Letter from John Redmond (1856-1918) to Lovick Bransby Friend (1856-1944). Redmond thanks Friend for agreeing with Redmond's view that the National Volunteers should be used for Home Defence purposes. He suggests that they should be utilised in a vein similar to that of the Irish Volunteers. 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. Major General Sir Lovick Bransby Friend was a British Army major general and cricketer. Friend was in charge of Administration at Irish Command in 1912 and appointed Commander-in-Chief, Ireland in 1914, he was replaced following the Easter Rising in 1916.