Mr.O'Brien and Mr.Healy had, on different grounds, come to the same conclusion, so that we lacked the assistance of three commanding personalities in Irish life, though we were thereby freed from some dangers of personal friction.

A vacant place was thus left in our five, and since the Ulster party had decided to put in only two members of Parliament, filling the other places with local men, it was thought well that we should take a similar representative, Mr.Harbison, who spoke for the county of Tyrone.
Of the four representatives of the hierarchy, Archbishop Harty of Cashel had always been a downright outspoken supporter of the Parliamentary party.

He had publicly denounced the rebellion both on civil and on moral grounds.

But he had never been prominently concerned with political affairs as such; nor had the Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr.
MacRory, a man young for his office and not long in it.

He had been chosen, no doubt, to guard the special interests of Catholicism in the north-east corner.