On one occasion Sean Treacy and I cycled to Dublin to get some arms. We had no money for train fares, and it was essential that we should reach Dublin by 6 o’clock on a particular Monday evening. There was a Brigade Council meeting fixed for Sunday night—at which we were bound to attend. That meant that we could not leave Tipperary till about 8 o’clock on Monday morning. We covered the 110 miles, and we reached Dublin in good time. Of course we were very hungry, but once we reached the house of our good friend Phil Shanahan—himself a Tipperary man, and later a Republican Deputy for Dublin—all our troubles disappeared. Then and after we never wanted for anything while Phil was about.
We had to remain in Dublin until the following Saturday before we could conclude our business. Here another difficulty arose. We were due back in Tipperary at an officers’ meeting the same Saturday at 6 p.m. We left Phil Shanahan’s house at 8.30 in the morning. We carried six revolvers, five hundred rounds of .303 (rifle) ammunition, and half a dozen grenades, and we were the only two who were punctual at the meeting.
CHAPTER V.
THE POLITICAL LANDSLIDE.
In December, 1918, came the event which gave the Irish Volunteers the moral sanction for their subsequent activities—the General Election.
It is important to bear in mind the position at that time. No General Election had been held in Ireland for seven years. In that interval the vast majority of the people had completely changed their views. They no longer had any faith in England, or in the efficacy of sending their hundred representatives to the British Parliament, where they were in a helpless minority, and where their voices were scarcely heard. England’s treachery on the Home Rule question and her threat of Conscription had cost her dearly. But the greatest force of all in the awakening was the Rising of 1916. That episode had put new life and heart into the people. The bye-elections, to which I have already referred had given the people their only opportunity, so far, to indicate the growing desire for liberty, complete and untrammelled.
On November 11th, 1918, the Great War virtually ended with the Armistice. A week later it was announced that the long delayed General Election was fixed for the 14th December. Sinn Fein got its opportunity, for that election was to be the first ever held under the British Constitution on the basis of manhood suffrage, and we knew well that the young men of Ireland would vote overwhelmingly for our cause.
But we had to educate and organise. The name and policy of Sinn Fein were still grossly misunderstood. The public did not clearly realise the difference between the political body, Sinn Fein, and the military organisation—the Irish Volunteers. The Insurrection of 1916 was commonly called the “Sinn Fein Rising,” and our Volunteers were spoken of as the “Sinn Fein Volunteers.” Even the Republican Tricolour—the Green, White and Orange of the Young Ireland Party of 1848, and of the Fenians of the next generation—was called the “Sinn Fein Flag.” But misnomers did not trouble us very much, for the Sinn Fein body had been adjusting its programme to suit Republican ideals. And now when Sinn Fein clubs were springing up in every parish, it was quite usual to find that the President or the Secretary of the club was also captain of the local Volunteer corps. The majority of the younger men in the Sinn Fein Political Organisation were also Volunteers; and the Volunteers were also members of the Sinn Fein club.
During the period of the Election the people went Sinn Fein mad. We had most of the clergy with us, and the earnestness and enthusiasm of our speakers and organisers swept the country. The political wing of the Republican cause spread like wild-fire; but our army was gradually dwindling. While we lamented this decay on the military side, we saw the necessity of making an enormous success of the elections, hoping to restore our army to its proper strength when the election was over. So we threw ourselves heart and soul into the contest, and worked night and day for the Republican candidates. We didn’t leave a dead wall or a cross-roads in the country that we did not decorate with appeals to “Rally to Sinn Fein,” “Vote for the Republic,” “Stand by the men of 1916.” Such were the rallying calls addressed to the people during those few critical weeks. No secret was made of our policy. Every Republican was pledged never to take his seat in the British Parliament, but to work at home in Ireland for the establishment and recognition of the Republic.