IRISH TURMOIL.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIII, 22 May 1922, Page 5

IRISH TURMOIL.

BLOOD AND FIRE EXTENSIVE OPERATIONS. Press Assn. —By Tel. —Copyright. London, May 20. Sinn Feiners, operating on an extensive scale in country Antrim, destroyed the railway at Dunley, cut the telegraph wires, seized or blew up police barracks at Glenarm, Martinstown, Carnlough, Cushendall, Ruthkenny, raided several post offices, blocked roads with boulders, and burned down Lord O’Neills seat at Shanecastle, situated on the shores of Lough Neach.

Neighbours rescued Lady O’Neill. Both are elderly. Attackers arrived from Tyrone in boats and held up the inmates, sprinkled petrol through the building, which was soon a blazing furnace. No fire brigade was available and little was saved.

Similar raids were made in County Down where several railway stations were attacked. They burned Galgorn. Castle, Ballymena, razed Baroness de Ross’s residence, an old Court Castle at Downpatrick, destroyed police barracks at Castle Wellan. Three attackers were killed and seven wounded.

DETAILS OF INCENDIARISM. BURNING OF CASTLE O’NEILL. London, May 20. Details of the incendiarism in Ireland show that O’Neill’s Castle was attacked in military style. A large force, crossing the Lough Neagh in th e small hours, surrounded the Castle, surprising the watchman, and then forced the petrol store. The land steward and carpenter rushed out, but were promptly eap-.i tured. The latter was shot in the leg, and they and the other servants were confined in the kitchen.

The pantry boy was forced at the point of a revolver to carry petrol, with which the attackers saturated the woodwork.

Before setting fire to the house, they put O’Neill on a stretcher, and ordered the servants to carry him to the land agent’s house. Lady O’Neill, a pathetic weeping figure, followed afoot; the rebels retiring when the castle was well ablaze.

OLD COURT CASTLE BURNED.

The burning of the Old Court Castle, filled with priceless heirlooms was similarly carried out. Lady Derms was suddenly awakened, and watched the conflagration from the lawn in her night clothes.

ANOTHER FINE RESIDENCE DESTROYED.

Another fine residence, Craigbally House, near Ballymena, which was burned in the same manner, was the seat of the Honourable W. R. Young, brother of General Young, Sergeant-at-Arms in the Northern Parliament.

TELEGRAPH WIRES CUT. In every case, the incendiarists took the precaution to entirely isolate the place by cutting the wires, and destroying the telegraph office. FIERCE FIGHTING IN CUSHENDAL. London, May 20. There was fierce fighting in the village of Cushendal, where the summer residence of Ronald O’Neill, a Commoner, was burned. A large band of armed men took possession of the village at midnight and fought the police for hours. The police building was badly damaged, but the police refused to surrender.

Drumnascle House, the residence of the Thornleys, was also burned. When the police mustered after the retreat, they found one constable killed and four wounded. So far as is known, four raiders were killed, seven wounded, and ten captured. REPRISALS ALL ROUND. ' I- - ♦ . . LONDON, May 29. When premises were opened for busiBees, armed gangs entered Belfast warehouses and held up the staffs.

Petrol was sprinkled- throughout the buildings then ignited. • Detective Heslep, while following four men who raided a shop in Belfast, was shot dead after effecting the first arrest.

Corn Mill publichouse was burned down and two houses partially destroyed by fire in South Durrow. All the victims were Catholics. The outrages are believed to be reprisals for the recent murders of the constabulary. Armed gangs, apparently seeking Protestant workers in the cooperage works in Belfast, shot four men, two fatally. It is believed to be a reprisal for yesterday’s shootings. Nine men in the afternoon entered Garrett and Little’s cooperage works and found five coopers working. They demanded the religion of each at the revolver point, and shot four Protestants, named Murphy, Maxwell, Patterson, and Boyd, and left the fifth, who was a Catholic, alone.

MORE CASUALTIES. London, May 21. Ten are dead and ten seriously wounded as the result of the shooting in Belfast on Saturday night. The firing was renewed on Sunday morning when three more were killed and 14 sent to hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. An armed gang shot a widow named Shields and her married daughter when they entered their house and were not able to find Mrs Shields’ son. BELFAST SITUATION The situation in Belfast is very grave. People are in a state of apprehension. The police and military are patrolling the streets in strong foroe.

There were eight further incendiary fires during Friday night.

Maxwell, one of the men wounded in the cooperage raid, succumbed. John Conolly was shot dead in a timber yard in Cork Street.

GRUESOME DETAILS. LONDON, May 21. The Irish outrages were the result of simultaneous Republican risings in Down and Antrim, which are now completely isolated. Telegraphs are cut, bridges destroyed, railways torn up, stations, post offices and police barracks attacked. The outrages occurred in Roman Catholic and mixed centres. Loyalist centres were not affected. The destruction of Shane’s Castle was carried out at 2 a.m., when Lord and Lady O’Neill were in bed. The former, aged 82, is the father of the Speaker of the Ulster Parliament, and had to be carried out on a stretcher. He wept as he saw the beautiful castle, containing many historic pietures and treasures, blazing. During the fighting in Antrim, a special constable named McNeill, was killed. The police defended the barracks heroically. Raiders broke through a wall at Martinstown, and threw bombs, but were eventually beaten off. CushendaH police defended the barracks for four hpurs against 150 rebels, who had possession of the village. The residents were panic stricken.

The rebels burned the branch of the bank, and carried off post office instruments. The residence of Mr Ronald McNeill, Member of the House of Commons for Cushenden, was burned, and many valuables destroyed.

ULSTER’S RESPONSE The Ulster Cabinet officially announces that necessary steps to cope with the situation have been decided upon after consultation with the military and police authorities. ELECTION ON JUNE 1. LONDON, May 20. In the Dail Eireann Mr Brugha, opposing Mr Griffith’s motion regarding the poll first spoke in Irish, then addressing his opponents said: “I will now speak in the language of your masters. If this election is persisted in, Ireland will be divided into two British dominions.’ He added: “I dare say we must Tigain fight the English before we get what we want.” Mr O’Callaghan, Lord Mayor of Dublin, pointed out the small difference between the parties of the Peace Committee. A discussion followed upon the suggestion that Mr de Valera and Mr Collins should lay their points of agreement before the Dail Eireann, which then adjourned. When the Dail re-assembled the Speaker announced that Mr de Valera and Mr Colling had reached an agreement on the following terms: — First—That a- National Coalition panel, representing both parties in the 'Dail Eireann and the Sinn Fein ■' organisations be sent forward on the ground that the national position requires the entrustment of the Government of the country into the joint hands of those who have been the strength of the national situa-

tion for the last few years, without prejudice to their respective positions.

Second— That the panel sent foiward as from the Sinn Fein organisations number from each party according to the present strengths in the Dail Eireann. Third—That the candidates be nomi nated by the existing Party Executives. Fourth—That every and any interest be free to qontest elections with the national Sinn Fein panel. Fifth—That constituencies where there is no contest, continue with the present representative. Sixth—After the election the Executive consist of a President-Elect as formerly, Minister of Defence and nine other Ministers, five from tha majority and four from the minority party, each party choosing its own the President allocating the portfolios. Seventh—That, in the event of the Coalition finding dissolution necessary, a general election be held, as early as possible under adult suffrage. The agreement was greeted with applause. Mr Griffith proposed that the , elections be held in June, subject to the above agreement. Mr de Valera seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. The Dail Eireann then adjourned tin May 31.