The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1895-09-07
Footprints Left by the Danish In
yaders of Ireland Of Long
Ago,
Ce,ts Quiet In Private Life But for
Public Conflicts Have ais Un-
sleeping Memory.
tris!, Americans Fond Of Calling
Themselves Descendants Of
the French, 49,.

For more than thirty centuries, or
three thousand years, had the descend
ants Of The race of Milesius Of Spain
ruled supreme over the destinies OF Erin !;
and this sway Was undisputed, if we e-l-
cent the invasion Of the NorthInen or
Danes. who, during three OF the thirty
centuries orerran the country in preda-
tory i21clirsions--entrenchi themselves
finally III G. ile seaport towns OF Limerick,
Waterford, Wexford Wicklow and the
capital, Dublin. Here we know that
their concaMtratad power was shattered
forever at the decisive and historic fight
OF Clontarf, by the Irish High Monarch,
Brian Boru, a. d. l01N.. Those OF the
Danish invaders who escaped the general
slaughter remained in the land, settled
down in peaceful pursuits, and became
good Irishmen, acknowledging the then
irresistible Mjlesian power, writes John
G. Lee, in the irish American.
Thus, at the period when surnames
became fixed, by Law and general custom,
Erin may be truly claimed as purely
N:ilesian; FOR, few of the CID races who
preceded the Milesians in the land
remained. Hence the great mass OF
genealogy, recorded in our books, IS
essentially Milesian, While that OF the
th-de-Danaan aud FriDolg is, On the
whole, tabooed. True it is, that we
have many pedigrees recorded by Mac
Firbis. O'Dugali, and O'Heern OF these
ante Milesian settlers; but these are Only
of notabes whom it would not be wise
to discount; at least this is what may
be inferred, without much effort OF the
Imagination. The Milesian was q con-
Cueror, ant! the others We're the con-
quered. The successful party treated
their successful foes pretty much as any
victor would, In those times. They
reduced them to captivity-contiscate
their lands, and ranked them as mere
serfs AS consequence our fOrafath-
ers have been roundly criticised for this
proceeding by some writer's Of the pres
ent day Regarding this perpetual
carping at our national follies Of the
past--let me quote from the veteran Sir
Charles. Gavan Duffys most recent
utterances. .
cit would be vair,'' he says @to deny
that national quarrels are the most IN
tractable Of our troubles. The lelt is
placable and generous in private trans
actions but for public conflicts he has
All unslceping memory. Some of these
ouarrels are nearly as OLD as the Hood
The late Martin Haverty, who wrote a
meritorious history Of Ireland, was once
discovered by a friend in perturbed
and angry mood, which he explained by
the fact that he had been reading a
record of ill-usage his ancestors had
sustained from the invaders. The
slaughter of the Milesians by Strong
bcw?' uueried his friend. No. said the
historian; I speak Of the slaughter in
fiicted by the viNainous Milesians on my
ancestors. the Tuatha de Danaans? No
one can tell with certainty the date OF
that transaction, within thousand
years or SO. and it might perhaps be
permitted to rest in peace"
Indeed, this good natured and highly
Eensib1e advice, from SO eminent and
venerable patriot would well apply to
all the pernicious chickering's which dis
turb the national veal so generally at
present--even though the quarrel or it's
cause be not of any great antiquity-for
Erins sake, and our radical dignity.
In the eleventh century. vt can, there
fore ana with certainty be advanced,
that Celtic Erin was thoroughly and
absolutely Milesian, and the names now
recognized as Celtic found their first
adoption then: for, this period saw the
birth i'll general sense. Of the Macs
and the O's.' No matter how outra
cusly deformed and barbarzed the Irish
Celtic names may be found today, il is
to this time we can confidently look for
their origin, and, having found it, we
can trace 1T back in muititudinOus In
stances to an antiquity often very illus
trjOus. 4.ss. IN <s .s
A ce1ltuy later found the Norman
descending on our shores; though; his
ADVENT was On the whole the most dis
astrous happening that could befan Erin
+ lit was not altogether an unmixed evil,
for the new invader taught us onr
4 weakness with a vengeance" and we
neglected to learn it with a truly Celtic
yehemence. and have not fully masIered
/ the forceful lesson yet. Bntt sssS el,
h this knowledge can come through time.
There is one thing, however, that We
have done; Wes have SIrished the Nor
& man surnames, as a sort Of return for
Mp, ~ icai iemolffinY, of n,1r own