St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-03-10
applause greeted the distinguished lect.


Mr.. O'Reilly is of medium height.
rather stout, easy in carriage and pose,
dark-cOmplexioned, with an intellectual
heavy muStache, and looks more like O
of the best known literary men in
America. He speaks in rather high
key and without any seeking after ora
torical effect uwhatever. The lecturer
began his part of the evenings enter
tainment by remarking that he did
not intend swhat he was about
to say to be construed as a
representative exposition of the poets
and poetry of the Emerald isle, but that
it would be rather something of his
torical nature. in reference to the music
and song of the land OF the shamrock.
Irish history is traceable back to 1900
years B. c., he said. and through it all
runs proof of the statement that, music
ally and POLITICALLY, the Irish are entitled
to rank with any nation on earth. Poets
were always treated with the greatest
respect among the ancient MileSians.
AT time when the rank Of man
was designated by the number
of colors worn by him, the band wore
but one less than the king. The poets,
or bards. were then divided into three
classes: Those who sang Of war; those
who sang of the laws; those who attuned
their harps to the deeds of heroes.
Mr.. O'Reilly said that the golden age
of Ireland was during the time of st.
Patrick. Then Ireland was famous for
her schools, tributes to the excellence
of which, taken from the works of the
most eminent writers of that
time, were read by the lecturer.
The fame of learning of Irish
scholars penetrated even to Ice
land, and encomiums upon the poetry
of that time have been written by Dr..
Samuel Johnson, the philosopher Schle.
gel and many more modern writer's.
Even Cambrensis, the English historian
who was paid to falsify Irish history,
was forced TO admit that the Irish DardS
we're wonderful artists.
1.-The poet" said the lecturer, "was
honored more by the ancient Irish than
by any other people, save, perhaps, the
Jews. But with the Jews he was apart
from the people-a prophet and law
giver. But from the sixth to the six
torn asunder by the English conQuerors.
In 1904 a law was passed making every
teacher of the Irish language Grim
inal. After the first invasion every
thing of value written in the Gaelic
tongue was carried away, and English
writers were hired to cry down the
Gaelic literature. The best things in
the language were set into Scotch, and
ever since claimed as belonging to that
people. Even st. Patrick burned Gaelic
records because they were profane.
But he was succeeded by the great and
good Bishop Columbia or Columbkill.
who was poet himself, and loved the
bards.
Then followed history of st. Column
ba and how his love for poetry caused
him to Danish himself from the land he
loved so well. Mr.. O'Reilly then went
on to say that systematic plumber of
the Irish literature began 100 years ago
and that zone rascal, MCPHERSON, stole
the old songs of Ossan, an old Irish
claimed them as Scotch" He claimed
that much of the MODEST Scotch music
was originally irish, and old Irish
at that. He spoke of the old Irish
song "Aileen Aroon," lavishly praised
by Handel, the words and music of
which can be traced back as Irish for
800 years, having been stolen by the
Scotch and appearing as "Robin Affair.""
and afterward as song by Burns, writ
ten for money, as phyllis the Fair"
byron said the best drinking songs
in the world are Irish. one of which is
Moore's Pass Round the Wine,' and
the ancient Gaelic song, 'Cruiskeen
Lawn" Mr.. O'Reilly here repeated
the old saying, "lf you plead
for your life or your love,
plead in Irish" He followed
with a glowing tribute to the work
which Thomas Moore did in preserving
forever much of the most beautiful
music in Ireland, and then went into
the history and achievements Of the
later Irish poets. near the head of whom
stands Richard Brnsley Sheridan. The
whole lecture was interspersed With
quotations from the sweetest of the
Irish poems, many of them in the orig
inal Irish.
MIR. O'Reilly's lecture showed that he
has thoroughly studied his subject, and
that he is a man of deep learning in all
that pertains to the history of his mother
country. His discourse was interesting
to all who know or care to know any
thing of Ireland and the irish; but all
who expected to hear an orator were
disappointed.