Irish administration gets major overhaul
Dublin, 5 April 1920 - The British Government has undertaken a major overhaul of its Irish administration.
It has been confirmed that Ian Macpherson will leave the role of Chief Secretary of Ireland to move to the Ministry of Pensions. He will be replaced by Canadian-born Lt Col. Sir Hamar Greenwood, who has been Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs since January 1919.
Prior to that he was a captain in the King Edward’s Horse cavalry regiment, and commanded the 10th South Wales Borderers from 1914 to 1916 at the western front.
With an eye on international public opinion, Greenwood has said that his appointment will serve as a sign to every American that the government was committed to bringing order and prosperity to Ireland along the lines of its home rule proposals, which he was confident would be applied logically and willingly.
The departure of Mr Macpherson is not a surprise. He has been in poor health and it is understood the change of post will relieve him of what has been a tremendous burden of responsibility as conditions in Ireland become ever more volatile.
Macpherson is not the only senior administrator to be vacating his position in Ireland. General Sir Frederick Shaw, Commander of the British Army in Ireland since May 1918, is also set to step down.
He will be replaced by General Sir Nevil Macready, whom the British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George says will bring both police experience, a distinguished military career, as well as ‘remarkable powers of organisation’ and ‘exceptional judgment and tact’ that will help ‘strengthen the administration of the law in Ireland’.
Macready's appointment is seen as evidence that the government believes it needs a firmer hand in control of the military in Ireland.
[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.]
