informing the British of the location of a "safe" house which our lads had used in Ballycannon since O’Connell had been arrested by the British. It was decided that O'Connor would have to be eliminated. The British who must have heard rumours, had moved him out of Ireland and over to England for his own protection and he landed in Southampton which we learned on account of some letters he sent from there. Together with his brother he set off for, and finally reached New York. Subsequently, three very able and active members of 1st Battalion, Cork 1 Brigade, were assigned to the mission of eliminating O'Connor. Their transportation and travel expenses were supported and subsidized by Michael Collins who knew all about the venture. 6 [77] THE TREATY News of the Treaty exploded and caused almost delirious relief and happiness amongst the people; but any details of the term of the Treaty were missing. That morning, I met my God-mother, Mrs. Ryan, while I was calling on some of our more active workers on Bandon Road. Her sisters, a Mrs. Madden and a Mrs. Bracken, greeted me with big sighs of relief and the repeated, joyful exclamation "peace at last". I replied somewhat sceptically that I hoped they were right and that the key word would really turn out to be peace and not, perhaps, "pieces". (In later years, both of them often reminded me how unfortunately right and prophetic my wordplay had been!) Obviously, the Treaty was in everybody's mind and on everyone's lips, long discussions ensued and we all hoped for the best. A few days after the declaration of the Treaty, a statement was issued by De Valera which caused surprise and consternation. It became apparent that some of the clauses in the Treaty were far from acceptable and, our hopes now rested in the Dáil to fully explain its content and meaning and to clarify the entire document and situation. The debates that followed in the Dáil did nothing to help and the irritation and bad feelings arising amongst some of the Leaders and other T.D.'s were only too obvious. This caused even greater confusion amongst the general population, as some of their elected and trusted T.D.'s accepted the Treaty as it stood compounding the sense of confusion and deep anxiety. Both, the Church and the Press acclaimed the Treaty as the best and only solution, pointing out all the advantages it, supposedly, held for the country. However, the very idea of "peace at last" was the greatest Plus and benefit the treaty held, and on this it was all the more acceptable to the people. In December, and while I was chatting with Sean Hegarty at a meeting we had arranged, three very urgent problems arose. They were: (1) the final news of the whereabouts of "Monkey" McDonnell; (2) stored ammunitions in London; (3) collecting the proceeds of a car we had sold to a man in Islington, London. [78] Sean suggested that Mick Murphy and I should go over to London and, since Mick had a married sister living there, we had an excellent alibi for such a visit. We set off, and travelled to Dublin by train and, while on the train, I noticed a man who seemed to be watching us closely, obviously, I pointed him out to Mick right away. I then explained to him that, one day, still during the Black and Tan War when Michael Carey, Battalion Quarter Master, and I left Brigade Headquarters in Cork, this man had been standing across the street. He was without a tie (typical sign of a farmer" in town" for the day) carrying a package under his arm this seemed to be a pair of shoes with the name of Tyler imprinted on the wrapping paper (Tyler's being a well-known Cork Shoe shop). Yet, he looked so keenly at us, taking in every detail, that I got uneasy and had whispered to Mick Carey, ''Count to ten as you walk at a normal pace, but then, start running, and run like hell." I, of course, planned to do the same but we had barely counted to four when a woman, passing by, whispered to me, “Boys that man over there and some others are following you!" That was all we needed and Michael Carey and I, both, broke into a sprint running in different directions. We got away safely and had asked Intelligence for a report, right away; they had no information on that particular man, however I figured him to be a detective in the service of the British who, I figure incidentally, looked very Irish in appearance.
6 (CFX note section in original ... ALL DUPLICATION (except for injection of Pete Kelleher’s name) therefore eliminated here but check and then combine all facts of "Monkey" story).
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