The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-01-28
THE NATIONALlSTS OF ERIN HOLD A
MEETING IN CONG,
At TOMB OF K!Me RouERIck o'coANoR
UNITED IRISH LEAGUE RAPIDLY EX.
TENDING IN THE WEST.
FERvIO EloQuENcE OF WILLIAM O. BRIEN
CELTS OF CONNAUGHT MARCHING
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER.

An eloquent and patriotic address
was recently delivered by William
O'Brien, NJ. p, at Cong, the burial
place of Roderick O'Connor, the last wing
of Ireland. The following report appears
in the Dublin Freemans Journal of
Jan. IA:
l am disposed to think that if we
could have Captain Boycott's S self as we'll
as his portrait back amongst us here
today he would be inclined to think that
1t would be as hard a job to extinguish
the United Irish League in South Mayo
as he found it to fight the Land League
cloud cheers). If any landlord from
Lord Ardilaun (groansl-well lie was
once very happily christened by Mr..
Healy Lord Cruiskeen Lawn" tlaugh-
terl-but if any lord or Unionist doubts
what have just said let him try a tug
of var with us at the polls next March
at the county council elections tlaugh.
another Lough Mask expedition from the
North to console him upon the morn
ing of the declarations of the poll and
to save him from the power of an
emancipated people. The year '9S has
left behind it in Mayo. at all events, Il
people once more thoroughly organized
and full of hope and fight. lCheers.)
That is the monument the men OF '98
would demand of you If their voices
could be heard today (cheers) not stat
ues of bronze or of lifeless stone but
that the people who believe in them
should prove the faith that is in them by
carrying on in practical and self-sac-
fificing way that war for our national
freedom which the men OF '9S left un-
finished tcheers); and whatever else
things may be in condition OF doubt or
chaos as to the future, there ran be
no doubt that the people themselves
with sadly little help from the outside,
have built up in every county and dis
trlct of this province an organization
which, like the United Irishmen, is
pledged to carry on unflinchingly and
unslccpingly the fight against every
enemy of our peoples freedom and hap-
piness (cheers). passed today through
many u square mile of fair lands that
ought to be and will have to bc The
property of the people (hear, hcar),
see no reason why we should not be
able to leave at least one hundred
thousand acres of the grass lands idle
on the hands of the landlords this wear
the government violates their prom
ises to Mr.. Davitt (cheers). The Times
threatens that If we do we will have
coercion. | have no doubt that that is
So Coercion is invariably the first
step towards the concession of every
Irish demand, and the day the govern
ment throws up the sponge by resort
ing to coercion again all their elaDo-
rate calculations about killing home rule
with kindness will tumble about their
ears, and bury them in the ruins, as all
the calculations that Englishmen ever
made about Ireland We're sooner or later
baffled and disappointed (checrs).
Well, this time there will be new diff
ficulty about coercion The Times tells
us that what we want is to turn the
county councils into 80 many executives
of the United Irish league. Well next
to doing the business Of the county hon
haf Go
do want to turn the county councils into.
(cheers)-impregnable strongholds of
the peoples cause, entrenched within
those constitutional lines of f-govcrn-
ment, which the Tory government them
selves have constructed for us. I
should like to see the coercionist gov
ernment that would proceed to proclaim
and suppress not merely the United Irish
league, but the county councils. which
they themselves undertook to England
would be a substitute for home rule; and
1t Is because undoubtedly coercion will
come when we get to closer quarters
with the landlords and the grazers and
the grabbers (groans) that 1t is OF vital
Importance to elect county councils that
viii have no taint or rottenness OF land
lordism OF funkeyism--county councils
that will fight out the peoples battle for
the land In their own council chambers,
when the Cadogans and the Starkics
clear the streets, and put an end to pub
lie liberty with their batons and bayo-
nets. (Cheers) Well, am told that
even in South Mayo, bJackened as it is
at every mile by the ravages of land
lordism, there are to be found men, and
even men calling themselves National
lists, would have you elect landlords
as your representatives; won't mention
the names until they openly take the
field, when promise you | will mention
them (hear, hear)-and who would
have you 60 back to the rent Office Hike
crawling slaves to invite them to govern