The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-08-13
The irish IN soain. ]


The average inquirer into spanish his
tory hardly expects to ind names such as
o'DonneII and o'Reilly; and the fact that
these and many similar ones are proEni-
nent only goes to show the truth OF that
old Spanish proverb. Cuando manos Sc
piensa, saits Ia liebre. which Is to say that
when one least expects 1t, out jumps the
rabbit, Both OF the above-mentioned
names figure largely In the late eighteenth
and the early nineteenth century history
Of Spain, and a little personal ineident
relating to the name OFRefEiy Is the main
reason for this short sketch Of them
One evening during the winter just gone
l was talking about Cuba to q schooihouse
audience on the west side-an 'sEelrs
Kitchen" in fact-and casually mentioned
OReiliy street as being one Of the two
shopping streets Of Havana. Many OF my
auditors were Irish. and the apparent in
congruity Of such q street name In a
Spanish city Immediately occurred to them
and they laughed me almost out of coun-
tenance- AS soon as their amusement had
subsided sufficiently, I explained the mat
ter to them, and after that evening In
talking to others always made a point of
giving the information before the name.
However, it is not only the people OF the
working classes who are ignorant of even
the most important happenings Of the past
on the Ibernian peninsula. The knowledge
OF the college-bred on the subjct amounts
to practically nothing. The reason is not
far to seek We English-speaking people
are so sek-suficIens that things Spanish
and Spanish-American have never been
considered worthy OF our notice. Ae we
view 1t, the Great Oliver watered all milk
except that which he poured into the
"Anglo-Saxon" milk can. It might inter-
est some readers. though, to know who
were the people to make famous the
names of O'Donnell and O'ReiHy-nanes
as well known in Spain as Rlego or
Godoy.
On July !, $780, William M. worsted
James II. at the battle OF Boyne, IN
Ireland, and Immediately thereafter the
ancestor Of the Spanish o'Donnells emf
grated to Spain. In 1769 Henry Joseph
O'Donnell was born. entered the army in
1R10. ana in the same year earned q
generalship and the title OF Count OF La
Bispal for meritorious work in the prov
ince of Catalonia He was a supporter
of the unfortunate Ferdinand VII. ami
served the king with fidelity during the
troublous times incident upon Eapoleon's
Intervention In Spain's affairs, and the
placing OF Joseph Bonaparte on the
throne
Henry Joseph O'Donneil died In 1894.
His son, Leopold O'Donnell-or, as We
Should call him, Leopoldo O'Donel-was
born in Santa Cruz, on the island of Ten
eriffe, in 1909. At an early age he de-
cided to follow his father in a military
career and soon espoused the cause Of the
infant queen, Isabella, against Don Carlos.
becoming chief Of stan to General Es-
partero. In 1s4o we find young O'Donel
at the side of the queen mother, emigrat-
ing with her. It was while thus in France,
residing at Orleans. that he planned many
of the uprisings that took place in Spain
under the rule OF Espartero. His In
trigues against the latter were finally sue
cessful in 1913. and as a reward ODonel
was made Captain-General Of Cuba 1t
has been asserted that while holding this
office he amassed large fortune by favor
ing the slave trade. Whether that be
Il rue or not, certain II Is that he returned
to Spain a wealthy man.
Leopold O'Donel was prominent again
in 1S4S, when he intrigued successfully
against Narvaez and Murillo and in 1854
Espartero made him Minister of War.
His gratitude to his superior was short
lived, however, for two years later, in
1856. he plotted against and supplanted
Espartero. Three months after this coup
d'etat he in turn was succeeded by Mar
vaez, but In 1858 returned once more to
power.
It was In Morocco that O'Donel won his |
title OF Duke Of Tetuan. He commanded |
the Spanish army in a tedious campaign |
against the Moors In 1859. which was
ended by the capture of the city of Te- I
tuan. after which the title was bestowed
on him. He continued to be a power in |
Spanish politics until his death, which
occurred at Bayonne, November 5. 1867.
The O'Reillys (after one OF whom the !
street IN Havana is named) did not come |
to Spain till we'll on in the eighteenth cen |
tury. Alexander. the most famous Of the |
name, was born In ireland In 1725. He en- !
Tered the Spanish army when very young. |
and is first noticed in Italy, where he was |
during the war of the Austrian |
succession. Later, ne served In both the /
Austrian and the French armies, but |
finally re-entered the Spanish service; |
and. after being made a Brigadier and in |
German tactics In the Spanish |
army, he was sent to America as In
of the Spanish colonies. |
lis chief work as such having been the 4
restoration of the Notifications Of Ha-
rana.
At the time when our present state
II Louisiana changed from French 20
spanish ownership, and Ulua had been
expelled by the French colonists, O'Reilly
vas sent there with a fleet. This was
n 1T6s, and on arriving he began business
" court-martiaiing IGnfriere and some
,ther popular leaders for crimes against
alleged to have been COM
nitted before Spain had taken formal pos
esslon of her acquisition. After substi-
ptlng Spanish laws for the French code,
lie returned to Spain, and then led an un-
uccessful expedition against Algiers in
T75 He was successfully Commandant OF
Andalusia and Governor OF Cadlz, and died
In harness" in 17S4 while on his way
crth to take command OF the army OF
he Pyrenees.
The descendants of Alexander O'ReIlly
ow live in Cuba, where the head Of the
amily Is known as the Count Of Buena
yista. For many years they have been
owerful factors in Cuban-more especially
and. also. by reason OF
heir wealth in eociety. 4 part OF the
amily income Is derived IN q manner
which may not be peculiarly Spanish. but
a a way which Is frequently to be OBJ
erved IN Spanish countries. Years ago
ne Madrid government granted 20 the
J Reilly s-Apparently for all time-ths
right OF conveying the Elaugh-
cred meat from the Havana abattoir to
he various markets In the city. This,
onsidering that Havana Is a city q sew
raj hundred thousand Inhabitants. meant
large business; and until recent years