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July 4th: Lord French the British Government Commander - in - Chief in Ireland now went further to crush all Irish interests and prohibited all Irish meetings and processions including all those of even the Gaelic Athletic Association and even went so far as to have all the Gaelic Football matches terminated by the R.I.C. police and the British Military troops were now feeling the hostility emanating from the general Irish population. (Once again suppress to unite.) Reports were also coming in of ill treatment in the Belfast Jails in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province, of baton bashing being carried out there on the Irish prisoners while their hands were handcuffed behind their backs, and of them then being dragged down the stairs where they were hosed down and left for 3 days in their wet clothes and of other Irish prisoners left in solitary confinement in this condition for a week.

August 4th: Regardless of the directions of Lord French, the British Government's Commander - in - Chief, the Executive of all the Irish sporting bodies still held their Gaelic Games all over Ireland and also on this same day in defiance of restraint on their public rights and so on August 15th the Sinn Fein Party did the same. Michael Collins was at this time struck down physically by a bout of pleurisy and this made everyone involved in the day to day running to bring about Irish Independence from British Imperialism realise the many duties he had previously been carrying out on his own. (Liam Tobin - Toibin was his acting Assistant Intelligence Officer.) - Kevin O Higgins - Ua hUigin had also joined the Sinn Fein Party as a student and had since become the M.P. for Co. Laois - Queen's Co. in the mid - west of the Leinster Province and also won the Co. Clare seat in the north - west of the Munster Province for the Westminster Parliament while he too was being held in a prison in England. Peader O Donnell also joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood - I.R.B. - Richard Mulcahy the M.P. for Clontarf, who was also elected for the Westminster Parliament, was their Chief of Staff and Edmund Duggan who had been elected to the first Dail Eireann - Irish Assembly was their Director of Intelligence and Robert Childers - Barton was the Sinn Fein Party M.P. for West Wicklow in the south - east of the Leinster Province.

August 15th: Piaras Beaslaoi - Beasley - was the editor of the Irish Volunteer paper An tOglach, which laid claim to the Irish Volunteers being the Irish Republican Army. The British Government also began to re - arrest and deport the Irish prisoners at they came out of the jail gates on their release and they set up British Army recruiting meetings for the Irish public but it wasn't working out for them as they had planned and there deadline for the General French imposed 50,000 Irish recruits was getting nearer. Those in charge of the Irish opposition to the British Government's Imperialism had by now decided to take the British commander, Lord French, as a hostage, as his British Court Martials, raids, arrests, re - arrests and imprisonment were constant and he had also brought in British Army tanks to Dublin to further intimidate the general Irish population. The British Army's recruiting drive was now extended to October 15th and they threatened the Irish population that they would increase the number of Irish conscripts to 100,000 if they were to bring in their forced British Government Conscription.

October 15th: The British Government's General French had the British Military forces occupy many of the buildings in preparation for the intended British Imperial Government's enforcement of their Irish Conscription recruiting policy and in the meantime Germany had sent a Peace note to the American President Woodrow Wilson and this defused the issue. The Irish Volunteers held a Convention to discuss the situation.

October 29th: The Sinn Fein Party - Irish Republican Party also held a Convention and decided to demonstrate against the treatment of the Irish prisoners still being held by the British Government in the Belfast Jails in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province.

November 11th: An Armistice was declared on this day and the 1st World War was bought to an end in which 7,000,000 people had died in what was described as the, "War to end all Wars," which was basically over who ruled the seas of the World. November 13th: 700 British Government soldiers attacked the Sinn Fein Party headquarters in Dublin and were resisted by only 30 armed Irish Volunteers - Irish Republican Army - I.R.A. who had received advance notice of their coming and were able to drive them off, as they had no arms. This unprovoked attack, which was carried out by British Government forces was prohibited from being reported by the British Government's stronghold in Dublin Castle.

As the British Coalition Government had constantly boasted about its democratic ideals, yet continued on to oppress Ireland after 750 years the Irish now turned their attention to Woodrow Wilson, the American President, for some redress who had also publicly stated that he stood for, "The rights of Small Nations to self - determination." All the Irish wanted him to do was to support the pleas of Ireland for entry only into the Peace Conference in Paris and restrict the added use of force by David Lloyd - George the British Prime Minister to subdue thoughts of Irish Independence. It was to turn out that Woodrow Wilson would do nothing for Ireland because of his obsession with the League of Nations for which he needed the British Government's support and in the finish his own American Congress was actually to refuse to ratify his signature and he was to have a mental breakdown. Meanwhile in another act of stupidity David Lloyd - George, the British Prime Minister, announced that although the War was over Irish Home Rule would still be further postponed and this really meant the death knell for the remaining members of the Irish Parliamentary Party, which had fought diligently and patiently by Constitutional means for it's introduction giving the British Government every allegiance to obtain it and the British Government had broken their promises once again and treated the Irish Nation, as usual.

November: John Dillon now a frustrated and agonising leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party at a meeting of the Irish League said he was still determined to fight the Sinn Fein - Irish Republican Party all the way as his I.P. Party had previously offered 40 years of unparalleled success but despite the continuing attitude expressed by their leader several of his members stood aside for the rising political fortunes of the Sinn Fein Party candidates in the following elections for the 80 seats to be contested for Westminster. They did this in the interests of Ireland following on from the belief of showing solidarity with the proscribed policies of the Sinn Fein Party as this was now the best course of action to be taken against the British Government as previously expressed also by Bishop Mac Rory.

November 20th: Bob Brennan - Ua Braonain was now also arrested by the British Government 's Dublin Castle and this showed that there was to be no chance for the release of the Sinn Fein Party leaders as the British Government meant to deny them the right to contest the coming General Elections for Westminster on their own behalf. November 25th: The British Coalition Government dissolved the Westminster Parliament in England and called the General Election, known as the Khaki Election for all the seats there, including those in Ireland feeling secure in the knowledge that they had annulled any chances of the Irish Sinn Fein Party now being able to make any showing.

December: To put further pressure on the Sinn Fein Party - Irish Republican Party of having any chance in the election the British Government had James O Mara - Meara - Ua Meadhra the Director of Elections for the Dail Eireann - Irish Assembly - also arrested, imprisoned and deported and then increased censorship in Ireland and made it especially harsh on any members of the Sinn Fein Party who never the less went ahead and published their own Manifesto stating their aims, "To form an Irish Republic, not to attend Westminster, and form their own Irish Assembly from those members who were successfully elected by the Irish people. Their Manifesto was highly censored by the British Government and contained a Black Border around the material they had removed from their platform but it did not lose it's significance on those in Ireland who were to see it and vote accordingly.

December 9th: Richard Swords, died in Usk Jail were he had also been imprisoned in England by the British Government and a Public Funeral was held in his honour in Dublin from where he was conveyed to Glasnevin Cemetery and interred with many of the other Irish men and women there who had also given their life trying to obtain Irish Independence and was another of the, "Fenian dead left to remind the Irish of the continuing English oppression."

Sean Etchingham at this time was also very ill in Lincoln Jail in England were he had also been imprisoned by the British Government and Eamonn de Valera informed the British Governor of the prison that if anything happened to Sean he would not be responsible for what would happen and Sean was immediately released.

December 10th: A meeting was held on this day in America at Madison Square Gardens to support, Self - Determination for Ireland. The Sinn Fein Party members although many of them were still imprisoned by the British Government in jails in England, were now ready to take on the might of the British Imperial Empire as even the previous followers of John Redmond and John Dillon had now joined in with them and the Irish Parliamentary Party could only raise candidates for 75% of the Irish seats available for Westminster.

December 14th: The Westminster General Elections were conducted and out of the 105 Irish seats the Sinn Fein Party won 73 of them of which 69 were won outright giving them 75% of all the elected seats in Ireland while 36 of the the Sinn Fein Party members or 50% of the candidates who were successful in the election were still being held in British prisons while 3 others were still in exile and 6 were evading British Government arrest. 26 seats went to the Unionists, which included 25 of these in their stronghold in the north - east of the Ulster Province while another 6 went to the Irish Parliamentary Party of which 4 of these were Catholic majorities in the Ulster Province. Among these was the one to Joseph Devlin in the Falls in West Belfast in the Ulster Province were he defeated Eamonn de Valera who also stood for the seat there. Despite this Eamonn de Valera had also defeated John Dillon the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party for the seat in East Co. Mayo in the Connacht Province and secured the seat in East Co. Clare in the Munster Province with no contest. Eoin Mac Neill became the M.P. for the National University and Michael Collins won the seat in West Cork in the Munster Province and also another in Armagh in the Ulster Province while Arthur Griffith also won 2 seats with one in East Co. Cavan and another in the north - west of Co. Tyrone in the Ulster Province.

December: The Irish Volunteers Dublin Brigade had set up a munitions factory underneath a bicycle shop in Dublin, which was taken over later on by Michael Collins and expanded. - The Irish prisoners still being held in the Belfast Jail in the north - east of Co. Antrim in the Ulster Province now abandoned their protests on promises by the British Government, which as usual were not carried out and in fact their miseries there were increased.

Eammon de Valera the President of the Irish political Sinn Fein Party although elected for 2 Irish seats in Westminster was still in jail in England and he decided to try and escape from the prison before the prisoners were to be released to gain further publicity for the continuing British Government occupation in Ireland. They copied the prison key and sent a drawing of it with Sean Milroy in a Christmas Card to Sean Mac Garry's wife but she just put it aside thinking it was a joke card and never showed it to anyone. December 25th: When no reply had been received regarding the Christmas Card containing the drawing of the key John O Mahony wrote to Father Kavanagh to ask Mrs. Mac Garry if she had received the card.

James Arthur Butler became the 22^nd Earl of Ormonde until 1943 who was another son of John the 20^th Earl of Ormonde.

+On to 1919 - 1 - January - March

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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