On 14 July 1917 Britain’s Lord Lieutenant in Ireland wrote a Memorandum to the Cabinet in London,
which remained under wraps for the following 50 years.
It read:-
“The Sinn Fein victory in East Clare is a fact of cardinal significance, and has precipitated events.
Following as it does on a course of extreme lenience and conciliation which culminated in the
general amnesty of political prisoners and tacit tolerance of seditious and secessionist propaganda, it marks the definite failure of the policy to rehabilitate constitutional nationalism or disarm Sinn Fein in defiance to English rule. After making all deductions for local influence and the general revolt against the Redmondite party machine, the fact remains that in a remarkably well-conducted political contest sustained by excellent candidates on both sides, the electors, on a singularly frank issue of self-government within the Empire versus an independent Irish Republic, have overwhelmingly pronounced for the latter.”
The Lord Lieutenant, Ivor Churchill, Lord Wimbourne, was a First Cousin to Winston.
Simultaneously on 14th July 1917, the defeated Redmondite candidate, Patrick Lynch, KC, wrote
to Britain’s Chief Secretary in Ireland, Edward Duke :-
“I have come to the conclusion that the country is passing through a wave of excitement which will
not last. The only thing to fan the flame and put the country in a blaze would be repressive measures of any description”
That too was deposited in the Public Records Office in Kew in 1967 when Eamon de Valera was
his second year of his first (of 2) 7- year terms as President, following 2 terms as head of Sinn Fein
Cabinets and 8 terms as head of Fianna Fail Cabinets.
De Valera, who never held grudges, appointed Patrick Lynch as Attorney General in the 1930s.
My source : “CHANGING TIMES – Ireland since 1898 as seen by Edward MacLysaght ” published
1978 by Colin Smythe Limited. Gerards Cross, Bucks SL9 7AE.
which remained under wraps for the following 50 years.
It read:-
“The Sinn Fein victory in East Clare is a fact of cardinal significance, and has precipitated events.
Following as it does on a course of extreme lenience and conciliation which culminated in the
general amnesty of political prisoners and tacit tolerance of seditious and secessionist propaganda, it marks the definite failure of the policy to rehabilitate constitutional nationalism or disarm Sinn Fein in defiance to English rule. After making all deductions for local influence and the general revolt against the Redmondite party machine, the fact remains that in a remarkably well-conducted political contest sustained by excellent candidates on both sides, the electors, on a singularly frank issue of self-government within the Empire versus an independent Irish Republic, have overwhelmingly pronounced for the latter.”
The Lord Lieutenant, Ivor Churchill, Lord Wimbourne, was a First Cousin to Winston.
Simultaneously on 14th July 1917, the defeated Redmondite candidate, Patrick Lynch, KC, wrote
to Britain’s Chief Secretary in Ireland, Edward Duke :-
“I have come to the conclusion that the country is passing through a wave of excitement which will
not last. The only thing to fan the flame and put the country in a blaze would be repressive measures of any description”
That too was deposited in the Public Records Office in Kew in 1967 when Eamon de Valera was
his second year of his first (of 2) 7- year terms as President, following 2 terms as head of Sinn Fein
Cabinets and 8 terms as head of Fianna Fail Cabinets.
De Valera, who never held grudges, appointed Patrick Lynch as Attorney General in the 1930s.
My source : “CHANGING TIMES – Ireland since 1898 as seen by Edward MacLysaght ” published
1978 by Colin Smythe Limited. Gerards Cross, Bucks SL9 7AE.
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