With reference to the activities in 1918 the text of the statement was
as follows:
Professor de Valera, addressing the convention of the Irish Volunteers
on Oct. 27, 1917, said:
"By proper organization and recruiting we could have 500,000
fighting volunteers in Ireland. That would be a big army, but
without the opportunity and means for fighting it could only
be used as a menace. There already has been too much bloodshed
without success, and I would never advocate another rebellion
without hopeful chances of success. We can see no hope of that
in the near future, except through a German invasion of England
and the landing of troops and munitions in Ireland. We should be
prepared to leave nothing undone toward that end."
On another occasion in January of this year de Valera said: "As
long as Germany is the enemy of England, and England is the enemy
of Ireland, so long will Ireland be a friend of Germany."
For some considerable time it was difficult to obtain accurate
information as to German-Sinn Fein plans, but about April, 1918,
it was ascertained definitely that a plan for landing arms in
Ireland was ripe for execution, and that the Germans only awaited
definite information from Ireland as to the time, place, and date.
The British authorities were able to warn the Irish command
regarding the probable landing of an agent from Germany from a
submarine. The agent actually landed on April 12 and was arrested.
The new rising depended largely upon the landing of munitions from
submarines, and there is evidence to show that it was planned to
follow a successful German offensive in the west and was to take
place at a time when Great Britain presumably would be stripped of
troops.
According to documents found on his person, de Valera had worked
out in great detail the constitution of his rebel army. He hoped
to be able to muster 500,000 trained men. There is evidence that
German munitions actually had been shipped on submarines from
Cuxhaven in the beginning of May, and that for some time German
submarines have been busy off the west coast of Ireland on other
errands than the destruction of allied shipping.
It will thus be seen that the negotiations between the executive
of the Sinn Fein organization and Germany have been virtually
continuous for three and a half years. At first a section of
Irish-Americans was the intermediary for most of the discussions,
but since America's entrance into the war the communication with
the enemy has tended to be more direct. A second rising in Ireland
was planned for last year, and the scheme broke down only because
Germany was unable to send troops.
This year plans for another rising in connection with the German
offensive on the western front were maturing, and a new shipment
of arms from Germany was imminent.
An important feature of every plan was the establishment of
submarine bases in Ireland to menace the shipping of all nations.
In the circumstances no other course was open to the Government
if useless bloodshed was to be avoided and its duty to its allies
fulfilled but to intern the authors and abettors of this criminal
intrigue.