Battle of Verdun begins; Terence MacSweeney fined for ‘cypher’ message

February 22nd, 1916

Dublin Metropolitan Police notes on surveillance of subversives: “John Nolan, ex-Dynamite Convict, is now employed in the Corporation Works, Stanley Street.

“Fifty Sinn Féin Volunteers were drilled in the hall at rere of 41 , Rutland Sqr, between 8pm and 10pm, Joseph McGuinness, FJ McCabe and F Fahy being present at the time.”

Battle of Verdun began in France yesterday with a nine-hour German artillery barrage of French lines; the French were only able to prevail after 10 months of fighting and huge cost in manpower. At first the Germans make rapid gains along the east bank of the Meuse River, overrunning bombed-out French trenches, and capturing lightly defended Fort Douaumont four days later without firing a shot. However, German offensive soon stalls as the French rush in massive reinforcements and strengthen defences, under the new command of Philippe Pétain (pictured). Early spring thaw turns entire battlefield into mud.

In Cork yesterday Terence McSweeney, “an organiser of the Irish Volunteers”, charged by the police with having made statements likely to cause disaffection with and hostility to His Majesty’s Government, and with having a cypher message in his possession. The magistrate dismissed two of the charges but imposed a fine of 1s in respect of the cypher.

Crown solicitor Dr Wynne said he was not suggesting defendant was in the pay of the Germans, but the real meaning of the defendant's speech was that Mr John Redmond (pictured) should be murdered on account of the line he had taken in defence of Ireland. It was clearly not a Volunteers meeting but an anti-recruitment meeting.

In answer to a heckle, “How are we to fight with spades?”, the defendant allegedly held up a bullet and said, “this, able to kill at a mile or half a mile, and where that came from there are lots more.”

Editorial in the Irish Times: "Sir Berkeley Moynihan, a distinguished Irish surgeon who has done important work at the front, has been allowed to make public a set of official figures relating to typhoid amongst British troops. They appear to clinch the argument for inoculation. In the South African War, it will be recalled, 8,200 men died of typhoid fever. This number was larger by 700 than the number of those killed by the bullets of the enemy. The record in this war has been very different and we cannot doubt that inoculation has been the chief cause of the improvement . . ."

psmyth@irishtimes.com