Cuimhní cinn a breacadh 1918-19 : an dara cuid

itself gradually felt, and which would in another two or three years have embraced everybody calling himself a Nationalist, [in Ireland,] and have captured a considerable proportion of Non-Nationalists as well. All this splendid outlook was spoiled by Arthur Griffiths who thought too precipitately to [...state?] what was only a feeling of sentiment with an actuality, and who utterly misjudging public sentiment, and either not understanding or else not minding the damage that he was doing, [- upon] turned the entire Parliamentary representation against him – and to a large extent against the Irish-Ireland movement – by setting up a candidate of his own or his partys in North Leitrim. [This] Of course he was badly beaten, but [from this time forward] from this time forward the members of Parliament and their supporters through the country fell off from the Irish Ireland movement which they identified with this attack upon themselves.

A great deal of bitter language was used, and the movement for the nationalisation of Ireland which was going on so nicely, was (botún) injured beyond recovery. I ascribed all this misfortune at the time to Griffiths and two or three of his followers who wanted to become the heads of a new party and to be in the public eye. [Had to become members of Parliament if possible] If he had had any vision the damage he was doing to the Irish Ireland movement must have been obvious to him, but I don’t believe[d] he cared very much about that.

When the Gaelic League first started [originally] it was handicapped and very nearly destroyed by poor Liam Rooney who went round speaking for the language but in every speech he made bitterly inveighing against the Irish party. I remember that when in . . . . Dr O Donnell of Raphoe held his great Aonach in Letterkenny to collect funds for his cathedral I went up there, with PJ Keawell who was then I think Sec[y] of the G League

and Miss Borthwick. John Dillon was there also, and after a day or two Keawell made an appointment with him, the idea being that he Miss Borthwick and myself should/would[?] interview him – with what object however was not very plain. I did not much like going as I had really nothing to say to him except to ask for his sympathy. He immediately, when we came in, began by asking what on earth [who] was this thing which he was being told by every one about a young man called Rooney who was speaking all over Mayo and the West, and abusing and scoffing at the Party whenever he spoke. He said such action was intolerable and the party would not stand it. I said that it was not at G League meetings that Rooney was abusing the party, that he was a free lance, and that our G League should not be held responsible for his language. This seemed to satisfy

him, until Keawell said “Mr Dillion this movement of ours is a movement that will have to be reckoned with". What he meant by this I did not know, but Dillon turned upon him with the sharpness of a knife and asked him did he mean that it was going to start a party of its own, and run members for Parliament, (botún) and was that what he meant when he said the movement must be reckoned with. Keawell who had been down I think some time before in Ballyvourney and had (botún) received an exaggerated notion of Dr. Lynch’s importance down there said something about certain constituencies backing us up, such as (botún) West Cork. Well said Dillon if you are going to run a man against x x x x an old and tried[?] and valued member of the party, just because he does not know Irish, I give you fair warning I’ll go down and fight you as long as I have a leg to stand on. I was very much taken with his outspokenness and candour, as well as his quickness in coming to the point.

There was a little later on, one morning set aside at this Aonach for an Irish conference. All the speeches were to be in Irish – no one was to speak more than five minutes. There was a great crowd and Dr O Donnell himself presided. I had concocted what I thought a lovely 5 minutes speech, ending up with a eulogium of the two O' Donnells, one (Red. Hugh,) who defended Ireland against the English in arms and armour, and the other (the Bushy, B Donnell) then amongst us, who defended us against the English mind. I had an elegant peroration contrasting the two, the physical and mental of the pair of O Donnells, and with my last word and a final gesture intended to be impressive I stepped off the platform and a burst of applause on to three or four steps that led down from it into the body of the hall, and these instantly sliding from under me as if they were a trap, I was thrown forwards on my head, descending a kind of parabola, certainly a perfect summersault. It was the most [u]nsupportive anti-climax [that I was] at which I ever assisted, and