 The Russian Republic, in the midst of its own civil war, ordered Ludwig Martens the head of the Soviet Bureau in New York City to acquire a "national loan" from the Irish Republic through Harry Boland, offering some jewels as collateral.The jewels remained in a Dublin safe, forgotten by all sides, until the 1930s, when they were found by chance.The Irish War of Independence in effect began on the day that the First Dáil convened, 21 January 1919.