The Irish standard., 1898-06-25

conquerors were in part driven out of
Ireland-but their blood was left in the
veins of tens of thousands of children;
and is represented today by millions OF
fair-haired and blue-eyed Irish men and
women.
And fortunate for Ireland was 1t that
such an intermiXture of races took place
and fortunate for Scandinavia that col
onies Of 1rishmen, in the remote past,
invaded that peninsula; and left behind
it great populations of dark haired and
dark-eyed people.
The surest guaranty Of the greatness
of the American race is found today in
a similar interfuson of stocks.
We visited the insane asylum at
Omagh, Ireland, in 1888, and saw 500
crazy women eating their dinner to-
gether. We asked the doctor in charge,
what was the cause Of so much insan-
ity? He replied 1t was due to two
causes: First whisky; and secondly,
breeding-in-and-in.
An Irish Catholic priest once solicit
ed a contribution from us to build an
imbecile asylum in Ireland. We said
to him that we had not supposed there
We're any imbeciles in that country, He
replied that there were many, but they
were found in out-of-the-Way regions,
1rb ho1
new blood for centuries; and people had
intermarried until they were all prac-
tically one family.
In u generations each person has
million ancestors: Two parents, four
grand parents, eight great grand parents
etc., etc. And in the same length of
time each person has, perhaps, a nun~
dred million blood relatives. So that if
war or conquest does not bring in new
blood the race degenerates. All
breeders of domestic animals under
stand the Importance Of this principle
of interfusion of distinct stocks.
We had no intention in what we said,
in our speech on the 18th of May to
derogate from the dignity or greatness
of the grand Milesian race, which con-
quered and colonized Ireland, 1,40O
years before the birth of Christ. We
are proud to be descended from it. We
can trace our lineage, by an unbroken
line of descent for $500 years, from
father to son, down to the present day.
The clan "Donnelly," or "Dounghailie,"
as it was anciently spelled, was derived
from 'Donnghal, quo ODonnelly,"
who was the 18th In descent from Mall
of the Nine Hostages, Monarch of Ire
land, slain A. D. 406. The head of our
sept was hereditary marshal of o.
Neills forces; and, in the time of Queen
Elizabeth, 300 gentlemen Of the name
of Donnelly" were more depended upon
by the king of Ulster than even his own
family
We belong to that grand fighting
race" that battled their way from
Egypt to Spain, and from Spain to Ire
land; and have since furnished the
blood and bone Of the armies of Eng
land, France and the United States.
But nevertheless we are philosopher
enough to recognize the value of the
accession of qualities from the blue-eyed
Northmen-the Vikings-who have
given size and sinew, persistence and
endurance to the fiery Milesian
race; and made it the greatest breed of
warriors, and even pugilists, in the
world.
These. are questions full Of the pro-
foundest interest and significance.
If we have ourself shown any cour.
age in standing alone politically and
battling for what we believed to be
right, it is due to ancestral traits, Ge-
rived from a long line of warriors, who
were at all times ready to die for their
convictions.
We may return to a discussion of
these questions hereafter; although
with much that is said by the editor of
the Irish Standard we cordially agree