Transcript of recordings [Belt No. 1 Page 1] At a meeting of the New Rochelle Clan na Gael Club, headed by Tadg Sullivan, Patrick Hickey and Unkie O'Connor (All Kerry) some very severe accusations were made against a member of the Clan na Gael and the New York District Board were ordered to send two men up to a special meeting of the New Rochelle Clan na Gael. At the following meeting of the New York District Board, which was attended by two representatives from each Club attached to New York, the chair was held by Patrick O'Mahoney of Kerry. The report from New Rochelle was read and it was decided that two members of the District Board - Michael Crowley of West Cork fame and Cornelius Neenan would attend the next meeting of the New Rochelle Club. This they did and were shocked to find - and to listen to and hear accusations made by Unkie O'Connor of Tralee, Co. Kerry that the Clan na Gael Organisation in New York had a member belonging to one of the Kerry Clubs who had been deported from Ireland in 1918 or 1919 because he was on his way to join the then infamous R.I.C. Evidently, his letter of acceptance was intercepted by Michael Collins' Intelligence Department in that Post Office and a report was sent down to the Castlegregory Group to the effect that this man - John Kerry O'Donnell - was on his way to Dublin to join the R.I.C at the Dublin depot. O'Donnell was tried by the Castlegregory Group, who notified the Brigade O.C. in Tralee and, instead of taking severe measures against O'Donnell, he was merely deported. ... in New York City and Unkie and the other members demanded that O'Donnell be dismissed from the Clan na Gael. The case was brought before the New York District Board and it was decided that Tadg Brosnan, who was at one time the captain of the Castlegregory IRA Company, would go back to New Rochelle with the District Officer Paddy Mahoney, Michael Crowley, and myself and determine the nature of these accusations. So we went to New Rochelle, and Tadg Brosnan admitted that the charges made by Unkie O'Connor were definitely true with the result that the N.Y. District Board finally decided on a trial of O'Donnell. [Belt No. 1 Page 2] The New York District Board unanimously expelled John Kerry O'Donnell from the Clan na Gael Organisation. These facts, as in the case of all trials in the Clan na Gael were never made public, except to the various Clubs and the many members of the organisation. Later, our very old friend Jimmy Finucane came to us stating that he and John Kerry O'Donnell had entered into an agreement to bring the Kerry Football team to the U.S., seeking my cooperation and also wanting to know if we had any objection against the suggestion. He was politely told him that we did not have the slightest objection, that I had previously managed the Tipperary All Ireland Hurling team on tour through the U.S., and that I would be prepared to give him Jimmy copies of all the records of the places we visited, whom we met, and the gates, financially. Jimmy was very pleased with this but it also unfortunately meant the return of John Kerry O'Donnell to prominency in the GAA circles. - The Kerry team who must have known about O'Donnell went on tour and had a very successful trip, plus the financial success of the entire project giving O'Donnell a very pleasant profit? This gave Jimmy so many, and too numerous headaches all completely unnecessary and again I may say of the slightest justification because Jimmy at all times spent his 24 hours a day slaving for everything worthwhile in the GAA. [Belt No. 2 Page 1] Early 1939 I happened to be in London and on my way back to Dublin, the plane landed at Manchester where I picked up a daily paper in which I read of IRA Bombings in certain parts of London. This evidently followed a statement already made by the IRA declaring war on England and the request for withdrawal of at any English forces in Ireland, obviously meaning the elimination of English control in the six counties of N.I. Returning to London, I stayed with a very close friend of mine in his flat at Croydon and we found out that these bombings continued, as a matter of fact one night in the Lobby of the Hyde Park (?) Hotel I spotted two young Irish men ....obviously dressed in a suspicious way. I approached them and very quietly I told them, after assuring them that I was a good friend, that the lobby of this hotel was certainly not the right place to try and make contacts, appointments, or to even be around ...?... told me that he was COMPLETELY OUT OF contact with any headquarters in London and what actually was their assignment to do….. One of the lads had in his possession a large sum of money, the other one had in his possession a quantity of detonators. I explained to them that in any kind of a search or hold up they would both be immediately arrested and tried. I strongly advised them good friends, whom I knew, living in London and very nicely kept the money for them and on my instruction they were to leave the
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