The Washington herald., 1920-03-29
ORGY
RULESIRELAND
Entire Country Plunged
Into Vendetta Over Sim
Fein Movement.

Dublin. March 2S.-An uniden-
titled, weIl-dressed man was
found dead Saturday from
bullet wounds in Newcastle. a
suburb, it was learned tonight.
Firing in various sections Of
the suburbs led to the report
that serious fighting was going
on. This was discredited.
Many prisoners were taken to
Mount Joy prison during the
day. Among those arrested
was Philip Shanahan, NJ. p.
Sim Fein leaders said a reign of
terror had been declared by ex-
tIemists OF their own ranks on one
hand and sympathizers of the gov
ernment. police and military au-
thorities on the other.
The murder of James Mccarthy
Sim Fein leader at Thurles, was
seen as the latest expression of the
vendetta. Mccarthy was shot and
killed at 1:SO a. m. today by a band
of armed men who broke into his
bedroom. Sim Feiners said he was
murdered in cold blood, without op-
portunity to defend himself.
Unusual precautions have been
taken to protect the lives of all
government officials. The govern
ment feared early efforts at re-
taliation by the Irish Nationalist
radicals. who have asserted openly
that he deaths of Sim Feiners will
not go unavenged.
started by Small Band.
The inside history of events lead
ing up to the start of the vendetta"
was given here tonight. Last De-
cember, it was said, a small body
of extreme Nationalists. comprising
many of the hot-headed young Irish
leaders, banded together to form
an organization to assassinate or
otherwise terrorize all British Off
cials and police.
The members took a solemn VOW
to drive the British out of Ireland,
according to the story. They signed
a pledge agreeing to lay down their
lives for the cause if necessary.
The society's first move, it was
said, was the attempt on the life of
Viscount French. lord lieutenant of
Ireland. The next was the murder
of Police Commissioner Redmond.
Two attempts on the life of Kings
counsel, Sullivan, foIlowea these at
tacks.
Then came the assassination of
the British secret service agent,
Quinn, who was tried by the radi-
calls court and condemned to death.
He was taken to a meadow near
Cork and killed.
British Secret Agent.
Wednesday a man was shot ana
killed in a street in Dublin. His
body still lay in the morgue tonight
as unidentified" but it was common
gossip that the man was a British
secret agent, put to death by radi-
calls.
This murder came after a dozen
crimes of lesser Importance.
Yesterday the nation was shocked
by the killing of Alan Bell. .magis-
trate of Dublin Castle, who was
dragged from a Dublin street car at
10 o'clock in the morning and shot
by four masked men who escaped.
The rapid retaliation of the anti
Sim Fein group was seen in the
killing of Mccarthy today.
Some sources here charged that
the anti-Sinn Fein group was spon-
sored by the police and that il num-
bered many constables among its
members. All Ireland has heard the
charge that the lord mayor of Cork
was killed by the police.
Anonymous letters received by
the chairman of the town council
at Queenstown, who was warned
that the next policeman killed in
Queenstown would result in the
chairman's death, and other threat
ening letters received by Sim Fein-
ers were attributed to the anti Sim
Fein secret organization.
Family Blnmes Police.
AS to the MacCurtain murder,
NationalistG here pointed to evil
dence brought at the coroner's in
vestigation. Members of MacCur-
tain's family flatly charged that
the crime was carried out by the
police. They produced the button
from a policeman's uniform found
outside the house the morning af-
ter MacCurtain's assassination.
Sim Fein leaders throughout Ire