put into circulation. I spoke with the heads of the Clan-na-Gael in Philadelphia and other cities and pointed out what a ........ [Belt No. 9 page 1] On the night of Tomas MacCurtain's murder a meeting was held in District Inspector Swansea's home. The maid there was very sympathetic and later commented on the presence of this "tall, dark policeman”, dressed in civilian clothes, whom she took to be a policeman because he came in company with many other policemen. This man's identity was never known or located, neither his name nor even his presence was ever mentioned in the subsequent inquiry into the murder of Tomas MacCurtain. Even two sergeants who participated in the patrol during which the murder was committed, the one from Co. Cork, the other from Co. Kerry - both of them very sympathetic - never knew or had heard about this man, and failed to obtain any information about him. Years later, when the Maid was again questioned by our people, all she could do was to give a fairly good description of the man she had seen that night. The British again blundered and had Inspector Swansea removed from Cork to the town of Lisburn (??). There he was located, and with the help of Michael Collins, arrangements were made for the extermination of Swansea. In the first instance four Corkmen were sent up and after looking the entire position over it was decided that two men would be sufficient. This turned out to be true and the two men, after completing their orders, instead of beating it to the South, they, unfortunately, headed up to the North. Fortunately, the soon realized their mistake, re-tracked their steps, got to Dublin, and, finally, arrived safely back in Cork. The murder of MacCurtain, followed by the murder of Lord Mayor Clancy, and by the murder of Lord Mayor O'Callaghan of Limerick, seemed to be a part seemed to be part of the British plan to wipe out [Belt No. 9 Page 2] all the leaders of Sinn Fein and of the IRA. This was, subsequently, born out by the "Cairo" Gang which invaded Ireland, disguised as commercial travellers, at the end of 1920. When Frank Thornton and a ? O’Malley?, who gave the name of Archie Stuart were interrogated at Dublin Castle, they were questioned very severely by a number of civilians. Michael Collins checked with his men, Roy and company, only to find out that they had no knowledge whatsoever of these men. Later during a raid on Vaughan's Hotel in Dublin, Liam Tobin and Tom Cullen were interrogated again very severely again by men in civilian clothes. By a stroke of luck a... of Tom Cullen informed them then that he was in the racing business, invited them to a meeting where he promised them some windows. So, both men got safely away, and the following day a raid again was made on Vaughan's Hotel. When the police realised they had made a mistake they let Tobin and Cullen go. Michael Collins' carefully checked with Tobin and Cullen and also with Frank Thornton who had been released from Dublin Castle which was also very strange in view of the fact that Frank had been wounded twice in 1916. In all three cases it was made very clear that our men had been interrogated by civilians. In a very short time, Mick Collins gathered sufficient information on the fact that the "Cairo" was operating in Dublin, masquerading as commercial travellers. He went to the extreme trouble of having all their mail intercepted, copied, and then allowed to be sent on to the individual recipients. In addition, he had their living quarters staked out, quickly discovering that these travellers' stayed in bed all day and only went [Belt No. 9 Page 3] out at night. He was also able to obtain, through and from the Maids who worked in these houses, all the notes and papers these men threw in the wastepaper baskets. Consequently, and in a short space of time, Mick Collins was not only able to identify and get the names of these men, but also their mission in Ireland; a mission, solely destined to kill off all the Irish leaders. Mick's famous remark for the Saturday before 'Bloody Sunday' was and I quote "It is either us or them - and this time it's going to be them". How prophetic he was! Because if he had allowed this gang to murder our leaders, we would have been sadly defeated and totally wiped out. In other words, Bloody Sunday was actually a major turning point in the entire Black and Tan War. When the bodies of the "Cairo Gang" members were taken to London, no less but four British Cabinet Ministers attended the funeral, thereby showing the importance in which there individuals were held. It also illustrated, only too clearly, that the British Cabinet were behind the plan to murder and assassinate Irish Nationalists “ad lib”. It is very interesting too, to read of a conversation which took place between Michael Collins and British General Crozier, who had resigned in protest from the British Auxiliaries due, to what he termed at the time, “Black and Tan Excesses”. The importance of that particular discussion, which is documented, lies in the fact that it told the British people ...... Tape suddenly breaks off here! !! No more recorded :- the End.
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