litical prisoners had been
conceded to them--this young man had been recognized by his fellows as
the leading spirit. Ireland as a whole knew nothing of him. He was the
son of a Southern American and a county Limerick woman; scholarly, a
keen Gaelic Leaguer, by profession a teacher of mathematics. In the
rebellion he had held Boland's bakery, a large building covering the
approaches to Dublin from Kingstown by rail; he had been the last of the
leaders to surrender, and had earned high opinions by his conduct in
these operations. This was the Sinn Fein candidate for East Clare--a
county where "extreme" men had always been numerous.

The view was expressed that he should have been opposed by one who took
up the cause where Willie Redmond left it--by a soldier who was a strong
Nationalist and strongly identified with the Parnellite tradition. It
was decided that we should stand a better chance if constitutional
Nationalism were represented by a Dublin lawyer with close personal ties
to the constituency. How it would have gone had a soldier been put up,
no man can say; but it could not have gone worse. Mr. de Valera won by a
majority of five thousand. He was a stranger, but he stood for an ideal.
The alternative ideal--which was John Redmond's and Willie
Redmond's--had never been put before the electors. The election was,
rightly, taken as a repudiation of Redmond's policy; but in it Redmond's
policy had gone undefended.

The newly elected Sinn Fein leader was very prominent in these days, and
a good deal of his eloquence was spent in ridicule of the Convention.
That body was certainly starting its task under the most unpromising
auspices.

II

The first meeting was fixed for July 25. On the evening before, Redmond
came up and there was an informal discussion between the Nationalist
members of Parliament and the Catholic Bishops. There were four of each
group. Five members had been allowed to the party and as many to the
Ulstermen. Redmond was not present at the meeting when selection was
made, but he recommended a list, consisting in addition to himself of
Mr. Dillon, Mr. Devlin, and Mr. Clancy, K.C.--the latter having been
always his most trusted adviser in all points of draftsmanship and
constitutional law. My name was added in the place which should have
been his brother's, as representing Irish troops.

Mr. Dillon, however, thought it better not to serve, though Redmond
pressed him very strongly to do so. He co