The Irish standard., 1897-10-09
FINERTY ON IRELAND
THE CHICAGO ORATOR SPEAKS TO
THE SOUTHERN CELTs,
A Grand oRA1uRICAL MASTERPIECE

A GRAND oRA1oRIcAL MASTERPIECE
DIFFERS WITH HON. II. WALSH
ON IRISH EMIGRATION.
CARRIES THE AUDIENCE WITH HIM
ORANGE AND GREEN SHOULD UNITE
LIKE BLUE AND GRAY.
It would be a hard matter to get on
the same platform a quartet Of ora
tors to equal Gov. Taylor, of Tennessee,
Rev. George w. Pepper, Of Ohio, Ex-
Senator Patrick Walsh, Of Georgia, and
Ex-Congressman John F. Finerty, of
Illinois. The four of them spoke, one
after the other, at the Nashville CEN
tennial celebration on Irish -Ameri-
can Day." The following passages
from Mr.. Finerty's address are worth
reading:
1 have been highly gratifled with the
display that has been made in your
city in honor of Irish-American Day.
I rejoiced when saw the green flag Of
Ireland floating from your houses all
over your city and from your public
buildings; that same flag which has
often been defeated, but which has
never been dishonored. You have hon.
ored the State Of Tennessee aud the city
of Nashville. While you celebrate as
Irish-Americans, you have not forgot
ten the old country beyond the sea.
You have heard mentioned from this
platform today the names of many ia
nous Irish-Americans who have won
distinction in almost every walk Of life;
men who are famous for their military
careers and also In affairs of state But
l would have you remember that honor
is due the rank and file of the Irish as
we'll as to those famous men. If the
spirit of liberty has been planted here
1t has been done by the great masses Of
the Irish that came here to escape the
oppression of the most tyrannical laws
ever devised by man. My friend, the
Hon. Patrick Walsh, has said that he
wished all the Irishmen in Ireland
could be brought to the United States.
do not agree with him on that point.
Let them stay in old Ireland and guard
the ashes of their fathers. Let them
stay there and keep their traditions
sacred. If they cannot gain their lib
erty let them at least remain there a
thorn in the side of England.
1t has been from the hour Of the first
Norman invasion, England's settled
purpose to get rid of the native Irish
race, and nothing would more crafty
her pride and her vengeance than the
extirpation of the hated mere Irish.''
who have def1ed alike her soldiers, her
statesmen and her executioners to con-
q1er their indomitable spirit Tie day
must never come when the London
Times may be able to say that it was
animated by the inspiration of proph-
ct when fifty years ago, it wrote,
"The Celts are going, thank Cod soon
they will be gone with vengeance!"
and again, "The time is not distant
when Celtic Irishman will be as
scarce in Ireland as a Red Indian on
the shores of Manhattan Island" Why
should the Irish people abandon the
country their sires had occupied for
almost four thousand years to the for
eign enemy and despoiler? (Applause.) }
Without her people Ireland would be a
body without soul. Her sons could,
then, say with the Venetian exile, Ia
menting the light of liberty:
Thou sunny ray of beauty!
Oh whittier hast thou flown?
My native land! why art thou
But water now and stone?
Such an abandonment would reflect
discreditably on the Irish race when
another ancient race that has borne the
stripes of persecution for nearly 1000
years were engaged in movement to
liberate the land of their fathers from
the yoke Of the Saracen. The Hebrews
still loved and we'll remembered the
mountains of Moab, the valleys of
Judea and the waves of the Jordan
They were organizing following out
the dream of George Elliot, os revealed
in Daniel Deronda-to win back tho
land where Solomon reigned, arrayed
in all his glory, for the scattered chill
dren of Isreal. (Applause) The Irish,
although, like the Jews, scattered by
tyrant rule to the very ends of the
earth, have never entirely lost their
land, but clung to it with desperate
fidelity, which has banied all the arts
and all the force of England to over
come. (Applausc)
He was glad to see the men clothed in
blue and gray, who had braved the
blasts of battle for the causes they be-
lieved to be right, marching that day
under the Stars and Stripes and the
Green Flag Of old Ireland. (Applause. }
1t was noble spectacle, and the Irish
people would do we'll to take a leaf in
the lesson of national unity from the
1,f