OUT OF A MELODRAMA.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 April 1921, Page 10

OUT OF A MELODRAMA.

MYSTERY HOUSE IN DUBLIN.

STRANGE SECRETS LAID BARE. Few of the stage properties and scenic effects of a thrilling melodrama were absent from a mystery house which was recently raided by the military forces at Dublin. There were false walls, secret doors, a revolving wardrobe that revealed when it swung round, a place of concealment, and also evidences of hurried flight, in a supper table that had been laid for several persons. The building is Cullenswood House, in Oakley-road, Ranelagh, a suburb of Dublin. At one time known as St. Edna’s College, it had more recently been the home of the late Professor Lecky, the famous historian, and of Pearse, the first President of the “Irish Republic,” who wan executed after the 1916 rebellion.

For some time) ‘the premises had aroused the suspicions of the authorities, and a visit was paid following upon inquiries regarding a mysterious tunnel.

It was then found that structural alterations had been made, for which there appeared to be no very obvious reason. There had also been found certain details and an estimate foe these alterations in the handwriting of a leading member of the rebel organisation. The authorities also satisfied themselves that the place was used by bodies having illegal objects, and it was decided to make a thorough search. This revealed an amazing system of ingeniously contrived places of concealment and means of escape. In fact, the place had been converted into a veritable rahbit warren of secret passages and hidden doors. There were dummy walls, of thin plaster, which formed secret corridors, allowing the inmates concealed movement about the house. A revolver and ammunition were found in one of these hidden passages. Mysterious doors and cupboards which could not be detected without the most careful search, were operated by concealed springs and other mechanical contrivances.

In one of the rooms was a wardrobe of substantial and innocent appearance. When a spring was touched this apparently immovable piece of furniture revolved and disclosed a secret chamber, the existence of which had hitherto been unsuspected. It was apparent that this hidden room had been used as an office.

In addition to the usual entrances to the house, six or seven concealed doora had also been constructed, allowing secret exit to the garden and adjacent fields. There was also a secret, door giving on to the garden from a greenhouse.

The structural alterations, which were of the most ingenious character, did not appear to have been carried out recently. The raid was in no sense a “reprisal,” but was carried out solely for the purpose of investigating this house of mystery. Apparently the only person living on the premises was a caretaker, and he or she was absent ■when the raid took place That the house was used as a meeting place and that the military nearly laid their hands on those who made of it a house of plotting and secrets, is* shown by the fact that in one room supper had been laid for several persons. The supper party, however, did not take place.