The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-04-29
IN The MARKET SQUARE OF THURLEs
Memorial Address Delivered by
a Patriotic Priest.
HISTORIAN OF The IRISH REBELLION
A Figure Of a '98 Pikeman to be
the Grand Monument.

The patriotic people OF Tipperary re-
Gently assembled in Thurles and re-
solved to erect in the Market Square
a monument to the memory of the he
roes who fell in 'os, '4S and 81. The
memorial will cost ST 900 and will take
the form OF a '9S pikeman standing on a
pedestal eleven feet high. The figure
itself will be six feet high, and both
the figure and pedestal will be OF Tip
perary limestone. The ceremony Of
laying the foundation stone was per-
formed by Rev. P. F. Kavanagh,, O.
S. F., who afterwards delivered the fol-
lowing address:
Why do we meet here today, men OF
Tipperary? Is it to celebrate victory?
No, it is to commemorate defeat, but
a defeat more glorious than many a
victory. Is it to mourn over the ashes
OF the extinguished fire of liberty
quencfed in the blood of its defenders,
or is it to declare our abandonment OF
the cause for which Our brave ancestors
died century ago? No, my fellow
countrymen, but to declare that while
honoring their memory we mean to
adhere to their principles and to main
tain them-tl1at we desire to kindle to
brighter glow in the hearts OF Irish
men today the sacred flames of patriot
ism that warmed the hearts of our sires.
To declare that we are true to the
cause for which the men of 1903 shed
their heroic blood; to show that the
Irish spirit is yet unbrokcn; that the
Irish love for freedom has not wancd,
and that although brute force may COM
pei lis to submit Our neclls to the yoke
OF the foreigner, our souls are still free
and our minds are still Our own. 1t is
true that the men OF 'o9 failed in their
efforts to free their country. But, if
they failed, it was a noble failure, and
can claim more lasting laurels than
many vaunted victory. 1t is better,
surely, to fail in good cause than to
succeed in bad one. We have failed
hitherto in asserting Our National in
dependence, but we have preserved un-
stained our national honor. That we
have done SO, we may thank the men Of
'o8. But for their heroism it might be
said that Ireland suffered the last vestige
of froo5n,,, fo 6o ,proc{aI fro,,, to-
without striking blow in its defense,
and for this alone we should honor and
cherish the memory of those gallant
men. But let us ask why they failed?
Was it wholly owing to their lack OF
arms and discipline? No, there was an
other cause. Ireland then was not
united; their brethren did not join them
in the struggle. A secret society para
lyzed their efforts, led to the betrayal
OF their leaders, and was found worth
less when the time came for action. 1t
turned out to be mere death trap for
Irish patriots in the hands OF the Eng
lish government. Secret societies we're
such in the past; il they exist in the
present they are the same. You can
remember that not many years since,
when Home Rule was almost within
our grasp, the assassins OF secret So
cicty snatchcd it from us, and the re-
morsclcss villain who organized that
society soon after handed over his
wrctched dupcs to the cxecutioner II
the emissaries OF such society should
even approach you, il you are wise, you
will send them back to Dublin Castle,
or to the police barrack, whence they
came. The might of England would
have failed to crush the rising were she
not aided by s1avish Irishmcn in the
ranks OF her mercenarics and by in
formers in the secret society of the
United Irishmcn. O, could Our mar
tyred dead again visit the land for whose
freedom they laid down their lives what
message think you would they bear US?
What counsel would they give us? l
believe they would say TO us: Irish
men, unite, unite! Ireland would have
triumphed in our day were Ireland
united" Yes, my fcllow-c countrymcn,
disscnsion has ever barred our way to
freedom. But let those who counsel
dissension under any pretcxt be regard
ed as traitors to their country. Let those
who would separate Irishmcn from
lrishmen, and the Irish people from the
Irish priests, be numbered amongst the
enemies of the Irish cause The cause
OF Irish freedom and the ancient faith
of ireland have been too long united
to he seOarafed nOw All that xva hava