the IRA. 9 February The Times continued in its efforts to calm British public opinion when it printed:The signatories of the ridiculous ultimatum to Great Britain are men of no account. Nobody in this country would have taken them seriously, but for the recent outrages in Great Britain. As a political force in Éire, the IRA simply does not count. In London, two bombs exploded at Kings Cross railway station, and bomb threats were made to the National History Museum. 13 February – An incendiary balloon device set fire to the steam ship St. David. March 2 March – In London, a bomb exploded on an aqueduct for the Grand Union Canal near Stonebridge Park. In Wednesbury, Staffordshire a bomb exploded on an aqueduct for the Birmingham Canal Navigations. Both devices only damaged the concrete walls of the beds of the canals. It has been speculated that, had the dynamite been placed 18 inches lower, they would have caused considerable flooding over the lower-lying adjoining fields. 3 March – In Willesden a railway man, Henry George West, prevented a bomb attack on a railway bridge during the night. 23 March: Four bombs exploded in Coventry. 29 March – In London, two bombs exploded on Hammersmith Bridge causing considerable damage. All bus and vehicle traffic was diverted and did not resume for one month. 30 March – Bombs exploded in Birmingham, Liverpool, and Coventry. 31 March – In London, seven bombs exploded. April 5 April – In Liverpool, two bombs exploded at a railway station and council buildings. One bomb exploded in Coventry. 10 April – At a republican demonstration (commemorating the Easter Rising) at the Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, a communiqué from the IRA Army council was read out which announced that the "operation groups" of the IRA in Britain carried out their tasks in accordance with orders without causing casualties, the avoidance of which had been expressly ordered. The communiqué also stated that the order to avoid casualties could be countermanded if Britain had recourse to extreme measures. 12 April – Threat made to blow up Catford Bridge, Lewisham. 13 April – In London and Birmingham, 11 bombs exploded. These had the appearance of being no more than trial explosions as all occurred in public lavatories. According to the announcement by public officials in Britain, these bombs contained new chemical mixtures which were mainly composed of carbide. May 4