time I would be able to have someone else appointed. Holding this office meant a lot of reorganisation work all over the country and cementing positions in Niagara Falls, Montreal, Canada, and other key places. Fortunately, my efforts met with success and proved to be of great help to quite a number of our members whose appointments had never been officially verified and who had never been properly equipped with the necessary files and records. We saw to it that, in time, all became correctly and legally certified. The litigation on the Irish Bond case was afoot at that time. Later Garth Healy took over as Manager of the Irish Bond Office and had such stalwarts as Mick Crowley of Kilbrittan, Paddy Lackan-Ryan of Tipperary, and Michael Barrett of Cork City working for him. Garth never forgot either his national aspirations or the part played by those who were involved in the fight for freedom from 1916 on. It was also in 1927 that De Valera entered the Dail with the newly created Fianna Fail Party. This led to a very big discussion at the Clan na Gael Con- [130] vention in 1928 when finally a resolution was passed by a big majority, although a few delegates fought very aggressively against it. The resolution carried prevented any member of any Clan club to support any political party which contested elections in Ireland. The Clan Executive Council, at this time, consisted of Joe McGarrity (Chairman), Luke Dillon (Secretary), Major Michael Enright (Chicago), Tom Pay (Cincinnatti), John Sullivan (Boston) - whose brother Tadg was killed in the Black and Tan War -, Con Sullivan (New Jersey) - who also had a brother killed in the same war -, Jimmie McGee from Louth (Treasurer), John Kenny (Hartford), Harry McCarney (Philadelphia), H. Gavin (Toronto), and John T. Ryan (Buffalo). In the following years some of these men were replaced by Dan Donovan, Michael McLaughlin (to the post of Treasurer), Peter Kearney, and Thomas Gill. 1929 During that year Sean McBride arrived on a mission and stayed at the Hotel York in New York. When I called to pick him up, Sean told me that several enquiries had come in by way of telephone calls supposedly from "relatives". In Jimmy Finucane's presence I told Sean that it definitely seemed to be a check-up manoeuvre and that, in all probability, he had been followed. Leaving the Hotel I suggested that he should go ahead with Jimmy while I would stay behind first, to see if he was being followed and second, WHO was following him. Sure enough our scheme worked, and I was able to get a good description of the man trailing Sean. Acting on instructions, Sean and Jimmy lost him in the subway and I met them later as we had arranged. Sean met Dan Donovan, Tom Daly, Joe McGarrity, John T. Ryan, and myself. The scheme he proposed was thoroughly discussed but then dropped as being too impractical. It did enable us, however, to get a very clear picture of the Russian [131] who wanted to use us, and of their tactics and their mode of operations which were totally incompatible with our ideas. During Sean visit we also called to see Luke Dillon (who was very ill). He was Secretary of the Clan na Gael for many years; he was also one of the most courageous and outspoken men I ever met. Luke went to London three times where he successfully dynamited the House of Commons and other spots, after which he managed to return safely to the States. During the Boar War Luke was caught, under a different name and sentenced for trying to blow up the Welland Canal in Canada. Luke was then fifty years of age and in bad health. Due to the influence and effective help of Joe McGarrity, and others, Luke was released in 1914 when he was 64 years of age. I worked with Luke throughout the years, attended all the Clan na Gael Executive meetings with him, and saw a great deal of him in general. Luke died in 1930. 1929-1930 Two members of the Clan Executive Council, Dan Donovan and Michael McLaughlin went across to get a complete picture of conditions in Ireland. Receiving the full co-operation of the IRA Army Council, both men enquired and investigated as thoroughly as was possible during their visit. Then, and after their return to the U.S., they gave a very bright picture of conditions and many on the Clan Executive Council accepted their report most enthusiastically. However some of the younger members, myself included, asked several pertinent questions only to be met with Dan and Michael’s reply that the conditions they reported were exactly as given to them by the Army Council.
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