The Irish standard., 1896-09-05
An Eloquent Grafton Upon Some Of
the Inspired Singers Of
ireland.
r p. o'Brien, of Montana, Eulo-
sgizes Moore, Mangan, Davis
and Williams.
Ireland and Her Descendants Have
AnsInspiration in Such Poetic
&. . ~
Lines.

? i;4
ireland in Literature" was the subject
of lecture delivered by Mr., r. p. O'Brien
before a most appreciative audience in Ev-
ans Opera House, Anaconda, Mont, re-
Gently. Both interesting and instructive.
The Irish Standard gives the lecture IN
full in this issue. Mr.. OBrien said:
Poetry has been defined as "the highest
expression of best thought and has always
been regarded as the first of the fine arts
Nations, like individuals, have their
youth, their manhood, their Old age and the
altitude during nations history which it's
greatest singer has attained in his poetic
soaring has ever been considered an almost
infallible index Of the highest plane Of
mental and to great extent Of physical
achievement which that nation has reached
Poetry again is faithful reflex of nation
al life and character. embodying as It does
the Imagination, passions, sentiments and
aspirations of the people whose supreme
utterance it is.
Such being the case, what should We ex-
pect the salient characteristics OF Irish
poetry to be? 1t should be an utterance
replete with all the beauties of land un-
surpassed in natural lovelness, bright with
the virtue Of Erin's daughters, full of the
heroic achievements of her sons, sparkling
vita the wit and wisdom OF her sages, but
like the sun struggling to emerge from the
storm cloud that obscures his meridian
splendor, darkened by the baleful shadow
cast by tyra1nical foreign rude over the
radiant disc of Irish nationhood and per-
m1tting to steal even into its merriest songs
SVoN.> 4-N r-aE, s. :
st1t,lte one of the greatest and most pecu-
liar charms of Irish minstrelsy, the equal
ling or even imitation OF which has been
and is the despair of the composers Of every =.
other land, and which caused one of the
greatest of Germany's masters to exclam
that he would rather be the author of the
"Conlin" than of all the music he had COM
posed. All these characteristics and others
besides will be found in their highest ex-
elnpliflcatiOn in the masterpieces of Ire
land 8 bards.
The unyielding tenacity of the Gael in
npholding his claim to full and distinct
government in place of the most re-
lentless and unprincipled oppression, and
the assured confidence of Irish patriots that
their efforts SO often baffied sometimes on
the very eve of fruit:on), will finally, in
Gods own time, meet with success, are
prominent traits Of the national character
and run like golden threads through the
webb and woof OF Hibernian lninstrelsy.
AS all the earlier poets Of ireland used
tue Gaelic tongue, which is now, alas a
sealed language to the majority Of Irish
men, i have chosen four writer's from
among the illustrious names which adorn
the armament OF Anglo Hibernian litera-
ture for consideration in tonights lee
ture.
These are Moore, Mangan, Davis and
Williams. The first whose fame is only
bounded by the stars, "Trelands own be-
loved bard, the other three the brightest
luminaries of that galaxy of genius which
makes that famous epoch preceding '48 the
most memorable in the annals of Irish lit
erature, and c0nfers upon the Irish race
an imperlshable heritage Of poetic fame H
Thomas Moore, the first of these immor- B
tai four, was born In Aung;er street, Dub &
lin, May %, 1879. His father was re- 4
spectacle grocer and dealer. Moore wrote
verses as early as his fourteenth year, con-
tributing to the Anthologia Hibernica,
Dublin magizlne.
His first instructor was Mr.. Samuel I
TWhyte (w11o also taught another great I
1rishman, r. 3. Slleridan) He entered
Trinity College 1894, which was opened to \
Roman Catholics only the year before.
Here he distinguished himself as brilliant 4.
student, and became the fast friend Of /
Robert Emmet. This friendship continu- 4
ed unbroken to the time Of poor Emmet's
tragic death, which melancholy but glorious
event was celebrated afterwards by Moore "a
in some Of his most pathetic songs. "Oh,
Breathe not his name, when he who adores Il
thee, J" etc. ia.ss
8 In 1899 the poet left for England, bring
ing with him his metrIcal translation Of II
the Greek poet Anacreon, and entered him s
self student of the Midland Temple Lon
don, but soon abandoned "Thenise" for the q
Muse" finding literature more congenial u
than law i "A 9,3
In 1901 he published volume Of poems Il;
under the cognomen Of 'T. Little an al; a
fusion doubtless to his own diminutive 81
stature, These poems contained the same d
faults ii the line Of immortality that di9. ii
figured the verses of the Roman poet Cat j
ullus, and were bitterly regretted by Moore
when he had attained the pinnacle OF his I'd
fame. In. 1903 he obtained an appointment s
as registrar to the court Of admiralty iii Z
Bermuda hMher he proceeded the follow y ~
ing year, hut finding the duties of that post "a
he appointed a deputy and ss3
travelled through the United States, where n
he wrote several poems among them The 3
Canadian Boat Song,s and The Lake Of Ss3
the Dismal Swamp He returned to Eng 81
land and published his "Odes and Epist es.'s = y
These were severely criticised by Jeffrey, ~
and Moore challenged his reviewer. The sss
duel was prevented, and poet and critic be- Ii,
came fast friends. Byron r:diculed this s
In l1iS I'm o1sSfr E4aTds