Irish and German brotherhood. Standing in France, an Irish rebel soldier clasps the hands of a German soldier. The German sun shines upon the scene. In Germany, Irish rebel Roger Casement tried to raise an Irish unit to fight the British from Irish prisoners of war. Field postmarked October 5, 1915.
Verbrüderung Deutschland und IrlandUnsere deutsche Sonne glänz groß und schon.German-Irish BrotherhoodOur German sun shines great and beautiful.Reverse:Field postmarked October 5, 1915, the message dated the same day.Druck u. Verlag v. Knackstedt & Co., Hamburg 22.Genehmigt K.B. Kriegsministerium Presse-Referat.Printed and Published by Knackstedt & Co., Hamburg 22.Approved by K.B. War Ministry Press Department.
"The 'German Plot' arrests, involving the round-up of seventy-three prominent Sinn Féin members in May 1918 on the pretext that a German agent had been arrested off the coast of Clare and that there was a necessity to stamp out pro-German 'intrigues' in Ireland, backfired for Sinn Féin's enemies. Regarding these arrests, a letter to the Chief Secretary's Office insisted, 'You have got to prove your accusation or else your action in arresting these men will be worse than useless . . . if you merely imprison these men, deport them to England and hush the whole thing up — the course of action adopted with the arrested suspects after the 1916 rebellion — you will make things worse.'"
Letter from James O'Mahony to Edward O'Farrell, May 18, 1918 from the United Kingdom National Archives in Kew quoted in Diarmaid Ferriter's A Nation and Not a Rabble. The arrests followed Britain's April extension of conscription to Ireland, itself coming on the heels of Germany's Operations Michael, begun on March 21, and Georgette, launched April 9, which pushed British forces back and left them desperate for men. Sinn Féin, which called for Irish independence, was preparing for the December general election. After executing leaders of the immediate aftermath of the 1916 Easter Rising, British authorities jailed in England many of those involved. Sir Edward O'Farrell was Assistant to Sir Wm. Byrne, Under-Secretary for Ireland. On-line research shows a James O'Mahony who was an officer (Lieutenant, 1918–1919; Captain 1919–1920) in the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
A Nation and Not a Rabble: The Irish Revolution 1913–1923 by Diarmaid Ferriter, page 177, copyright © Diarmaid Ferriter, 2015, publisher: The Overlook Press
1918-05-18, 1918, May, Ireland, German-Irish brotherhood
