not have, so he delegated me to go and see some people on his behalf. This I did and they responded most kindly with loans. Joe was a very energetic worker, gifted with a great charm and with genuine [137] sincerity, and his business was rapidly on the rise. At a meeting of the Clan Executive Council, prior to Michael Price's return to Ireland, Tom McGill and I were delegated to go to Ireland. there to see the IRA Army Council, look into all aspects of the situation and then to return with our report. We travelled on the German Hamburg-America liner "Deutschland" to Southampton. Upon landing Tom drew my attention to two men who seemed to be closely watching us. I felt their manner of looking us over was much too obvious for them to be Scotland Yard detectives or even some "private eyes", so I told Tom to forget about them. Still, arriving in London and stepping off the boat train, here they were again, the same two men and by this time Tom was convinced that we were being "tailed" and I got a bit uneasy myself. So, we decided to shake the pair by going south to Twickenham, after we had left our bags in the luggage check room. I had been in London many times before and knew the city pretty well. Late that night and after dark, we retraced our route, recovered our bags, and checked into a hotel in Euston Square. The following day we called on Mrs. Egan and her daughter Nellie's husband and their two children. Two days later, after having made some more calls, we went into the office of the Hamburg-America Shipping Line and there, to our utter amazement, we found our two supposed "Detectives" who were nothing else but two genuine, innocent employees of that fine Company!! Incidentally, and when at sea, the Captain of the ship entertained us royally, and it was evident to us that the New York Office had sent a message to London with the directive that we were to be offered any help or convenience we might ask for. So, our "detectives" were probably just keeping an eye out to ensure our comfort. Upon arrival in Dublin we contacted Moss Twomey and some other IRA members to inform them of our visit. Moss was just then going to the West of Ireland to [138] attend County conventions for the purpose of electing delegates to the IRA Convention, so, I accepted his invitation and went along with him to Galway and Mayo. We also had other business to attend to in Galway, hence the advisability of my presence. Many visitors from all over the U.S. were coming to Ireland in 1932 as it was the year of the Eucharistic Congress and quite a number of them were members of the Clan na Gael. I met them at Cobh on arrival and again later in Dublin where the IRA staged a reception for them at the Mansion House, that was in the month of August, 1932. The IRA Convention was held and some quite heated argumentation took place. Although the meeting was most harmonious, it was also evident that some of those attending were very strong supporters of De Velera's political party, hence a report of that IRA Convention must have been in the hands of the Government a day later. The Clan Executive Council suggested that I go and see Mr. De Valera, which I did. He was very cordial and suggested that I leave America for good and come home to Ireland. I told him that was out of the question as I had promised to return and submit my report. On leaving he said to me (and, frankly, I had expected him to say something to that extent): "One thing more, I will not stand for the importation of any arms into Ireland." "No harm in that, Sir," said I. "Billy Cosgrave has been telling us the exact same thing for the past ten years!". De Valera smiled at me and said good-bye. I made plans to return to the States right after the IRA Convention closed and after the election of officers to the Executive Council was completed. My booking was on the Hamburg-America liner "St. Louis", sailing from Galway this time and not from Cobh. Next, I received a message that Mr. De Valera would like to see me again before I left Dublin. When we met, he gave me messages for Joe McGarrity and Major Enright, and he also told me of his intention to appoint Consuls Sean Nunan, Garth Healy, and Dan MeGrath. I enquired about Bill Gleeson, [139] who had lost his position with the U.S. Customs because of his nationalistic Irish activities; Dev assured me that he had, by no means, forgotten Bill. When Bill heard the good news he was, of course. very pleased but. sad to relate, he never got any position with the Irish Government. (The fact that Bill was a U.S. Citizen would not have prevented his appointment as Dan MeGrath (an attorney) was also a U.S. Citizen. and he got his appointment.) putting up lists of stocks for sale. As trading activity increased, the shouting reached such a high level that stock hand signals had to be introduced so that the brokers could continue trading. (Source: Wikipedia)
65
Powered by FlippingBook