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September: With the futile recent death of Michael Collins, General Richard Mulcahy the Commander of the Irish National Army hoping now that common sense would prevail and in an attempt to end the hostility from the Anti - Treaty group met with Eamonn de Valera at Dr. Farnan's in Merrion Square in Dublin but Eamonn de Valera still denied the Treaty. - Liam Lynch as the Chief of Staff of the Irregular IRA issued an order prohibiting any reprisals.

September 9th: William Thomas Cosgrave the acting - Chairman and Minister of Finance of the Irish Provisional Government came forward to create stability as the Chairman and the President of the 3rd Irish Dail until 1923 and he founded the Cumann na nGaedheal Party to take office in the Irish Free State but refused to make any peace with Eamonn de Valera who came out and denounced the Irish Provisional Government as a British tool while the Irish Parliamentary Party originally so strong, had by now disintegrated. The Irish Provisional Government now under William T. Cosgrave authorised the Irish National Army to execute any prisoners carrying guns or attacking the Irish National Army on public or private property and introduced the Emergency Powers Bill.

October 3rd: William T. Cosgrave now the Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government offered Amnesty to all the Anti - Treaty IRA Irregulars as it was intended to begin Military Courts on October 15th and that if any IRA Irregular operations occurred where any Anti - Treaty prisoners were held they could be executed. - Windham Thomas Wyndham Quin and William Butler Yeats were to become Senators in the Irish Free State but the old Labour stalwart, William O Brien declined.

October: David Lloyd - George the British Prime Minister was forced to resign over the debacle that had occurred in Turkey.

October 17th: The Irregular IRA Army Executive met at Mrs. Nugent's house in Ballybacon were Eammon de Valera put forward a proposal that they should set up a rival Emergency Republican Government with him as the President although he now had no popular support.

October 22nd: The Irish Catholic Bishops came out in support of the Irish Provisional Government and the proposed Irish Free State and denounced the Anti - Treaty Irregular IRA.

November: An illegitimate IRA Irregular rival Emergency Republican Government was now set up with Eammon de Valera as it's President, Austin Stack as their Minister for Finance, P.J. Rutledge as their Minister for Home Affairs, Sean T. O Kelly as their Minister for Local Government, Robert Barton as their Minister for Economic Affairs and Liam Mellows as their Minister of Defence although he was locked up in Mountjoy Jail while Liam Lynch was their Chief of Staff and actually became responsible for their Defence.

November: 5 IRA Irregulars were executed under the Irish Provisional Government orders so Liam Lynch the IRA Irregulars Chief of Staff issued an order to the IRA Irregular's Dublin Brigades for 9 members of the Irish Provisional Government forces to be executed while another 2 Members of the Parliament were to be captured and also gave permission for the Commandant of the IRA Irregular's 1st Dublin Brigade to deal with all those who had voted for the decree and Eammon de Valera did not disapprove of their actions. Following on from this another 2 of the IRA Irregulars were executed by the Irish Provisional Government.

November 10th: Erskine Childers was arrested at Robert Barton's house in Amiamoe in Co. Wicklow in the south - east of the Leinster Province for issuing publicity in favour of the IRA Irregulars although he was not engaged in the fight but he had been sent to Dublin by Liam Lynch the IRA Irregulars Chief of Staff to serve their Anti - Treaty cause.

November 17th: The last of the British Government Army forces were finally gone and the Irish Provisional Government began their Military Courts and 2 of the Pro - Treaty deputies who had voted for the Military Court were then shot by the Anti - Treaty Irregular IRA including Sean Hales who was killed outright while the other deputy was only wounded. With the added death of Sean Hales this immediately brought about the execution of 77 members of the IRA Irregulars who had been condemned and was basically to bring about the end to the Irish Civil War. The Irregular IRA now intended to kill all of the Irish Dail Eireann members on site.

November 24th: Erskine Childers although defended by Michael Comyn was executed at Beggar's Bush Barracks for carrying a gun, which was originally given to him by Michael Collins and Sean Lemass who was to be a future Prime Minister and comrade of Eamonn de Valera who had been opposed to the Treaty was imprisoned.

December 3rd: An Agreement was signed to retain the Artificial Border, which divided the 6 Counties Artificially Partitioned by the British Government from the whole 9 in the Ulster Province to appease the Official Unionists who themselves would not appoint a representative. Eoin Mac Neill now the Minister for Education in the Irish Provisional Government was to resign after acting on their behalf as its only representative against the 2 British Government appointed representatives where he was naturally outvoted as they attempted to remove further territory also from Co. Donegal, which had been one of the other 3 Counties there in Ulster that had too many Catholic Irish in them.

December 5th: George VI the King of Britain signed the Constitution of the Irish Free State under the British - Irish Free State Act.

December 6th: The Irish Free State came into force and all of those elected to serve in it's Parliament were forced to swear the Oath of Allegiance to the British King before Michael O Aodha the Speaker who had been authorised by the British Governor - General to administer it and the Irish Republican Anti - Treaty members did not attend. During the Irish Civil War unrest 10 - 11,000 Anti - Treaty IRA Irregular supporters were arrested and Liam Lynch the IRA Irregular Chief of Staff always operated independently of Eammon de Valera who was supposed to be the President of their IRA Irregular rival Emergency Republican Government .

December 7th: The Official Unionist Government in the 6 Counties Artificially Partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, to suite the continuation of the Ascendancy, appealed to the British Crown to be excluded from the Irish Free State.

December 8th: Rory O Connor, Liam Mellowes, Richard Barrett and Joseph Mac Kelvey the original Anti - Treaty IRA Irregular leaders at the Four Courts garrison were executed in Mountjoy Jail and the other Irregular IRA members attacked the houses and property of the members of the Irish Free State Government where Sean Mac Garry's young son was burnt to death in his own home during one of their attacks and later on they were to even take hostages. Eamonn de Valera asked Liam Lynch the IRA Irregular Chief of Staff to stop the reprisals but he refused. - George Gavin Duffy resigned as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and also from the Irish Free State Government. - Maude Gonne Mac Bride became the 1st Secretary of the Womens Prisoner Defence League and Countess Markievicz had supported the Irregular IRA in the Civil War. -The Irish Free State Government under the Congested Districts Board introduced compulsory land purchase and many of the previous Ascendancy families left Ireland altogether. - Frank Fahy from the Gaelic League Peace Committee made contact with Austin Stack to try and arrange a Truce but Liam Lynch the Chief of Staff for the IRA Irregulars was determined to continue on with the fight. - Liam Deasy the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Irish Free State Government captured a document addressed to the Irregular IRA leaders calling for surrender from Eammon de Valera but Liam Lynch not only said "No" but wanted to further extend the fight into England to which Eammon de Valera was in agreement.

Ireland was now divided into 2 parts and into 2 Parliaments, with the 6 Counties Artificially Partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province officially separated by the British Imperial Government from Ireland and the British King George V had opened their newly formed "Northern Ireland" Parliament at Stormont in Belfast in Co. Antrim. Sir James Craig, who had succeeded Sir Edward Carson as the Official Unionist leader under the British Government, proclaimed Martial Law. Elections were held with the Official Unionists in complete control naturally gaining 16 seats to the Sinn Fein Party's 4 and the Irish Nationalists 1. In the Local Government elections for the Commons of 52 seats, the Official Unionists controlled 34 seats, while in the Senate of 46 seats the Official Unionists controlled 26 seats. Out of the Westminster Commons elections for 12 seats, the Official Unionists controlled the whole 12 seats. In Derry City the number of voters allowed to vote were: Non - Catholics 31,620. Catholics 18,479. Wards: Although there were actually 3 they were only to be elected for 2. All of the Irish Nationalists voters were crammed into 1 Ward with only 8 members while in the 2 Official Unionist Wards there was to be 12 giving a majority and the ability to always outvote and change the rules when it suited.

The Official Unionist Government in the 6 Counties Artificially Partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province under their leader James Craig informed the British Government that they would go on the offensive if there was any alteration to the Artificial Border used to separate the 6 Counties. They also took this opportunity to opt out of the All Ireland Government and the British Government appointed James Hamilton the 3rd Duke of Abercorn as their Governor until 194?. Andrew Bonar - Law who was now the British Prime Minister and the Conservatives dragged their feet over the Partition Border Boundary Commission and James Craig continued to refuse to nominate a representative to it. Also to firmly entrench the Ascendancy there, their first act was to abolish Proportional Representation for Local Elections and 232 people were killed there including 5 Unionist M.P.s and 1,000 people there were to be wounded over voting rights.

Only 70,000 land holdings now remained unpurchased in Ireland with 3/4 of these in the Irish Free State and both Partitioned Governments in Ireland were to pass compulsory legislation to force the Land Lords to sell.

+On to 1923

Situated on the western bank of the Hunter River, midway between Muswellbrook & 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