"I have been appointed by Lord Kitchener," said General Parsons, "because I am an Irishman and understand my countrymen." Also, "I have had a considerable share in selecting the officers of the Division, almost all Irishmen of every political and religious creed." What lay behind the first of these sentences was a profound conviction that the writer thoroughly understood the necessities of the situation.
That was a disastrous mistake.

To understand Ireland at such a moment was difficult for anyone, impossible for a man who had not been in close touch with the mental condition produced by all these extraordinary happenings.

The effect of the preparations for rebellion in Ulster, of the Curragh incident, and of the collision between troops and people in Dublin--the effect of the existence of a permitted Nationalist Volunteer Force--the effect of Redmond's appeal: these were three completely novel and conflicting currents in the stream of Irish life.

Nobody could hope to estimate these developments from a general view, however intelligent, of Irish history and character, nor even from the most intimate and sympathetic acquaintance with Irish troops of the old Army.
A proof of the unhappy lack of comprehension is furnished by the second sentence I have quoted.

General Parsons had been most rightly allowed by the War Office to assist in selecting officers for the Division.