Towards the end of the year several notoriously obnoxious “G” men were shot dead or wounded in the streets, and in every case their assailants got safely away. Every other means of bringing these men to their senses, or making them realise that they were playing the part of spies and traitors had been tried but failed. As a result of the wholesale attacks made upon them it was in the end found impossible for them to live in their homes, or even to venture on the streets, and they took up their abode in Dublin Castle, whence they issued forth now and again to accompany raiding parties of armed troops. Many of them too resigned when things became too hot for them. I must say, however that a small number who did not resign were never molested, because they confined themselves solely to their ordinary work of arresting criminals. These men had an understanding with our side that they could go about their work provided they never indulged in political activities, or assisted the military. A few others, who remained in the force, afterwards joined our Secret Service, and gave invaluable assistance in the way of official documents and information that they were in a position to obtain. For obvious reasons I cannot go into details on these matters. When the four of us from Tipperary had become almost settled down in Dublin, and knew the city well, we were soon kept busy, as we wanted to be. Now and again a “G” man got on our track, but we soon dealt with him. We walked about Dublin quite freely and without any disguise. It was a common trick on the part of the R.I.C. to send a man who knew us up from County Tipperary for a few days in the hope of seeing us. These men soon learned sense. They returned home as quickly as they could, for it would not serve their health to get too close on our heels. Probably too a few of them who may have chanced to see us from time to time had wisdom enough not to know us. We had many good friends in Dublin. Phil Shanahan’s was a great haunt of ours, and one of the most amusing recollections I have of that time is a conversation I had there one evening with a D.M.P. man who, of course, had no notion who I was. He discussed the political situation with me very confidentially, even the Soloheadbeg and Knocklong affairs. He was in complete agreement with the Sinn Feiners—he guessed I was one—but he couldn’t agree to the taking of life. I think I gave the poor man the impression that my views were the same as his own.