The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-08-11
IRELANDS MILITARY GLORY.

Mr. James Bourke, of the bar, has, see
| written q letter, which appears in the Dublin
FTeeman's Journal, in reply to Sir Rober,
vert, who had in lecture stated that Ire
land he'd mo military history" We extraot
| some passages of Dir. Bourke's letter No
military history Does our disting guished fel.
iow-country man, Sir Robent Stewart. forget
| Clontari, 1e Marathon Ireland - where the
Danes were gallantly repulssd by the array of
Brian Boroihme, and received y blow from
| which, in ireland. they never recovered,
| though about the same time the Danes held.
By successful invasion, the throne of Eu elsndf
Does Sir Robert forget Beal- AM atba- Buie (the
famous yellow Ford,') where glorious RI
hugh ONeil overthrew Elizabt RS best gem
eral Does Sir Robert forget magnificent
Bsnburb, where the truly historic Oxen Roe
ONeil shivered to split ers the army of Mon
roe Does Sir Robert forget the Boyne W here
irish vaior was well proved on both sides, and
Derry (for, like my political master, O'Conpell,
whose praises of George Walker often heard,
write In no party or sectariau spirit,) and
AthieIe, and Anghrim, and last (and greatest
OF oil Limerick, from whose historic walls
the brave men of that famous city (and brave
women, too,) buried the myrmIdoas of the
Dutch usnrpsr Some of these bsttles were,
l freely admit, Irish defeats. But even the de-
feat of q brave army is military history"
Greece honored the memory of Leonidas-
though Ibernopy e was, after gsllaJ strpg.
gle, defeat-as much as she honored those
VINO conquered at Marathon and Salamis.
home paid public honoIs to the man who
after hard fighting, lost Gamma, because she
DID not despair of the republic " The Saxons
Of England treasured the memory of those
who were beaten at Hastings Scotland hon. |
ors those who were defeated at Floddep Kill |
lecrankie, and Culloden as much az she does
those who drove the "Sassenaoh" before them |
at Bannockburn and at Prestonpans; and che |
hes erected stats at Stirling to Wallace,
who (thongh q prisoner of wary Was brutally |
murdered in cold blood in London by an Eng
llsh king, whom Scott truly called "felon."
But Sir Robert Stewart was right in one
thing. We ought to honor the memory of our
great mon more than we do now. 1t is no ex.
;ose that England has not houored her great
sst men. There is not in any street in sll
London statue to Shakespeare. Milton, New
Jon, Dryden, Pope, or Byron. Scotland gives
Is better example. Stand On the Calton Hill
nd You can survey memorials of Burns, Scott,
md glorious array of intellectual giants.
re have improved, it is true. Grattan. Burke
oldsmlth, Moore (iu q sort of way,) O'Briep,
Connell (Royal Exchange and GlasneviD)
re before US. But where is tbat great Dublin
nan, the most brilliant genius that Ireland,
Z perhaps any other country, ever produced
Richard Brinsley Shsridan-
The orator, dramatist. minstrel: who ran
'nrough each mode of the Tyre, and master of
ALL |
shall not occupy your space by dwelling +
q the military history of Irisbmen abroad,
hougb that is part of the military history of y
very nation. shall not take you to Sars- :
cid at Landen. to Montgomery at Q 1ebec, to
ontenoy, to wellington on the Peninsula and q
6 Waterloo, or to the countless feds in every G
osrter of the globe where Ireland has written | i
olendid chapters of military history. t