§ 80. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he now has information as to whether, on the 25th October last, a band of armed men, who described themselves as secret service agents, entered the house of William Gleeson, Moher, County Tipperary, in search of his son, James, whom they stated they had come to kill; whether they threatened the father with death, and, on his son, William, offering his life for his father, they took him, the son, outside the house and murdered him; whether any form of inquiry has taken place; and what was the evidence and finding?
§ Mr. HENRYI have not yet received the report of the court of inquiry in this case, and regret that I am, therefore, not yet in a position to deal with the hon. Member's question.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYWhy, after well over a month, has information not yet arrived about these murders, and may we be assured that the murder of an Irish peasant or his son is not of such small account that the Government do not bestir themselves to trace the perpetrator?
§ Mr. HENRYEvery effort is being made by the military to carry out their duties, but necessarily their duties are rather varied and dangerous.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYIs not this case so horrible, on the face of it, as to have caused some extra steps to be taken to find out the murderer and to prevent the recurrence of such crimes?
§ Mr. MacVEAGHCan the right hon. Gentleman say, seeing that these murders took place on the 25th October, whether an inquiry has in fact yet been held, and, if not, why not?
§ Mr. HENRYI have already stated that the report has not been received. It is the absence of the report that prevents the giving of the information.
§ Mr. MacVEAGHHas an inquiry actually been held?
§ Mr. HENRYI have said so. It is the absence of the report of the inquiry that prevents the giving of an answer.
§ Mr. DEVLINIs not a report sent immediately to the Chief Secretary after an inquiry? Is not this a matter in which it is important to have a report at once?
§ Mr. HENRYVery often the inquiry has to be adjourned for the purpose of trying to discover other things.
§ Mr. LYLEIs it not a fact that questions such as those which have been put by the hon. and gallant Member for Central Hull are really encouraging murders on the other side?
§ 81. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he can now state whether two ex-soldiers, named Blake and O'Neill, were court martialled recently on the charge of murdering Constable Walter Oakley in Limerick last July; whether they were acquitted; whether they were returning to their homes by motor on the night of the 20th November when they were stopped by armed men, who asked for them by name and then murdered O'Neill and the brother of Blake; whether the murderers have been placed under arrest; what is the Government theory for the crime; and whether Blake and O'Neill were married and leave families?
§ Mr. HENRYThe answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative. In regard to the remaining parts of the question, I regret to state that James O'Neill, one of the prisoners, and Michael Blake, the brother of the other prisoner, were murdered on the date mentioned and in the circumstances described. All efforts to trace the perpetrators of the crime have, unfortunately, been unsuccessful, and the Government have no information which would enable them to form any theory in the matter. James O'Neill was unmarried, but Michael Blake was married and leaves four children.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that it has been stated in the Press that Government motor lorries were near the scene of this tragedy, and is it quite impossible to find out anything about it? Is it possible at night in Ireland for men to be held up and shot like this and for the Government to know nothing whatever about it?
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYMay I ask if one of these men was not an ex-soldier who fought with gallantry in the War, and are the Government taking no further steps to find out the perpetrators?
§ Mr. MacVEAGHMay I ask whether any inquiry has been held in this case yet?
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYOh, it does not matter; it is only an ex-service man!
§ 86. Mr. DEVLINasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to an outbreak on the part of the Crown forces at Ballylongford, County Kerry, on Monday night last; whether he is aware that the Crown Forces descended upon the village discharging firearms; whether they totally destroyed by fire the premises of Mr. John Collins, and also set fire to the schoolhouse and the residence of Mr. Daniel O'Rorke, school teacher, who sought safety in flight; and what action he proposes to take in the matter?
§ Mr. HENRYI have called for, but have not yet received, a report with re- 1239 ference to this matter. Perhaps the hon. Member will be good enough to repeat this question, of which I only received notice yesterday, one day next week.
§ Mr. DEVLINWould it not be well to tell the military authorities, when they murder people, to send a report to the Chief Secretary?
§ Mr. T. P. O'CONNOR(by Private Notice) asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, as stated by the special correspondent of the "Manchester Guardian," almost every night for the last ten days members of the Crown forces police have set on fire one or more buildings in the City of Cork; whether several of the larger shops of the city have thus been destroyed, and whether attempts by the fire brigade to put down the fires have been prevented by shots from the forces of the Crown or by cutting the hoses; whether, after a raid by military and police in motor cars on houses at Ardee, County Louth, two young men named Kearney or Tearney, and a man named John O'Carroll, were taken out and killed by the forces of the Crown; for further particulars with regard to the raid on the offices of the "Irish Times," the chief Unionist organ m Dublin; whether it is true that the entire staff was gathered into a large room by a body of raiders armed and masked by handkerchiefs or some other form of covering; whether these raiders plunged revolvers into the faces of the staff; whether Mrs. Colman O'Connell and her two daughters were trapped in an upper floor of the building of the "Freeman's Journal" when the raid took place upon it, and whether they were rescued with great difficulty from the incendiary fire by a fire escape; and whether a considerable amount of property belonging to the newspaper was destroyed.
§ Mr. HENRYI am informed that fires have broken out in Cork City on several nights during the past fortnight and that a number of large shops have been destroyed. The fire brigade allege that they were fired upon on one occasion and that the fire hoses have been maliciously damaged. The perpetrators of these incendiary outrages are unknown to the police, who have done everything in their power to assist in putting out the fires 1240 and to prevent looting. In consequence of the allegation referred to, special police protection has since been given to the fire brigade while on duty. I am unable to make any statement in regard to the murders in Ardee pending the result of the military court of inquiry which is being held. The reply on the various points raised in the rest of the hon. Member's question is in the affirmative.
§ Mr. DEVLINIn regard to the outrages upon these two newspapers, one the leading Unionist journal in Dublin, what do you propose to do in the matter?
§ Mr. HENRYWe propose to catch the perpetrators, if possible, but it is exceedingly difficult to do so, and, seeing that one of the newspapers is Unionist, and the other is not, the persons who perpetrated these atrocities seem to be perfectly impartial.
§ Lord H. CAVENDISH-BENTINCKDo not these events illustrate the hopeless breakdown of your Government in Ireland?
§ Mr. DEVLINIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that these two outrages occurred after curfew was in operation and when ordinary citizens were not allowed outside their houses; and is not this a clear case that these outrages were done by the servants of the Crown in Ireland, and is not that the reason why the perpetrators have not been caught?
§ Mr. DEVLINCan you draw any inference from anything?