Mansion House meeting condemns ‘unjust treatment’ of Irish prisoners
Dublin, 22 May 1917 - A crowded meeting in the Mansion House unanimously passed a resolution drawing ‘the attention of foreign countries to the unjust treatment of our prisoners of war, of whom 122 are confined in English convict prisons and treated as criminals’.
Special mention was made at the meeting of the plight of Countess Markievicz, who is being held in the convict prison of Aylesbury where she is currently being denied ‘all association except with criminals’.
A letter expressing sympathy with the object of the meeting and the resolutions was read from Dr O’Dwyer, the Bishop of Limerick. He acknowledged that while there were differences of opinion in Ireland as to the 1916 rebellion there was unanimous opposition to the ‘cruelty and inhumanity’ meted out to those treated as criminals:
‘Surely there is something profoundly wrong when there is such a chasm between national feeling and what is called the law of the land.’
‘You ask to have the poor fellows in Lewes Jail treated at least as prisoners of war – a modest demand. I say, liberate them. A secret court martial pronounced them criminals.’
Other speakers included Count Plunkett, Jenny Wyse Power and Arthur Griffith.
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
