The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-12-17
Irish History In the Schools.

irish History In the Schools.
Editor Irish Standard:
l was much interested in Mr. Finerty's
proposal to teach Irish history in the
parochial schools, and being somewhat
familiar with the text books used in our
public schools, should like to offer an
amendment to his plan, and that is to
have taught in our schools the important
part that Ireland took in bringing the
savage Teutonic races within the pale of
Christianity and civilization; also, the
| noble part that the Irish bore in estab-
fishing American independence.
| In none of these text books of modern
history used in any public schools have
work in the cause of Christianity and
civilization. Guizot, in his History of
European Civilization" makes no men,
ton of it; neither does Hallam In his
History of the Middle Ages" In the
outlines of modern history used in our
| common schools, such as Barnes Swim
tons or Meyers, the history of Ireland
usually occupies about two paragraphs,
one referring to the Anglo-Norman in
vasion. the other telling about Crom-
wells storm of Drogheda.
| The students in our public schools
have small chance to learn that Ireland
was for centuries the center of the
worlds culture, that her missionaries
penetrated the then wild regions in the
valleys of the Rhine, the Danube, the
Rhone. and the Pc, and among the noun
tains of Switzerland, carrying with them
the light of Christianity and letters and
the rudiments of civilization; that they
introduced Christianity and civilization
into the island of Britain, throughout the
countries now known as England, Scot
land and Wales. Chambers cyclopedia
has the following to say on the subject:
I'm the sixth century extensive mon
which religion and learning were zeal
ously cultivated. From these establish
ments numerous missionaries issued dur
ing the succeeding centuries, carrying
the doctrines of Christianity under great
difficulties into fhg still pagan countries
of Europe, whose inhabitants they sur
prised and impressed by their self-devo-
ton and asceticism. Many students of
distinction from England and the con-
tinent frequentad,, ireland and received
/ gratuitous instruction at this period. To
these ages has been ascribed the origin
of the peculiar style Of art ornamental
ton, specimens Of which are still extant
in Irish manuscripts, and which was long
enormously assigned to the Anglo-Sax-
ons, who now appear to have been in
debted to the Irish mainly for Chris
tianity, and entirely for letters" APP
pleton's cyclopedia, also, says that the
English seem to have been indebted to
Ireland for both letters and Christian
ity.
Prof. Fiske, in h is Discovery and
Conquest of America by the Spaniards,"
speaks of the time when the cloisters
of sweet Innisfallen were center of
piety and culture for northwestern Eu-
rope" and in a learned note ON the
subject he refers the student to Monte
lambert's Monks of the West" and says
that Milman's Latin Christianity "is en-
tirely inadequate to the subject"
1t is quite suggestive that DR.. Samuel
Johnson, the greatest English writer Of
his age, criticizes an author of his time
for the same reason that Prof. Fiske
finds fault with another English histor-
ian hundred years later-for sighting
Ireland's great work in the cause of
Christianity and civilization (See in Bos-
wells Life of Johnson, a letter to Charles
O'Connor, ESQ.,, an Irishman of letters.)
And how curious it is that Mr.. Fiske
must refer the student to French writer
on this subject; that no Irishman of suf-
ficient ability has been reused up to
write work on the glorious achieve
ments among European people of Ire
lands heroic missionaries, who effected
conquest, not by brute force but great
moral and Intellectual conquest, which,
after all, is the only kind of a conquest
that Christian people can consistently
boast Of
Turning to the historians of our own
country we find no mention made in our
school histories of the great Irish immi-
grafton to this country that took place
during the eighteenth century. They
tell us of the Huguenots' settlement of
South Carolina, of the Germans in Penn
sylvania, and of, the Moravians of
Georgia, but not even hint is given of
the vast number of Irish who settled in
all the colonies. ,McMaster, in his school
history, does indeedJ make some mention
Of them, but assumes that all the pre-
revolutionary Irishuimmigration came
from the six counties that We're only
partially settled by tScotch-so he calls
them Scotch-Irish. 1t is evident that
such an assumption refutes ITSELF can
not see how true history Of our levo-
lutionary epoch can,,be written without
taking into accountsthose hundreds of
thousands of people who came from Ire
land during the eighteenth century car
rying with them sad and bitter memories
Of country having it's industries crushed
out and its people pauperized by series