(when it was restored to normal peacetime size in late 1919), but while in Ireland liaised with the Cabinet not through the Chief Secretary as would have been usual but through the Colonial Secretary, his Unionist friend Walter Long. French also secured the appointment of Sir James Macmahon as Under-Secretary at Dublin Castle. Macmahon was Roman Catholic, which caused Walter Long and to some extent, French himself concerns that this would increase the power of the Church Hierarchy over Irish government. In practice Macmahon was frozen out of decision-making by Macpherson while French was ill with pneumonia between February and April 1919, and despite warnings from French of administrative chaos at Dublin Castle it was not until 1920 that the highly able John Anderson was appointed as Joint Under-Secretary with Macmahon. The shooting dead of two Catholic constables of the RIC in an ambush at Soloheadbeg, County Tipperary (21 January 1919) caused French to call off tentative talks between Haldane and the recently elected Irish Dáil (Haldane blamed Walter Long who was opposed to the talks). French and Macpherson wanted Sinn Féin declared illegal and pressed for a free hand to deal with the militants, although the issue received little priority while Lloyd George was away at Versailles in the first half of 1919. Sinn Féin was declared illegal on 5 July 1919 after District Inspector Hunt was killed in broad daylight, in Thurles (23 June). By October 1919 French was urging the imposition of martial law. By December he was furious at the government's lack of support (like being asked to "fight with one arm tied up") and their insistence that the RIC buy army surplus vehicles (the Army was reducing dramatically in size after World War I) on the open market instead of simply being given them. Shaw was sceptical about the legality of martial law and thought it might be impractical in cities like Dublin and Cork. French was advised that 15 army battalions and 24 cycle units (half a battalion in size) were needed to keep order, but British strength did not reach these levels until the summer of 1920. In November 1919, Irish Command listed its minimum requirement as 25,000 "bayonet strength"—at the time there were just over 37,000 troops in Ireland, many of them non-combatants. Even in January 1920 only 34 battalions were available, rather than the 36 required. This was symptomatic of the