Hearts and Minds, 1919.
War of Independence Jan 1919--July 1922.
[Note added by Michael
Purcell 2010. One of the men in Belfast prison at this time was
Seamus Lennon, T.D.E. from Carlow, a Sinn Feiner, he was elected to
the First Dail as representative for Carlow in 1918. Patrick
Gaffney, a brother of William Gaffney, secretary to the
Graiguecullen Sinn Fein Club, was in jail in England. The Hunting /
Racing debate could be regarded as an early battle for "hearts and
minds".]
Nationalist, May 1919.
Letter to the Editor.
- Straw Hall,
- Carlow,
- April 15th 1919.
Carlow Hunt Sportman's Races.
Sir:--It has been found necessary with great
regret to abandon the races planned for Easter Monday. Politics were
brought in as a condition to the holding of the meeting therefore no
other course was open to the Committee.~~
- Yours faithfully,
- H. Herring-Cooper, Hon. Sec.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reply to above letter. Nationalist, May 1919.
Graiguecullen Sinn Fein Club.
25th April, 1919.
Sir:-- We leave it to your readers to determine
the truth or accuracy of the statement of the Carlow Hunt Race
Committee.
They were not asked to interfere in a political
matter. They were asked merely on purely humanitarian grounds to
protest against the brutal treatment that at present is being given
to certain young Irishmen in Irish and British jails. They were not
asked to protest against the imprisonment of these men, but against
the present conditions of their imprisonment which were equalled
only in the worst days of the slave trade.
The members of the Hunt Committee dismiss all
this as politics. They would be pleased to have their day's sport on
the lands of the men whose own relative is one of the suffering in
Belfast Jail --- sportsmen indeed!
Further, they were asked to protest against the
gross breach of faith perpetrated by the English Chief Secretary for
Ireland against the Bishop of Down and Connor and the Lord Mayor of
Dublin in the matter of the prisoners' treatment.
But again sportsmen have no concern with
breaches of faith, even in a matter where not merely human dignity
but human life is at stake.
These sportsmen are raising the cry on many
sides that Ireland will suffer grave financial loss by the stoppage
of hunting.
Are these sportsmen, superior as they are to
human suffering and public fair dealing, so brainless and so dead to
all feeling human as well as national, as not to realise that we
value the life and health of our fellow-countrymen and value our
national rights at a figure to which their horse trade could never
attain.
These sportsmen should first try to be men,
then Irishmen, and then true sportsmen.
Yours truly, P. Whitney, William Gaffney, Sec.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The above is a true and
accurate transcript of the original document.
- Transcribed by M. Purcell c2010.
- Old newspapers in the PPP.