Report of 23 March 1916

(NAI, CSO/JD/2/235)

The report of 23 March 1916 states that Thomas J Clarke paid a brief visit to his shop at 75 Parnell Street. Following his departure, the shop is visited throughout the day by Con Colbert, Patrick H Pearse, AWW Cotton, William Sheehan and Edward Daly.

A meeting in the office of the Irish Volunteers, 2 Dawson Street, is attended by Michael J O’Rahilly, Michael O’Hanrahan, Herbert ‘Barney’ Mellows, Éamonn J Duggan, Bulmer Hobson and James Whelan. A second meeting later the same evening is again attended by Hobson and O’Rahilly, along with Thomas MacDonagh, Jeremiah Joseph O’Connell, John Fitzgibbon, [James] O’Connor, Charles S [Wyse] Power, James O’Sullivan, Frank Fahy, Éamonn Ceannt, Laurence Raul, Joseph McGuinness and Seán MacDiarmada, whose arrival from Limerick earlier in the day is noted. Thoughout the meeting, the premises is guarded by ‘a party of Irish Volunteers in uniform with rifles and fixed bayonets’.

JJ Walsh is observed in his shop at 26 Blessington Street.

The report concludes with details of the assembly of around 45 members of the Irish Volunteers at 25 Rutland Square and their route march ‘in the vicinity’.

Copies are included of the latest issues of Nationality, The Hibernian, Honesty and The Irishman. An annotation on the report states Ch Sec [Chief Secretary] The Ld Liet [Lord Lieutenant] ‘The Irishman’ is harmless though Mr Ponsonby Staples [cartoon] is hostile’. The copy of the Irish Volunteer referred to in the report is not present.

For the full report please see Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) Detective Department report on the movement of Dublin extremists on 22 March 1916.