 3rd: Patrick Pearse, the Irish I.R.B./ Irish Republican Brotherhood leader, was to be shot first without a trial and in cold blood, and prior to his execution he was moved to comment, "My sons were faithful, they fought," then they did the same to Tom Clarke, the Old Republican, who was 59 year old, and was married to the young Ned Daly's older sister, Kathleen, and they also executed John Mac Bride, the husband of Maude Gonne, and the father of Sean Mac Bride, who would found Amnesty International in the future. Arthur Griffith, the founder of the Gaelic League and the Sinn Fein Party, was also imprisoned in Wandsworth Prison, although he was not involved in the Easter Uprising, as he had been opposed to their particular course of action, although he had tried to join in once it was full on. It had been thought better by those in command of the I.R.B. to keep him out of it, as they were prepared for a defeat, so that he may be free to publicize the events and speak on the reasons why they did carry out the Easter Uprising, but he was not to be released until 25th December from Reading Prison in England, along with the other Irish prisoners that were being held in their British Prisons. May 4th - Thursday: They then shot Joseph Plunkett, who had married Grace Gifford, the sister - in - law of Thomas Mac Donagh, prior to his execution also, and also without a trial and also in cold blood. May 5th: They did the same to Thomas Mac Donagh, who was a member of the I.R.B. Military Council, and the overall leader of the Irish Volunteers Dublin Brigades. May 7th: Sinead de Valera, the wife of Eamonn de Valera, was desperate to save his life, so she went to see the American Consul to plead for their intercession in his case, as he had been born in America. Meanwhile the people in Ireland, Britain, and the rest of the World, were gradually becoming more and more upset, by the continuing cold blooded executions of the Irish people by the British Imperial Government, who then decided that they would stop the executions, except for those of Eamonn Ceannt / Kent, James Connolly and Sean Mac Diarmada / John Mac Dermot. 

May 8th: They removed Eamonn Ceannt / Kent, and Michael Mallon, from their cell to carry out their executions, and put in Con O Donovan and Jack Shouldice, to replace them, and they then shot the crippled Sean Mac Diarmada / John Mac Dermott from the I.R.B., and Eamonn Ceannt / Kent, who had also been a commander in the Easter Uprising, both of whom were executed in the prison at Kilmainham in Dublin, which is now a museum. Michael Collins, was so moved by the death of the crippled Sean Mac Diarmada / John Mac Dermott, that he was to express the opinion, "That Ireland will never see another of his like," and was to be severely emotionally upset over his execution, as he had a great admiration for him, and believed that he was "A True Son of Ireland, and an inspiration to all his fellow Countrymen. Meanwhile, Eamonn de Valera on this very same day let the British Imperial Government authorities in Dublin Castle, know that he was an Irish man, and not a British subject, as he and Thomas Ashe were also both sentenced to death, which was later to be commuted to life imprisonment. They were placed in Mountjoy Jail also in Dublin, along with Harry Boland, Jack Mac Ardle, Dick King, Michael de Lacy, Seamus Rafter, Con O Donovan, Jack Shouldice, Frank Lawless and James O Sullivan. A week later, they too were all put on a boat and sent over to England, to be incarcerated in Dartmoor Prison, and Eamonn de Valera's half - brother, Father Wheelwright in America, together with other Redemptorist Fathers, approached the American Senators there to ask President Woodrow Wilson to intervene to reduce his sentence, but he refused.  

May 12th:  James Connelly, the Socialist Labour leader, was then also shot on this day, although he was wounded and sitting on a chair, in Kilmainham Jail in Dublin also, and Michael Collins, had since gained much respect for him, as he considered him to be a realist. The other 8 Irish men they then shot in cold blood, included Con Colbert of the Fianna, Michael Mallon a commander, and Sean Heuston, who was only a youngster from the Irish Citizen Army. They also killed another youngster in Ned Daley, who was shot because he fought at the Four Courts, leaving behind 9 sisters, as he was the only boy in his family. Michael O Hanrahan, an Irish Volunteer, was also shot, and Liam / Willie Pearse was also executed in cold blood, for no other reason, then he was Patrick's brother. Thomas Ceannt, was also executed for being involved in the killing of an R.I.C. Sergeant in Cork on the Tuesday. Countess Constance Markievicz nee Gore - Booth, who was an officer in the Irish Citizen Army, was imprisoned after she had her death sentence commuted, along with Helena Molony, another of the group, who was also imprisoned. Edward O Dwyer the Catholic Archbishop of Limerick, denounced Sir John Maxwell the newly appointed British Imperial Commander In Chief / Chief Secretary in Ireland, for his extreme brutality, and also for his stupidity, and told him, "You have outraged the conscience of the Country." As the general population in Ireland looked on, the horror of it all began to sink in, and it all soon turned to anger, against the stupidity and lack of any humanity shown once again by the British Imperial Government. Eventually it began to turn to one of admiration for the Irish Republicans, who had paid the ultimate price to try and bring about Irish Independence for all in Ireland, from the British Imperial authorities in the Dublin Castle and England. George Bernard Shaw was to sum it up nicely, when he stated, "The British Government are canonising their Irish prisoners."

      The British Imperial Government's continuing actions of arrest without reason or trial, further upset many more of the population in Ireland, as great numbers of innocent people were taken away, and the cause of Irish Independence was then given further strength, as the British Imperial Government built up stronger reasons for the Irish resistance to their continuing authority in Ireland. With their usual disregard for Irish common rights, they continued on with their oppressive campaign, making further great numbers of substantial arrests, while expecting those Irish, who were innocent, to come forward and leave the others to their fate, but much to their ire, the innocent Irish did not, and this further aggravated the unpopular position they already held within the Irish population and the rest of the World looking on.

May: Dennis Mac Cullough, the President of the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood Supreme Council, had also supported the Easter Uprising, and he too was imprisoned along with William O Brien, Sean O Kelly, Ernest Blythe, Richard Mulcahy and Sean Russell, while  Liam Mellowes, who had since returned to Ireland from America, to command the Irish Volunteers in the west of Ireland, was able to once again slip away and escape back to America. Eamonn de Valera, who had been an Irish Volunteer commander in the Dublin Brigade, was sent to Pentonville Jail also in England, and as he was American born Joseph Mac Garritty, from the Clann na Gael in America, did everything he could on his behalf there to ensure that he was not executed also. Edmund Duggan, who was a supporter of the political Sinn Fein Party, was also arrested, while Tomas Derrig, who they could find nothing against, was deported by the British Imperial Government from his own Country. The National Aid Association, was now set up to help the Irish families of those who were killed, or imprisoned, and in time two thirds of those who were imprisoned had to be finally released by the British Government due to a lack of any evidence against them. The 650 Irish men, who were to be still left behind in the English Prisons, would tell the British Imperial Government authorities nothing, so they then tried to force them to join the British Military Forces, and if they refused to join, they were then imprisoned for up to 2 years, while another section of 122 Irish prisoners who they considered were the actual leaders of the Easter Uprising, were kept in the Dartmoor and Portland Prisons in England, while another 18  were sentenced to further hard labour. The exposure to all of this allowed many more people throughout the World, to become aware of what was really going on in Ireland, and were becoming more upset by the continuing harsh treatment being handed out to the general Irish population there. One of these was Robert Childers - Barton, who had been previously a British Military Army officer and who was also a Land Lord in Ireland, who resigned his commission, and joined the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood, and now also became a great supporter of the Irish Independence cause.

May 16th: David Lloyd - George, who was the British Home Minister at this time, initiated negotiations to try and resolve the British Imperial Government's problems with Ireland, which as usual went on for another 2 years, and achieved nothing, as the survivors of the Easter Uprising were to take no part in these discussions, and it was really they, not John Redmond, the leader of the failing Irish Parliamentary Party, who were now becoming the dominant factor in the politics of Ireland.  Herbert Asquith, the British Imperial Prime Minister, and his Cabinet were by now finally aware that Irish Affairs needed a vast new approach, if they were ever going to placate public opinion in America, so he made a trip to Ireland personally, to try and re - establish goodwill with the Irish people, and regain the confidence in his Government, but he had left his run too late.

May 29th: David Lloyd - George, as a member of Asquith's Cabinet, wanted the 3rd Irish Home Rule Act implemented before the War with Germany came to an end, and he wrote to the Unionist leader, Edward Carson informing him of his opinion as to the 6 Counties from the 9 in the Ulster Province of Ireland, being Artificially Partitioned off from the other 3 Counties in the Ulster Province, by the British Imperial Government. The 6 Counties were to be known to the British Government as Northern Ireland and they were to be eventually split off for the retention of the Ascendancy in Ireland when they were artificially taken out of the 9 Counties there, as the Ascendancy had considered the other 3 Counties had too many Catholic Irish in them to gain complete control over the Ulster Province to continue on with the Ascendancy. They would not be able to gain complete Ascendancy control there, if all of the Catholic Irish in Ulster were to be included in their plans, so David Lloyd - George informed him that at the end of the stipulated Provisional period of 6 years, after the British Government's Artificial  Partition was to occur, they would not have to merge back into Ireland, whether the Irish people willed it or not. He wanted him to pass the British Government's decision onto William Craig the other hard line Unionist leader there in Ulster. The British Imperial Government's intention that Co. Antrim, Co. Armagh, Co. Derry, Co. Down, Co. Fermanagh and Co. Tyrone were to be left out of the whole of Ireland for 6 years, was then accepted by Edward Carson the Unionist leader in Ulster, and also by John Redmond the leader of the failing Irish Parliamentary Party, who seemed to have no idea by now of what was really going on in Ireland, as it seemed also by now that he was well out of touch with the real feelings of the general population in Ireland. John Redmond, had foolishly expected that the exclusion of the 6 Counties in Ulster from the 9 Counties there, would only be temporary, while on the other hand, Edward Carson expected it to be permanent, so eventually their negotiations came to nothing, but John Redmond's prestige in Ireland was to depreciate further for being willing to accept the Artificial Partition of Ireland, and therefore of its people.   

June:  Sir Roger Casement, was now convicted of High Treason by the British Imperial Liberal Government, and George Gavan Duffy / Seorsa Gabhain Ua Dhubthaigh, the son of Gavan Duffy, the previous Young Irelander, who had gone on to become the Premier of Victoria in Australia, acted as his defender.  June 24th: The Irish prisoners, including Michael Collins, who were still held in the British Prison at Stafford in England were now sent onto Frongoch Prison in Wales. 

                                                             +On to 1917 / 1 - January to June

 

                                                                          

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