“I went to the S.P.C.A. committee a.d. The new sec. O’Brien, is very plain, but I like him better than Robinson. Mrs Mortimor & Mr Brophy seem to have done a lot of good work between them. I made my suggestion about asking managers of national schools to instill some humanitarianism into the kids, but it was adjourned to next meeting…”
WEEK 124: (29th March – 4th April 1920)
“I read a good deal of the Valley of the Moon by Jack London. The American language is awful, & makes a book very difficult to read and gets tired of the pursuit of bodily experience too, and I never liked Saxon particularly, but Billy is sometimes nice, & one is allowed to hear more of his physical charms than usual with a man. “
Week 123: (22nd – 28th March 1920)
“Thunder & lightening & fearful rain last night. I had a cold somehow, I didn’t go out. The news of the murder of Alan Bell was in this day’s paper – the worst yet, of course, much worse than common policemen. It was the first piece of agreeable news for a long time. It is wonderful that it could be done so openly with no danger of interference.”
Week 122: (19th – 21st March 1920)
“I spent the afternoon reading The House of Fear, which was interesting most of the way through, but turned out very disappointingly in the end. I believe it was on Saturday that the news appeared of the murder of the mayor of Cork M’Curtain, the night before, by a party of men who broke into the home”
WEEK 121: (8th – 14th March 1920)
“Callaghan came back refused from Maunsell’s. I wish they would give some idea of why they refused it. I went to the Tech & worked on the turquoise pendant. Dorothea & Ben went to Tráit Mór in the afternoon, for Ben to say goodbye to Midvale, & no sooner were they gone than Grace Bell & Ruth came to pay a visit.”
WEEK 120: (1st – 7th March 1920)
“Tom came back by the morning train, having visited Harry & Lily, Mrs S.S. & the Stephenes as well as staying with Aunt Nannie & Aunt Isabella. Mrs S.S. told him a story of Frank Stephens’s school, how the boys came to ask F.S. to introduce punishments – all other schools had them, & apparently they didn’t know how to manage without. He said if he did it wd probably be caning & would they wish that? They consulted & replied yes if the girls were caned too. F.S. pointed out that the girls had not asked for any punishment, & he would not give it to them till they did – so I don’t know whether the boys had to go on as before or have some other kinds of punishment.”
WEEK 119: (23rd – 29th February 1920
“She[ Mrs Power] told me most of the shootings of policemen are done by robber-gangs of demobilised soldiers, or by policemen with personal grudges. They had a horrid experience there a few days before; a baby dying there from exposure on a journey & subsequent want of care. Louis got quite friendly with Marie, chasing her round the table. I’m sure she would be splendid at minding small children.”
WEEK 118: (18th – 22nd February 1920)
“I finished typing Callaghan this Thursday. Tom and Dorothea say it is good in the main, & that the relations of Callaghan & Frances to each other are good, but they object strongly to the ghost, and pick out all sorts of things, like the mention of certain superstitions & of the stones in Frances’s ring, which they think will be considered silly & which may go against it with Maxwell I shouldn’t have thought a publisher would bother to object to such things.”
WEEK 117: (9th – 14th February 1920)
“Anna Bell and Mrs Williams came to afternoon tea, and Henry Bell also. Anna says she finds Catholics more reliable and truthful than Protestants – meaning poor Protestants, I think, and confining it to the poor of both sects I expect it is true. It seems Jessie is getting up a prayer meeting to pray for knowledge of what the Lord wishes for Ireland. Mrs Williams was rather enthusiastic about it – I think all Protestant sects are invited to it. “
WEEK 116: (1st – 8th February 1920)
“I went over to St Declan’s after tea, as Seán was there, and he had most interesting conversation about how much worse managers & bishops are at squashing the language in national schools than the National Board, re the new education bill, which wd put the schools in the hands of committees instead of under the clergy alone, & which is being litterly [sic] opposed by them for that reason”