The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-01-23
From Our Own Co respondent
OUR IRISH LETTER.
DUBLIN, Jan. 4, 1876.

DUBLIN, Jan. 4, 1876.
The great event of this week in Ireland
will be the IN yelling of the Grattan statue on
the day after tomorrow in College Green.
The ceremony will be made the occasion of y
great demonstration. The trades have been
making preparations for the past two three
weeks to turn out with bands and banners, as
on the occasion of the O'Connell centenary !;
the students of Trinity College will also put
in an appearance as distinct body Lord
Gort, an Irish Tory nobleman with very little
Irish instincts will preside several of the
nationalist and Tory leaders will speak to the
resolutions; the male aud female members of
the Grattan family will occupy sests on the
platform and the people, of course, will
tnrn ont in their tens of thousands. Ishaa
not fail 10 lst the readers of the 1r2R hnvssan,
account of tie proceedings as soon as possible
after they shall have taken place mean
while, the following report of the honorary
secretaries of the Grsttau monument commit
tee which is to be read at the unwilling on
Thursday, will not be unwelcome. I give it
because it states succinctly the history of the
entire movement which has this week 80
gratifying an iasne
The noble statue which we inaugurate to-
day owes it's origin to the offer of public testi-
monial to one of the members of our commit
tee who, declining to be the recipient OF any
presentation of pecnnisry vslne, dedicated the
amount subscribed (&300) as an Initial ory
subscription on his part towards a statue of
Henry Grattan in College green. In placing
this sum at the disposal of the committee for
this purpose, the gentleman TO whom we
refer imposed but two conditions requests
firstly, that the undertaking should be
disassoeiated from party politics, and becon-
m n Fnuda nhnrR iya
patriotism, inviting the CO. operation of men of
every political opinion, of every social
class, and every religious creed and, secondly,
that no further references should be made To
the part thus taken by him in initiating such
an act of public admiration and national
gratitude. How completely the first of these
conditions has been fulfilled is gratfyingly at
| tested by the display of the names on our com.
| mittee list and subscribers roll while as to
the second, this necessary reference to the
circumstances which called our movement
into existence will not we trust, be consid cred
q disregard of a wish which we we'll know to
be strong and sincere. In the early part of the
year 1869 the present committee was formed
to carry out this object, and never was
answer more prompt and liberal than that
| which greeted their first appeal for funds
| In very short time they found themselves in
| "a posi- ton to commission n sculptor, and the
choice fell on our distinguished countryman
| the late j. H. Foley, RIA. In accepting the
| commission, the great sculptor wrote to the
committee as follows: The extent of my
present Cd gagements have of late compelled
ME oh several occasions to decline important
commissions and but for the impulse of ma
| tionsl feeling-the deep interest of che subject
and personal regard for many mem bers of your
committee, should now also feel compelled to
reply in the negative TO the gratifying offer go
kindly referred to me-" Mr.. Foley having thus
| accepted the offer of the committee, visited
this city, where he spent some time in study
for the work, and shortly afterwards executed
the SIX etch models of the statue aud pedestal
from the studies he had made at the very spot
where the statue stands. The original
sketch model is in the Exhibition Palace.
Thus, the statue not only represents the illus
trious original, but has also been specially de.
signed to harmonic with the noble objects in
the midst of which it is placed. The full
sized model, nine feet high, at which Foley
worked-as he stated in one of his letters
with the warmest interest and pleasure -
amost to the time of his death, com
pleted shortly before the melancholy event.
The sum of money paid to Mr. Foley's repre-
sentatives was Ell 200. A further sum of $50
was to have been paid him for the pedestal,
but in consequence of the death of Mr. Foley
it was deemed advisable to cancel, by arrange
ment, that portion of the contract; aud the
committee, with the able assistance of one of
it's members, MIR. William Murphy, the we'll
known architect, had the pedestal manufac-
tured in exact accordance with Mr.. Foley's
design, by Irish wcFkmen out of the best Bal
liuasOs limestone, which differs but little
from hard black marble 1t is mainly owing
to Mr.. Murpby's Jealous exertions that the
pedestal has been completed aud the statue
erected in time for the ceremony this day. The
actual expenses of The construction, erection,
and completion of the pedestal aud statue, and
of the platform which We now occupy, amount
10 the cum of about 81 600, all of which was
so literally contributed by the public that, on
late occasion, when it was notified that
there was still a small deficit, subscriptions
were sent in 60 heartily that the committee
found il necessary to intimate to the public.
through the press, that the deficiency had
been more than supplied, and that no farther
subscriptions were needed. The hon. secre-
taries beg to state, With some satisfaction,
that not one sipgIe chilling of the subserip.