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July: The Irish Convention previously set up by David Lloyd - George the British Home Minister, under the chairmanship of Sir Horace Plunkett was held, but the Sinn Fein Party and the Ascendancy Unionists refused to participate in it, which meant that the only two political parties in Ireland, who really represented the people in Ireland, did not attend, Those who did attend, what was in reality only Lloyd - George's Convention, were now out of touch with the general population in Ireland, and really did not represent the actual views of the people of Ireland at this time.

August: William Thomas Cosgrave, the Treasurer of the Sinn Fein Party, had previously been sentenced to death by the British Court Marshall, and was then given a reprieve. Although he was still being held in an English prison, he was still elected in a bye - election also, on behalf of the Sinn Fein Party, as the Irish M.P. for Co. Kilkenny in the south - west of Southern Leinster. He had polled 772 votes, in opposition to Magennis from the Irish Parliamentary Party, who only polled 392, William Thomas Cosgrave, was to eventually become the first Taoiseach / leader of the Irish Free State (26 Counties of the 32 Counties of Ireland) from 1922 - 1932. The proscribed policy of the Sinn Fein Party, of non - attendance at the British Westminster Parliament, was to also be carried out by Laurence Ginnell the outspoken Irish Parliamentary Party member, who had personally reacted to the Irish 1916 Easter Rising executions like no other person in his Party. Eoin O Duffy, who was an engineer from Co. Monaghan in Southern Ulster, now joined the new revamped I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood, and was to later on become the head of the Garda / Irish Civil Police in 1922, when the Irish Free State, which would only consist of the other 26 Counties of Ireland was to come into British legal existence. Never one to give in to actual reality, the British Imperial Government then made a further move on the Irish Republicans, arresting all up 84 Irish people, including Austin Stack, Fionan Lynch and Thomas Ashe, who they also put before their British Court Martials on a charge of Seditious Speech, which was in reality bringing forward the Irish Republican arguments for Irish Independence. Amongst the other Irish Nationalists also arrested, were the officers from the Irish Volunteers for drilling their men in the open, and they too were imprisoned with 40 other Irish men, who were all interned together in Mountjoy Jail in Dublin, where Austin Stack became their leader, until they too were to be released from prison in the future.

September 20th: The Irish Republican prisoners, who were now being held in Mountjoy Jail, including Thomas Ashe went on a hunger strike, as they wanted to be treated by the British Imperial Government as what they truly were, Irish political prisoners, not common criminals, September 25th: Thomas Ashe / Tomas Aghas from Co. Kerry in the south - west of the Munster Province, was a teacher, a poet, a balladeer, and a speaker of the Gaelic language, the campaign organizer for Co. Clare, and a strong supporter of the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood, while Eamonn de Valera was not. He had previously been second in command, under Eamonn de Valera, while they were being held in Lewes Jail in England, as he had previously commanded a group during the 1916 Irish Easter Rising at Ashbourne, for which he had been sentenced to life imprisonment by the British Court Martial. He was to die instead, within 5 days at the Mater Hospital, after being force fed by the British Imperial Government authorities in the Mountjoy Jail, and in the meantime 30,000 Irish people had visited the hospital to pay him homage for his continuing commitment to Irish Independence. The Coroner, was to lay the blame for his untimely death on the British Government's Dublin Castle, (The Devil's 1/2 acre) authorities, as he had been also left to lie on the cold floor for 50 hours straight with no bed, no bedding and no boots. Michael Collins, was to ensure that his departure was to become a great Irish National demonstration, with 9,000 Irish National Volunteers and 30,000 mourners, following his funeral procession through the streets of Dublin. The rest of the Irish Republican prisoners were then removed from Mountjoy Jail in Dublin, by the British authorities in Dublin Castle, to a prison further north at Dundalk in the north - east of Northern Leinster, while the hunger strike prisoners were to be released, which was only brought on by the pressure of World opinion, on the continuing negative actions of the British Imperial Government, and include among those released were Arthur Griffith, Austin Stack and Richard Mulcahy.

George Gavan Duffy, the son of the Charles Gavan Duffy the Young Irelander, who had become the Premier of Victoria in Australia, and possibly the Father of Federation there, had by now become a solicitor, and was another of the Irish negotiators, and he would be among those who were to also sign an Anglo - Irish Treaty in England in 1922. - Tomas Derrig, now also joined the Sinn Fein Party, and was to be eventually deported from his own Country by the British Imperial Government for doing so, while Frank Aiken, at this time, who was to eventually lead the Anti - Treaty I.R.A. at the end of the Civil War in Ireland, over the Anglo - Irish Treaty in 1922, became the Sinn Fein Party organizer for South Armagh in the Ulster Province. - Cathal Brugha / Charles Burgess, had by now become the leader of the Irish Volunteers, which placed him in theory, in one instance, over Michael Collins in that particular organization, which was to lead to disharmony from his own personal point of view, which was always a very staid and stubborn one, which may have been why he was so drawn towards Eamonn de Valera.

September 25th: David Lloyd - George the British Home Minister, had previously set up his own Irish Convention to impress the Irish Americans in the U.S.A., who had entered the War a month before, and he had invited Arthur Griffith the leader of the Sinn Fein Party to try and silence the criticism, but it was strongly boycotted when his hand picked members were to eventually meet at there various centres. The discussions were basically on Irish Home Rule where the Ascendancy Unionists were to be just as intractable as they were in 1914, while John Redmond, the Irish Parliamentary Party leader, was still willing to make a compromise.

Eamonn de Valera, the previous staid Irish Volunteer Dublin Brigade commander, who had by now been also elected on behalf of the Sinn Fein Party for East Co. Clare, was becoming more militant in his speeches for Irish Independence, and he also became a member of the Sinn Fein Party National Council and the Provisional Executive of the Irish Volunteers.

October 25th: The Sinn Fein Party, held their 10th Ard Fheis / Irish National Convention over 2 days, at the Mansion House in Dublin, where 1200 Sinn Fein Clubs were represented by 1700 delegates, with the 1,200 Sinn Fein Clubs, in reality in the controlling hands of the Irish Republicans, with a total membership of 250,000. Arthur Griffith, in prior discussion with Eamonn de Valera, had declined his own nomination for President of the Sinn Fein Party, and stood aside in deference to Eamonn de Valera in the interests of continuing Irish Unity. On his proposal, Eamonn de Valera was then elected the President of the Sinn Fein Party for an Independent Irish Republic, and was to receive 500 pounds as an annual allotment, and would hold this position until 1926. Count Plunkett, too had also withdrawn his own nomination for the President's position in deference to Eamonn de Valera, in the interests of Irish Unity. Arthur Griffith, then stood for Vice - President receiving 1197 votes out of the total 1200, while 24 others were elected to the executive positions, including the young Michael Collins and his friend Harry Boland. William. T. Cosgrave and Laurence Ginnell, were elected as their Treasurers, while Austin Stack and Darrell Figgis / le Fykeis - were elected as their Secretaries. Countess Constance Markievicz, found it necessary to make a personal attack on Eoin Mac Neill's role during the Irish 1916 Easter Uprising, over him countermanding Patrick Pearse's orders, but both Arthur Griffith and Eamonn de Valera defended his position in that instance, and he too was also elected to the Executive of the Sinn Fein Party.

The Dail Eireann / Irish Assembly, was put forward to be the official name of the new Irish Parliament, to be set up by the elected representatives of the Irish people themselves, with any persons receiving a pension from the British Imperial Armed forces or holding positions, which involved the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown to be excluded from the membership of the Sinn Fein Party, whose basic aims were to: 1. Secure International recognition of Ireland as an Independent Irish Republic. 2. That the Irish people may then freely choose their own form of Government. As these two aims were the basic requirements of all those at the Ard Fheis / Irish National Convention this then gave them a United front.

October 27th: The first meeting of the new Irish National Volunteers, was held at the Gaelic Athletic Association grounds, for which Michael Collins had drafted their Constitution, and Cathal Brugha / Charles Burgess stood down as their leader, and offered the position to Eamonn de Valera, who was then elected in his place, and he was to hold onto this position also until 1922. This meant that both the Irish Nationalist political and the Irish Nationalist military movements, were now under the control of the same man, Eamonn de Valera. (He was to deny any pro - German sympathy, and also discourage any violence during the conduct of the present War.) Cathal Brugha, was then elected as the Chief of Staff of the Irish Volunteers, and Michael Collins their full time Director of Organization, and power was also given to the Executive to also declare War against the British Imperial Government if they still intended to bring Conscription into Ireland. They repeated their aims, to secure and maintain the right and liberties common to all the people of Ireland, to train and equip the Irish Volunteer forces, and to unite all Irish men and women regardless of their Creed, their Party or their Class.

The remaining Irish prisoners, that had previously been shifted to the Dundalk Jail in the north - east of Northern Leinster, by the British Imperial Government after the unfortunate death of Thomas Ashe, were now released, and General French the British Military Viceroy was then appointed by the British Imperial Government to control Ireland for them. He immediately went about arresting all of the Sinn Fein Party leaders, but due to Fate once again Michael Collins was one of those he missed, and the Irish meetings set down for Newbridge and Waterford were also proclaimed by the British Government's Dublin Castle authorities as illegal. Altogether 84 Irish Republicans all up were to be arrested after the elections in Co. Clare, and the Sinn Fein Party, the Irish Parliamentary Party and the Irish Labour Party came together in a show of further Irish Unity, to declare war on any kind of British Conscription in Ireland. Between them they created an Irish National Defence Fund and the British Imperial Government then forbade the publication of any mention of it.

December 14th: The General Elections were held for the British Westminster Parliament in England, for the first time, where the vote was given to women over 30 and men over 21, and David Lloyd - George the leader of a British Coalition Government became their new Prime Minister for 4 years, with the assistance of the 67 Labour members and the 32 Independent Liberals there. (The British Liberal Party in it's own right had by now disintegrated over Irish Home Rule to become known now as the Liberal Unionists.) The Irish Sinn Fein Party won 3/4 of all the seats in Ireland, while many of their representatives were still being held in prisons in England by the British Government. Out of a total of 105 seats, they had won 73 seats, but they still refused to take up the seats in the British Westminster Parliament and swear the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown. The Irish Parliamentary Party under John Redmond, were now down to only 6 seats and from now on were basically out of play in any political sense.

Michael Collins, won 2 seats in both West Co. Cork in Southern Munster, and Co. Armagh in the south - east of the Ulster Province, while Arthur Griffiths also won 2 seats in East Co. Cavan in Southern Ulster and Co. Tyrone - Co. Fermanagh also in Southern Ulster, while Eamonn de Valera took out another 2 in East Co. Clare in the north - west of Munster, and Co. Down in the south - east of Ulster. Countess Constance Markievicz, was now also the Sinn Fein Party M.P. for St. Patrick's in Dublin, and would go down in British History as the first woman ever elected to the British House of Commons, and would remain their representative until 1922. The Ascendancy Unionists had won 25 seats, with 2 of these being guaranteed for Trinity College, and another in Dublin, while an extra seat went to an Independent Unionist.

Meanwhile, the Irish Republican Brotherhood / I.R.B. had sent Dr. Patrick Mac Cartan / Padraig Mheic Artain to America, to act as their envoy there with the Clann na Gael and their Irish - American interests.

Francis Ledwich / Ledwidge (1897 - 1917) the Anglo - Irish poet, who had been born opposite Rosnaree at Janesville near Slane in Co. Meath in Northern Leinster, died this year, who had been an Irish Nationalist compatriot of Thomas Mac Donagh and Patrick Pearse, who were also both poets involved in the Irish 1919 Easter Rising. He had written the "Lament for Thomas Mac Donagh," a week after his execution in 1916, by the British Imperial Government. His original family members had come into East Meath in 1200 AD and eventually settled into Westmeath.

+On to 1918 / 1 - January to June

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.

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