IRISH NEWS

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIX, Issue 40, 12 October 1922, Page 35

IRISH NEWS

; EXPLOITS OP A GALLANT SOLDIER. .. Deep regret was felt in Mullingar when it was learned :'r that Captain Peadar Conlon, who had been 0.0. of Mullingar barracks for five or six months, had been wounded in ’J an ambush near Ballina. Captain Conlon was a most : energetic, courteous, and brave officer, and was most popu- | lan in Mullingar. He distinguished himself in several en- ; gagements in the Midlands since the beginning of hostilities. He took several barracks held by Irregulars, his latest feat before leaving being the capture single-handed , of nine Irregulars whom he surprised in a. house in Knock- . aville. Captain Conlon was put in charge of a flying column in the Western area. On one* occasion he had a marvellous escape, a bullet grazing his back and another tearing his uniform. \<*XK*X*X*> MR. DEVLIN AT WESTMINSTER. The London correspondent, in his review of the Parliamentary session at Westminster, says: Mr. Devlin during the session made things very unpleasant for the antiIrish forces by riveting the attention' of members on the atrocities committed in Belfast and in other parts of the Six Counties area, and in opposing Imperial grants for the maintenance of the Ulster Special Constabulary, the poliV tical partisans who masquerade as the custodians of law and order in Carsonia. His vigorous speeches and searching questions brought home to the House the horrors of the campaign that had been organised against the lives and A property of the Catholic minority under the jurisdiction of the “Northern” Parliament. His last act was to get the Colonial Secretary to grant an inquiry into the cold-blooded • murders of three young men at Cushendall in June last. <*X*X*>*X*> / THE LATE MR. H. BOLAND : INTERMENT IN GLASNEVIN CEMETERY. N 1 After High Mass the remains of Mr. Harry Boland, • T.D., were removed from the Carmelite Church, Whitefriars Street, Dublin, for interment in Glasnevin Cemetery. The celebrant of the Mass was the Rev. Dr. Brovin, Maynooth College. Over a dozen priests were in the choir. The solemn ceremonies were attended by relatives, friends, and political associates of the deceased, as well as by members of the Curaann-na-m-Ban, Fianna Boy Scouts, and representatives of the G.A.A., with which Mr. Boland had a long association. ‘ Along Aungier Street, in which the traffic was regulated by the Cumann-na-mßan, the general public congregated in considerable numbers to view the funeral cortege. The coffin was draped with the tri-color and the wreaths were so numerous that they had to be conveyed in several of the vehicles which followed the hearse to the cemetery. ( A guard of honor , walked beside the bier, which was preceded by about 30 priests on foot. It was • followed by the chief mourners, who included Mrs. Boland (mother), Miss Kathleen Boland (sister), Mr. E. Boland (brother), Miss. Boland and Mrs. Shiel (aunts). Companies ! of the Cumann-na-mßan and kindred societies came next in :H, the procession. After them , walked a number of antiTreaty T.D.’s and the members of the general public. A long line of vehicles, which made an impressive spectacle, composed the cortege, which passed down George’s Street, through Dame Street, O’Connell Street, and the intervening thoroughfares to Glasnevin. At ! various points l--y- along the route numbers of, spectators congregated, and reverently removed . their hats as the remains were borne . . ' to their last resting-place. ' In O’Connell Street a touching • incident was, witnessed. The funeral was met by a Lancia car containing National troops. The vehicle was pulled ,s /bp, and the. occupants, having laid down their arms, rev moved their caps, and stood to attention until the hearse x had passed. On arrival at the cemetery the remains were -^, received by Father Fitzgibbori, the chaplain, and after a brief service they' were interred in the Republican Plot. V Three volleys were fired and the “Last Post” was sounded.

Madame Markievicz, speaking in Irish at. the graveside, said there was no more loyal or faithful comrade ’ than / Harry Boland. -y , N - s ".v ' / HORRIBLE* OUTRAGE DURING MASS: BOMBER’S ' • : ;: ■ ' BLASPHEMY. , A deplorable and sacrilegious outrage is reported in the following official Army bulletin, recording fresh suc- ' cesses in West Limerick, which was issued from the Publicity Department, Field G.H.Q., South-Western Command, on a recent Sunday: 1 ‘ln West Limerick, Rathkeale, Broadford, Askeaton, and Ballingarry were captured after stiff engagements by ■ the troops to-day. “The people accorded the troops a tremendous welcome on their entry into the captured towns. General O’Duffy and Commandant-General , Lynch were present when the troops marched into Rathkeale. .' - “At the early Mass in s Rathkeale that morning, apparently because Canon O’Donnell, P.P., had been for weeks past advising the people to abide by democratic government, an Irregular went into the church with two bombs, avowing in very blasphemous language that he would * do for ’ the Canon., “Some friend of the Irregular followed him into the church and succeeded in getting him to leave without perpetrating any crime.” - .. CANNOT BEAT THE PEOPLE: THE FUTILITY OF - - FORCE. The Gael, declaring that “we have four-fifths of the freedom and independence we desire in the Treaty,” asks “why not use it as a lever to secure complete freedom?” and describes as “sheer nonsense” the idea “that under the Free State Government loyalty to Britain would develop.”r ' Addressing anti-Treatyites, the journal goes on: You cannot but be aware that your party has not the sympathy and support of the Irish people. You must indeed realise that the vast mass of the people are hostile to you. . . And yet, as individuals, most of you are esteemed by the people, whilst as a party you are abhorred. Neither is there any dislike for your political aim—an Irish Republic. But the Irish people think, and perhaps rightly so, that an attempt to secure an Irish Republic by force of arms now would fail and that it would also destroy the gains secured by the Treaty— a word, that it would be national suicide. The Irish people hold, too, that you have attempted to bully them —they resent the revolvertwirling, the freer quarters, the commandeering, the interference with their industry. . . Do you not realise also that a continuance of this fight means moral and material ruin for Ireland, and that if prolonged in guerilla fashion, it will degenerate into a horrible faction fight—murder and counter-murder in every parish in Ireland? You cannot beat the Irish and even if you succeeded in beating them, you would merely be a damnable tyranny, no matter how noble your aims were. Freedom must be broad—based on the people’s will. Following on your victory over the people you should fight England' and with your meagre equipment you could not secure victory.” Finally, the Gael urges the opponents of the Treaty to try the better way—an immediate truce, “march -back your men to their homes; call in all the loose weapons, and form a Republican party that will, in a constitutional manner, place its policy before the Irish people. Pointing out that - Ireland to-day ; has a national consciousness she had not for generations, and discussing “the possibility ,of the actual establishment of the Republic to justify the (present) rebellion,” the Chicago Citizen (famous as the ■ organ of the wellknown Fenian leader the late Col. John Finnery), writes: “We have neither seen nor heard any statement of facts from the rebels, - '.the so-called Republicans, or from • their official- or unofficial . representatives in this country, disclosing either a weakness in England or a great .new strength in Ireland and -her resources, . that' would justify a faith in' the successful accomplishment of the purpose of - the rebellion.; The Irish Government,” ■ adds the “Citizen,” “have handled the situation with rare ability , and with . great. caution and care for the delicacy of the situation,” . ..' '. " '*• s ' • '