Letter from John Dillon (1851-1927) to John Redmond (1856-1918). Dillon writes to Redmond about the reaction of the London parliament to the Irish Parliamentary Party after the Easter Rising. John Redmond was an MP and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. He was instrumental in securing the promise of Home Rule from Asquith's liberal government. Upon the outbreak of war, Redmond addressed a group of Irish Volunteers at Woodenbridge, Co. Wicklow, encouraging them to fight with the British Army to ensure the implementation of Home Rule. Redmond's words split the Irish Volunteers across the country. The Easter Rising shocked Redmond, who condemned it bitterly. Nonetheless he appealed for leniency towards those who had not been involved in planning the Rising. John Dillon was an Irish Party M.P. in the House of Commons. Dillon issued a speech in the House on 11 May 1916 where he strongly condemned the British handling of the Rising which had been put down “with so much blood and so much savagery”, and called for an immediate end to executions. Dillon would succeed John Redmond as leader of the Home Rule party in 1918.