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October: Diarmuid O Hegarty informed Eamonn de Valera that the 1st Dail Eireann Cabinet wanted him to stay on in America and see his Official Proposal through and Diarmuid Fawsitt - Fawcett - was inducted there to be the Irish Trade Consul in New York and Frank P. Walshe presented the proposal prepared by Arthur Griffith for the Recognition of the Irish Republic to Bainbridge Colby who was then the U.S.A. Secretary of State to which no reply was ever received.

Sir Neville Mac Ready and Sir Ormonde "Holly Terror" Winter put together a new British Government Intelligence Unit of really ruthless men who had served the British Government well in Egypt and Russia, which became known as the "Cairo Gang" who were then given all of the information they held in the Dublin Castle (The Devil's 1/2 acre) on the Irish people and thy began to set up dossiers on all known Sinn Fein Party members and under Mac Lean, their Chief Intelligence Officer, they began carrying out night raids and interrogations on the Irish population. Michael Collins meanwhile as the Director of Intelligence for the 1st Dail Eireann - Irish Assembly - had previously been informed from his sources in Scotland Yard that they were coming to Dublin to destroy the I.R.A. organization within the Dublin area and had also been given permission by David Lloyd - George and the British Government to use any methods they wished to carry out their charge. Sir Henry Wilson the British Imperial Army General Chief of Staff was of the opinion that the I.R.A. members were only Morons, Rats and Assassins, but despite this belief, he did not agree with David Lloyd - George's unofficial reprisals but instead was for the official shooting of all of the Sinn Fein Party leaders without trial or evidence.

Liam Tobin was the Deputy Director of Intelligence under Michael Collins while Eamonn Duggan, a Dublin solicitor, controlled another section with back up from the "12 Apostles" and they were now carrying out surveillance on any doubtful persons who were arriving into the Dublin area, while Cathal Brugha as the I.R.A. Chief of Staff, who had an English father and an Irish mother, had the last say as to carrying out any executions but he was very reluctant to do so. This was due to the fact that he was a very religious man and would only condone this if there was enough sufficient authentic evidence to support that particular course of action and the "12 Apostles" then carried out the sentences if they were required to do so. Meanwhile Michael Collins ordered an all out surveillance to report back on any of the suspected British Secret Service Agents aka "The Cairo Gang" who would most likely only come out at night, and they would be watched for any movements during this time also by the Dublin Metropolitan Police members who also reported back to Michael Collins, as all of the Irish people were on a curfew. Frank Thornton was assigned by Liam Tobin then to keep them under surveillance also, but he was to be arrested and held for 10 days, during which time he was thoroughly interrogated and among his interrogators were members of the British "Cairo Gang" themselves and he was then able to supply a general description of them when he was released.

October 6th: General George Cockerill the British Brigadier, now put forward a proposal for a Truce and Amnesty for Ireland, which would include a Conference to be held for the best peace possible, which was approved by Arthur Griffith the acting - President of the 1st Dail Eireann and David Lloyd - George the British Prime Minister also showed interest.

October 11th: Dan Breen and Sean Treacy who were still wanted by the British Government forces for the shooting at Soloheadbeg back in January were on this day totally surrounded at Drumcondra in Co. Tipperary in the north - east of the Munster Province but they still managed to escape and during their escape they killed 2 of the British Intelligence officers who had been involved in the murder of the civilians in Dublin. One of these was the brother to the R.I.C Commissioner Smythe in Listowel who had originally created the mutiny there by his instructions to kill the Irish at will and in a reprisal the British Army forces had cold bloodedly killed Professor Carolan there. Mac Lean the "Cairo Gang's" Chief Intelligence Officer, had interrogated James Fleming after Dan Breen and Sean Treacy escaped, but then released him.

October 20th: The British Governments' other group, the "Murder Gang," were now using silencers on their weapons when they shot Peter Carroll dead in his home while the two worst offending British Intelligence officers, King and Hardy were now also torturing their victims.

October 24th: Terence Mac Swiney the Lord Mayor of Cork, died, in the Brixton Prison in England on the 74th day of his hunger strike, and 2 others were also to die in the Cork Jail and this further upset many people in Ireland and in many parts of the World. Terence Mac Swiney's body was taken by the Irish their in England and draped in the Irish Flag and paraded through the streets of London then onto Holyhead to be brought back over to Dublin. In a complete act of disrespect the British Army Black & Tan Auxiliaries then seized his body and loaded it onto a boat to send it directly onto Co. Cork to try and bypass the City of Dublin and this despicable act was to only create a further great demonstration by the Irish people. Arthur Griffith as acting - President of the 1st Dail Eireann - Irish Assembly - asked the Cork Irish Volunteers headquarters to stop the boat and they complied and the procession then proceeded onto Cork with thousands of Irish men and women marching behind it and the Cork I.R.A. Volunteers who were to act as the Guards of Honour were arrested and imprisoned in Mountjoy Jail by the British Government's forces. One of those especially effected by the results of all the publicity given to the death of Terence Mac Swiney at this time was a little Vietnamese dish - washer to be known as Ho Chi Min who was working in a London hotel at the time.

Sean Lemass a future Taoiseach - leader - Priomh Aire - Prime Minister of Ireland, Ernest O Malley, James Larkin the leader of the Irish Socialist Party, the old Labour stalwart William O Brien and Edmund Duggan were also to be imprisoned by the British Government up until 1921.

Joseph O Reilly was Michael Collin's Aide - de - camp and together with Liam Tobin, Joseph Cullen, the Adjutant General Gearoid O Sullivan, Sean Murthaile and Piaras Beaslaoi - Beasley they were able to stay at the Vaughan's Hotel, which was run by Mac Guire, for many months even after they had been raided there. Among the others who assisted Michael Collins in his Intelligence were M. Mac Donnell, Tom Keogh, Vincent Byrne, Patrick Daly - Padraig Ua Dalaigh and James Slattery - Seamus Ua Slatraigh while Kathleen Doyle from the women's organization of Cumann na mBan assisted in obtaining arms in England for the Irish Volunteers - I.R.A. He was also protected by the "12 Apostles," who were used to great effect especially on one occasion when two of the Auxiliaries stopped him in the street and intended to take him in but he told them to look about and on seeing the "12 Apostles" in various areas surrounding him they decided to leave well enough alone.

Peadar Clancy's shop was a centre for the Irish Volunteers so it too was raided by the British Government forces, and Sean Treacy was to be killed along with several others with Joseph Vize now the Director of Purchasing being captured also but Richard Mac Kee was able to escape while Sgt. Roche from the R.I.C. continued to gloat over the body of Sean Treacy much to the disgust of all those present and Michael Collins hearing of his attitude had him taken care of. Richard Mac Kee who was the Director of Training with the Dublin Irish Volunteers also carried out a raid on the Post Office where they were able to seize all of the British Government's Dublin Castle correspondence. Richard Mac Kee had previously produced the Volunteer newspaper An tOglach, which had since been taken over by Joseph Cullen who was to continue with it's production until the Anglo - Irish Treaty was to be produced. J.J. "Ginger" O Connell was the assistant Director of Training under him and he too produced articles for An tOglach while Frank Thornton was the next in command to Liam Tobin and Joseph Cullen, and was a member of the Staff. Maurice Collins also allowed the Staff to use his premises as an office and Liam Devlin who had came over from Glasgow in Scotland also allowed Michael Collins to use his home. Also Sean O Connell, Claffey, Daly, Finegan, Patrick Dunne, Quigley, Ambrose and Semple acted as message carriers for the Irish Volunteers throughout the Irish rail system.

Sir Hamar Greenwood introduced a Bill into the British House of Commons at Westminster in England, "For the Restoration of Order in Ireland," to further increase the numbers of the Black & Tans and it also gave the British Military more Powers in Ireland by abolishing any inquests into violent deaths, which now allowed the British Government forces to really kill anyone and everyone in Ireland with out requiring any justification. Right up until July., 1921 the British Government forces were to carry out 6,311 raids throughout Ireland using any means possible in an attempt to infiltrate the Irish Volunteers - Irish Republican Army - I.R.A while Sir Hamar Greenwood continued to inform the British Westminster Parliament that the Black & Tans and Auxiliaries were carefully chosen men of the highest integrity.

The British Government forces now found the place where the Irish Bulletin newspaper was being printed in Molesworth Street in Dublin who throughout the whole turmoil had continued to report on the activities and published lists containing the names of the British Government forces, their backgrounds, and their crimes, which were circulated throughout the World. The British Government authorities then took it over and printed a "bogus" Irish Bulletin sending them out all over the World also per the list they had found of previous recipients but the original Bulletin staff still continued on to operate elsewhere sending out the proper reports, which included the British Government's take over of the Irish Bulletin and of their "bogus" copy.

The "Special" Constabulary enrolment began as the Unionist Orangemen were armed in the north - east of the Ulster Province by the British Government, and enrolled as the "Specials" and British Martial Law was declared in Co. Cork, Co. Kerry, Co. Limerick and Co. Tipperary in the Munster Province. Co. Galway in Southern Connacht and the other western regions of Ireland where there had been little Irish resistance was now to also see a new reign of terror carried out there by the British Government forces who were to remove the inhabitants from their homes at night and beat them up and told them to leave the area or be shot dead.

+On to 1920 - 5 - November

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