The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1893-03-18
HE IRISH RAG'E,,
Judge Corrigan ddresses e Very
Appreciative Audience
y atsAnoka.s
The CELTEVER IN THE VAN.
something About the Traditions Of
a. Long Suffering
People.

The Hon. j r. Corrigan, Of Minneapo-
Ii, was the orator of the day at Anoka
whore he addressed large assemblage
of the enthusiastic lovers Of the Elmer
add Isle as follows:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN 1T gives me
great pleasure to join with you this
evening in: the celebration of this ami
versary and IN helping to keep alive
the memory Of the patron saint of Ire
land. We have many, many reasons for
doing this, and it is among the duties of
the occasion to express our best senti-
nents relative to the birth, life and
death of this great man and" the effect
which his teachings have had upon the
Irish people. It Is scarcely possible for
any person to disbelieve that the disper-
sion of mankind throughout the world
has been pursuant to some regular plan
Inherent in the creation, that the future
position of all of the subdivisions of the
human race was known in the beginning
Of Him, who inspired the biblical writer's
to foretell the wonderful history of the
tribes of Israel The extraordinary his
tory of the Irish race leads one to the
belief that God has given to the Irish
people an exalted mission in the econ
eay of his creation.
As the tribes of men moved westward
from the apparent fountain OF
human life in Central Asia, as each
succeeding tribe pressed it's predecessor
forward over the plains of Europe, we
see dimly through the vale of history,
the Celts and kindred races in the van,
and it was not until they had reached
the shores of the Atlantic ocean from
Hebrides to the Pillars of Hercules,
that their migrations ended in perman-.
ent settlements. The pressure from the
successive tribes Of Cloths, Huns, Van
dsls and Franks finally drove the great
majority Of the Celts into North of Scot
land, into Wales, Ireland and the North
Of France; when the Celts reached Ire
land they found some of their kindred
already there. We hear, through the
traditions of the people, that the Phoeni-
slams and M;lesians, nomads from the
Mediterranean coasts also had settle
ments there either 7cotemporaneous with
or prior to the inroads Of the Celts. 1t
would not seem that t g Celts had OBJ
taine q in Ireland kingdom sufficient for
great nation, country about one third
the area of the state of Minnesota; but
the greatness Of nation is not always
measured by the extent of it's territory;
and if the Lord so Wills it, weaknesses
which are apparent to the world at large
may, in the end, turn out to be it's
strength. There is no question that
among the characteristics which have
caused the world wide notoriety OF Ire
land, have been the peculiar tenacity,
obstinacy and individually of it's inhab-
itauts These qualities have always
been source of weakness at home but
have been the strength of the Irish
character abroad.
About the year 49, A. D. st. Patrick
was born in Scotland His parents
moved with him from there to the north
era shores of France from which he was
taken captive by some rowing adventur-
ers, who sold him in slavery to an Irish
ehleftain, in which slavery he was held
for six or seven years. Afterwards he
escaped to France. Providence, how
over, designed him to be the Apostle OF
Christianity to Ireland. Because, no
sooner had he secured his liberty, than
he devoted himself for over twenty years
to the culture of his mind and the study
Of the revelations of God, for the pur-
pose of becoming an acceptable mission
ary for the conversion of the Irish to
christianity Pope Celestine then conse-
Grated him to that mission. Other coun-
tries have had their martyrs to christian
ity: not SO, Ireland. A few years after
he came, the cross was planted over the
whole island, from which time the nation
was the fountain. head of christian mis-
sionary teaching for Europe and the
VIC I'D. Among the boldest, most per-
sev,sing and most successful OF the Oau-
casian races have been the Teutons In
all the varied subdivisions of that branch
we see the energy, perseverance and OBJ
stinacy Of dominant manhood; the
Austrians. Prussians, Germans, Franks,
Scandinavians, Normans, Anglo Saxons;
they followed the Celt in the great mi
grafton westward, and it is not surprn
ing that after having thor oughly color
lied and settled England, after hayln
driven the Celt into the highlands
Wales and Scotland, the English Teuto
should have followed him into the ferti
plains Of Ireland. During the ages in
mediately following the colonization
Ireland by the Celt, advance guards an
rovers from the NorWegi Danes, No
mans, or Angles and Saxons attempted
gain foothold in that country, the :
e,,lA kosnc n, OF NV vra,.o nikf1nr rovrf11ae