The Irish standard., 1898-06-04
BY THE HON. JOHN F. FINERTY
The Irish Centennial Celebration
in the Windy City.
AN ANGLO-SAX0N ALLIANCE
Opposed in Vehement Language by
the Eloquent Orator

On Monday evening. May %, an en-
thusiaStic demonstration was held at
Central Music hail. Chicago. in COM
memoratinn OF the centennial OF tho
Irish rebellion of 1888. John NJ. Smvthc.
the millionaire Irish merchant, was
chairman, and said he was proud to be
with his own people that night, to aid
III celebrating an anniversary so cred
liable to the military reputation of the
lr!Sh race. Patriotic resolutions were
read by Judge Walter j. Gibbons and
unanimously adopted. \ medley Of
lrlah-Amcrican airs WAS played by the
Seventh Regiment band, after which an
eloquent address was delivered bv Hon
John II. F'incrty, who, on being intro
duccu, proceeded to refer to the signal
given on that day one hundred Years
ago for the rising in lrcland-.that is the
stoppago OF tho mail coaches, which
were then the chief means of public
communication throughout the island.
This was tho signal agreed upon be-
tween the bravo and unfortunate Lord
Edward Fitzgerald, commandcr-ln-chlet
cl tho United Irish army and the Chief
officers of that army in the Irish prov
inccs. Unfortunately, by the operation
OF British methods of corruption, trca-
son had delivered the illusrious Ger
aldlnc--the gallant and faithful son OF
| ,l, Il
or his enemies. After q Resistance
| worthy OF his fame, he was mortally
wounded. arrested and thrown into
a loathsomo cell in Ncwgate prison.
out OF tho rebellion, and he died of his
wounds and tho brutal neglect of his
! captors on tho ith of June in that mems
orablo year. His arrest almost totally
paralyzcd the country. When the
coaches stopped running only six, in.
stead of thirty-two, counties rose in re-
FponSc to the signal. The arrest OF the
members of tho United Irish Directory
at Oliver Bonds house in March, left
tie people without leaders after FItz-
gerald was captured The comparatiyc-
ly level counties Of Dublin, Kildare and
Carlow, after u crcditable resistance.
Wcro swept clean of defenders by the
| overwhelming force Of British cavalry,
supplemented by other arms, with pre-
| cipitation. Tho counties last organized
| were Wicklow and Wexford; III
| these tho priests, who had been peace
prescrvcrs, seeing that patience had be-
come degradation, called the people, in
sheer desperation, to the field to de-
| fend their invaded homes, the honor Of
their women and the lives of the aged
and innocent
| Tho skies of those two splendid coun-
ties wero black with the burnings Of
tho atrocous British army-thcn over
100000 strong in the country. Even
somo OF their own generals became
ashamed of their scoundrc!ism- notably
! Sir John Moorc-.and his cOuntryman,
! Sir Ralph Abcrcrombic, had previously
declared, while commander chief.
| that, in Ireland, the British army was
formidable to everybody but the enc
my" The midnight skies were red
dcncd by the burning of desccrated
homes, and tho air rang with tho pite-
ons shrcks and lamentations of Irish
matrons and virgins, subjected to the
brutal passions OF Il vile military ban
ditti. And this, hundred years ago,
was Angle Saxon, God-fearing, bible
pounding England Had the leopard
changed his spots since then? Not IL
occasion to manifest their unaltcred
condition should present itself.
Without leaders trained and Injured
to war; without efficient arms or
commssary of any kind whatcver-op-
posed to well fed, well drilled, splen-
didly appointed troops, many OF whom
had seen service in other wars, the glor-
ious pcasantry of Wicklow and Wex-
ford never quailcd and swept their
proud and astonishcd foes before them,
even as the summer gale drives the dust
of tho earth. prolonged applause)
They could recall with pride Oulart
Hill. where the dauntless pikemcn, un-
der Father John Murphy annihilated
in quick time the troops sent on like
a storm over the road to and through
tho gates and streets Of Enniscorthy,
which ran red with blood-King
Georges forces flying before them in
wild retreat. They planted their ban
ncr over Wexford town, and the lanes
and streets Of New Ross, from Three
Bullet Gate to the Bridge of the Bar
row, still bear the marks of that su-
perb fight, led by Kelly Of Killan, and
directed by Bagenal Harvey, which last
ed thirteen hours-one Of tho longest
-,