The Limerick County Council recently co-opted Mr J. Condon and Mr J. Hogan as new members following a poll. Mr Robert Coleman was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Council, with Mr Thomas Hurley serving as Vice-Chairman. In his thank you speech, Coleman expressed hopes that the question of direct labor would be successfully addressed by the Council. He also stated that elected members from Nationalist constituencies should encourage Parliament to redress Ireland’s grievances, with the land question being the foremost issue.

Coleman referenced the Chief Secretary’s condemnation of the land system in Belfast, pointing out how efforts and funds spent on waging war against peaceable people would have been better utilized in addressing the land question. He urged the government to prioritize matters such as settling the land question, and granting subsidies to evicted tenants and burghers who had suffered the consequences of conflict.

Northants Evening Telegraph – Tuesday 17 June 1902