The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1890-03-15

influential with the people, that be
actually did stir up war against the
! kiug, in which many lives we're lost; in
penance for which he sentenced himself
to perpetual banlshment from Ireland.
He was AZ years Of age when he went
with twelve companions to the barren
island Of Iona. which he made for
centuries after his death one of the
most famous spots on the earth as a
school Of Christian knowledge. His
poems are nearly all about his beloved
country. In one of his laments he says:
| ''Were all the tributes of Scotia mine,
From it's midland to its borders,
! would give all for one little cell
In my beautiful Derry"
But COLUMBIA was destined to visit
Ireland once more, though he never
allowed his eyes to feast on the sight Of
the green hills and pleasant valleys, for
he covered his eyes and remained blind
folded. 1t was when he was growing
to be an old man and when his fame
as teacher OF sanctity and q living
saint filed all the Western world.
There aress a dispute between the
kings of scotland and Ireland, and
Columbia, the kinsman of both kings,
was called on to abjudicate and make
peace. Another and dearel cry reached
him at the same time, The king of
ireland had quarreled with the order OF
the bards and had resolved to destroy
them, to break up their college and
cbliterate their order. .-
TO save the bards, COLUMBIA resolved
to break his VOW and revisit Ireland.
The king had assembled the parliament,
and it was said that he had planned
not only The outlawrv but the massacre
of the bards, and again, there was much
reason for the Kings anger. But Co
Iumba pleaded so earnestly with the
parliament that he saved the bards and
their order, but on condition that the
number of bards should henceforth be
limited and that their profession should
be put under certain rules, to be deter
mined by Columbia himself.
! The first renowned poet of Ireland
was Luig, son of one Of the early
Mil+sian settlers. After lapse OF 5000
years, fragments of the poems Of this
ancient writer. are preserved IN many
Gaelic psalters. -
After these, but still before the
Christian era. there were MANY famous
poets IN Ireland, numbers OF whose
writings still remain, the last two Twin z
up to the period immediately betore the
Christian era. Several of their poems
are in the old vellum manuscripts writ
| ten in dialect of the Gaelic. and are
preserved at Trinity College. Dublin,
and in various museums and libraries
Of Germany.
| About hundred years ago the work
of defamation began, and, sad to say of
nation which itself possesses great
treasures of native poetry and music,
the Scotch, being of the same Gselic
family, with many similar names and
terms, and understanding the Gallo
tongue, had a chance to steal the stolen
goods, collecting them as their own, and
they leaped on the plunder, led and
urged bv England who had been the
first to claim for herself poems and
records that they could not even read or
understand or art, that they could not
appreciate ALI the poets Of Scotland
set to work writing songs to the old
irish words. Mcpherson suddenly
burst into world fame when he
published his version of . sian poetry.
He was no longer an Irish chieftain,
hut was suddenly discovered to be
Scotch king of country of which the
Irish had never before heard, nor had
anybody else, for it was invented by
Nc Pherson. The Irish were indignant
of course, and they and their scholars
set about exposing the fraud. Nearly
everyone of the dne old airs Of Ireland
were then claimed by the Scotch who
wrote songs too them and claimed them
as their own. The nobiest of the Scotch
airs, or many Of the noblest are Irish,
obtained in this way,
The same thing occurred with the
Irish rausic. A song to which Robert
Burns wrote the words, has been traced
back for over Thousand years in Ire
land. Nellie Asthore is one Of the
oldest and sweetest of Irish songs
which has been traced back to very re
mote period by a great authority on
musical antiquities says it was univers-
ally regarded AZ a very ancient air in
the 18th century, when the English first
invaded Ireland.
..Aileen Aroon,'' or Little Ellen, the
Treasure of MY Heart" is very old
and favorite Irish song. The history Of
this song, both music and words, is an
Illustration of the difficulties in the way
of an Irish air coming down to the
Nineteenth century in the possession
of It's rightful owners. The music Of
this air is so sweet that many nations
have tried to steal it. In the life Of