Terence MacSwiney ALS to MacSwiney (here spelt MacSweeney) from Jas. O'Herlihy of the Inniscarra Farmers' Association, 21 April 1919, 3 pp on headed paper, with pencilled draft of a reply in...

Terence MacSwiney ALS to MacSwiney (here spelt MacSweeney) from Jas. O'Herlihy of the Inniscarra Farmers' Association, 21 April 1919, 3 pp on headed paper, with pencilled draft of a reply in MacSwiney's hand on the reverse sides, concerning a strike by farm labourers. A most interesting correspondence. Evidently MacSwiney had proposed a conference to resolve the dispute, in his capacity as member of a First Dail arbitration court. The farm employers did not wish to attend any conference, the strike having collapsed in the meantime. MacSwiney's reply suggests that the men may have returned to work because they had children to feed, and says that if the farmers decline to enter talks, they may turn public opinion against them as did the landlords in time past. 'You must bear in mind that in any such dispute, both sides have to remember that the gen. public is affected, and when a way to settlement with mutual good feeling is suggested, whatever side rejects this suggestion, simply relying on its power to crush the other side, inevitably turns public feeling & influence against itself.' A significant exchange, showing how the influence of the First Dail extended beyond the strictly political arena. Provenance: Cronin collection

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