Gen. O'Duffy — Criticism in Loughrea — Republican a Deception

The Connacht Tribune, Saturday March 4. 1835

Introduction

General O'Duffy addressed a meeting in theTemperance Hall, Loughrea, on Wednesday night at 9.30pm. The meeting was attended by forty people, representatives from Loughrea, Bullaun, Kilchreest and Kilnadeema being present.

General O'Duffy said that if there was a split the responsibility for that so called split rested on those who refused to hear when asked to reconsider his resignation and on their deputy who recently threw mud at him in the hall. There was more mud thrown at him in County Galway than in the other twenty—five counties.

Fine Gael gave him a dirtier deal than he had experienced in its whole career. He criticized Fine Gael for their failure to select a leader. Although several meeting were called in the last few months they had not yet selected a leader. He compared the organization to a flock of sheep without a shepherd or he would say a flock of shepherds.

The farmers were in the trenches who was to blame? Not Fine Gael or Fianna Fail. He was still director of the League of Youth and had a great number of western blueshirts behind him. Paddy Hogan, Sean Broderick or Josie Mongan would not get a vote on the western side of Galway today.

Here there were some interruptions and the speaker was asked why did he resign?

General O'Duffy: Paddy Hogan sent you here, and why did he not come himself?

Continuing, General O'Duffy said he never led a faction in this country; he was not prepared to go back on his national policy and the Blueshirts who followed him were inspired with the same motives as those who followed Parnell and Michael Davitt. They heard a lot about Empire and Commonwealth; this can't have caused the funeral of Fine Gael. The policy of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael towards the North was a policy of abandonment. There never would be peace or happiness in the country while that boundary remained. People who were talking about a republic were not Republicans. There was nothing to prevent de Valera declaring a republic in the morning. The policy of Republicans was a deception and the man who declared a republic would go down in history as a greater traitor than Dermot McMurrough.

Labour

The farmers had suffered because of politicians; but Labour had suffered far more. It was the victim of adventurers. He exhorted them to lock the door on politicians and throw away the key where it would never be found. He wanted the economic war to be made a national policy. Coercion had not succeeded in Davitt's day neither would it succeed today. De Valera was able to settle the economic war with England ; and the policy of Fine Gael on this question was despair. The farmers would be left between the Communists and Blueshirts, and he asked them to decide.

He believed there should be a law enacted whereby the land annuities should not be paid for ten years. The farmers were willing and always proud to pay but were not able to do so now. He advocated derating on holdings under 50 valuation as he did not believe in making present to absentee landlords who derived certain benefits from the land in this country. Mortgages on banks against farmers should be a state responsibility.

The meeting finished at 11.15 pm and General O'Duffy left by car.