Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1899-04-01
Ancient Irish Most Important
Among the Old Aryan
Tongues.
Best Spirits Now Working For
It's Restoration and Pre-
servatiOn.
KEEP ALIVE NATIONAL TRADITIONS

A large and distinguished audience
assembled at the Art Club in Dublin tc
hear lecture by Lord Castletown, hi:
subj ct being "Our Celtic Inheritance. >
DIR. George Sigerson, President of the
society, occupied the chair, and most o.
the leading workers in the literary, Ian
guage and Celtic movements were pres
ent. Lord Castletowu, who was received
with applause, said:
To deal adequately with the vast
amount of material indicated by the title
of my lecture would impose heavy bur
den on even the ablest and most learned
of men. Before proceeding, therefore,
to give my own views on this most
fascinating subject, l must humbly apol-
ogize for my temerity to those far more
capable than who are present here to-
night. l have but one factor in my
favor. l love our Celtic traditions.
believe in their power for good, and |
know that in doing all we can to preserve
our inheritance, and to hand it down to
posterity, we are meriting the approba-
ton of those who come after us, while
we may hope that long line of Celtic
ancestors approve our procedure. His
Lordship then briefly sketched the early
history of the Celtic race, its probable
march from Central Asia along the South
ern Mediterranean to Spain and Gaul,
and its division into a Cymric and a
Gaelic branch before its arrival in the
British Isles. Perhaps the most perfect
of modern Celtic types is the Breton.
Here, at least, we find practically UNI
mixed race which has retained through
centuries its native language, its quaint
customs, its dances, its dress, its native
bands and good MANY traces of It's
ancient mythology. Brittany is even
now an inexhaustible field for the folk
lorist, the linguist, the antiquary and the
student of traditional music. The Breton
has all the best traits of the Celtic ma
ture, and in addition he has a strong
conservatism which has enabled him to
retain those traits. His bravery is pro-
verbal. He is a good soldier, success
full farmer and capital sailor. Half the
sailors of France are Bretons, and Brit
tany holds four,fifths of the French fish
ing industry representing value of 32,
600, 900 francs per annum. The Breton
fishing fleets are known in Newfound-
land and in Iceland. The annual de-
parture of the Pecheurs d'Islande is the
occasion of touching ceremony. No
wonder that Brittany has given to France
some of her most celebrated men. Not
only has Brittany its marvellous MCCALL
thic monuments, like those of Karnac
and Locmariaker, but it has fund of
native poetry which is we'll nigh mex
haustible. In Wales we find a Celtic
laguage in full vigor, a language with a
considerable ancient and vast modern
literature, used at the present day by the
majority of Welsh people in every day
life. and forming the vehicle of that in
tense religious earnestness which recalls
the early days of Christianity in Ireland.
In spite of the proximity of England,
and the large number of phonetic changes
which have removed much of the SINH
larity between Gaelic and Cymric, Wales
is still essentially Celtic, and, above all,
1t has preserved that most imposing OF
Celtic institution, the Eisteddfod. This
great festival of poetry and music assem-
bles year after year some $1,000 of the
children of Wales. who find in it not
only rich fountain of delight and arts
tic beauty, but living symbol of their
nationality, and a visible guarantee for
their sublime faith that their ancient
tongue will hold its own among their
mountains until the day of judgment.
They also have the Gorsedd, or Bardic
College, whose picturesque ceremonial
lends an added dignity and a touch OF
romance to the national gathering.
need not speak of the enormous modern
literature in the Welsh language, htera-
ture, says Prof. Zimmer,- which is quite
out of proportion to the number of the
Welsh people, and is estimated at an an
nual value of 81 100000. The determi-
nation with which the Welsh have main.
tanned their nationality, in spite of great
and continuous pressure from outside, is,
to my mind, the most remarkable proof
of the stability and undying strength Of
the Celtic race. To pass from London
the greatest center of the modern world,
to Holyhead, and to hear nearly everyone
there speaking a language which has
resisted centuries of attempts to crush il
out of existence, and to remember that
that language was very likely spoken
over 1900 years ago on the Steppes Of
Tartary or the plains of Chaldaea, gives
one deep cause to ponder over the indom-
liable persistency CT this race. From
Anglesea we pass to the Isle Of Man, rem
dered familiar to SO many Of us by the
best writings of that distinguished Manx-
man, Hall Caine. Here we pass from
the cymric to the Gaelic branch Of the
Celtic race. The language which still