§ 67. Major NEWMANasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ire land whether he has received intimation of the alleged holding-up of the town of Kiltimagh, county Galway, on the 1st to the 3rd instant by the volunteers of the Irish Republic, when all entrances and exits were held and passage only allowed by permit issued in the name of the Irish Republic; will he say if what was alleged to have taken place was for the benefit of some cinematograph operator; and, if not, how many of those who seized the town are now in custody?
§ Mr. DUKEOn 1st March there was a Sinn Fein procession with torches in the little country town named by the hon. and 179 gallant Member. On the 3rd March about 300 young men from various outlying districts met there and took part in drilling and then dispersed. The two constables who were on duty have duly reported the occurrence. The story which has appeared in some newspapers of the holding-up and occupation of the Irish town of Kiltimagh by Irish Republican volunteers is, so far as the constabulary are aware, mere fiction. Its appearance led to my directing a searching inquiry into the matter, and I am now trying to find out who was the author of this mischievous tale.