Four days, no letters. Suppose Troops from England occupy all available boats. Another attempted raid on our part last night, preceded by a two-hour artillery strafe, which made sleep impossible. The raid was from the 29^th Div. to wipe out their former fiasco, but alas! it failed. The Bosche was ready for them and drove them back. We had a service in a forge this a.m., and got about 250 men there. Padre gave us a splendid sermon. They left this place alone last night and only put a few shrapnel bouquets at the guns, making 120 odd shots at them in the day. The result of the 120 shots, most of them 5.9 [-inch], on the Battery behind us, was one man wounded as he went out to mend the wire. Went down to see Brew and his lot yesterday p.m. They are holding an outpost in a wood and seemed very happy. The wood was quite lovely—young beech, and a carpet of anemones, blue bells and cowslips. No primroses. The river near them where they bath; quite an ideal existence in this weather. Thursday’s and Friday’s ‘Times’ came yesterday. Interesting as to Government defeat over the recruiting campaign, but destitute of much news about Ireland. Sudden thunderstorm came up out of a cloudless sky, dust blowing and heavy peals of thunder, but rain not begun yet. It will lay the dust, which has been very bad.

10 p.m.—No letter again today. Yesterday’s ‘Daily Mail’ gives a two-page account of the Dublin rising. I’m relieved to see Ulster is absolutely quiet. It seems to have come to a head a little prematurely, but is part of a large conspiracy engineered by German money. I see Enniscorthy and Gorey [both in County Wexford] are centres of trouble.

The Times, Thursday 27 April 1917, pages recording the Dublin Rising