The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-10-07
The Absence of Intoxication in
The City of Cork,
The EFFUSIONS OF FATHER MAHONY
Mccarthy, The Evictor, and His
Satanic Majesty.

1t was ho, day in June when l
sauntcrcd into Patrick street in the good
city OF Cork to purchase Father
Prout's Rciqucs" and renew an agree
able acquaintance OF my younger days,
writes Martin ]. Russell in the Chicago
Chronicle. | had been at Blarncy the
day before and noted these lines Of
Frank Mahony's. he being the learned
and genial originator OF the literary
Prout:
There is Il stone there
That whoever kisses,
Oh! he never misses
TO grow eloquent
"ris he may Chamber
To Il ladys chamber
Or become a member
OF parliament.
A clever spoutcr
He'll sure turn out or
An out-andoutcr
TO be let alone
Don't hope to hinder him
Or to bcwi1dcr him,
Sure he's :: pilgrim
From the Blarncy stone!
Whose visited the Chicago fair saw
lal!hnl representation Of the famous
castle. In sober prose Mahony says OF
it, or says oi the stone that gives it
worldwide fame: But neither the
stream nor the lake nor the castle nor
the village Ga sad ruin which, but for
the recent establishment of a spinning
factory by some patriotic Corkonian,
would be swept away altogether or pos
scsscd by the owls as a grant from Sui
ten Mahmoud)-nonc of these pictur-
csquc objects has earned such notoriety
for the groves as certain stone of
basaltic kind, rather unusual in the dis
trict, placed on the pinnacle of the
main tower and endowed with the prop
crty Of communicating to the happy
tongue that comes in contact with its
polished surface the gift of gentle, in
sinuating speech, with soft talk in all
its ramifications, whether employed in
vows and promises light as air, such as
lead captive the female heart, or clab-
oratc mystifcation OF a grosscr grain,
such as may do for the house OF com
mons; all summed up and characterized
by the mysterious term 'Blarney." AS
for the groves celebrated by Mahony,
they arc cqualcd by a hundred places in
Wisconsin,, though the drive from Cork
to the castle is, for scenic beauty, some.
thing long to be remembered. 1t leads
through clusters OF beech and is we'll
above the valley OF the Lee; one OF the
most attractive drives | saw in Europe
The castles name has become word
OF special meaning wherever English is
spoken. The origin OF its use in this
connection is explained by Crofton
Croker who says: ut appears that i'll
1902, when the Spanish were exciting
our chcitans to harass the English
authorities, Cormac McDcrmot Carthy
held, among other dependencies, the
castle OF Blarncy, and had concluded an
armistcc with the lord president on
condition Of surrcndcring this fort to
an English garrison. Day after day
did his lordship look for the fulfillment
OF the compact, while the Irish Pozzo
Di Borgo, as loatll to part with his
stronghold as Russia to rclnquish the
Dardanellcs, kept protocolizing with
soft promises and delusive delays, until
at last Carcw became the laughing stock
OF Elizabctl's ministers and 'Blarney'
talk provcrbial" ....
Mahony, master OF vcrsfcaton in
many languages, was the author OF the
widely known "Shandon Bells:
With deep affection
And recollection "
l often think OF
Those Slandon bells.
Whose sounds so wild would
In the days OF childhood
Fling round my cradle
Their magic spells.
On this l ponder
WEer'er I wander
And thus grow fonder,
Sweet Cork, OF thee;
With thy bells Of Siandon
That sound so grand on
The pleasant waters
OF the river Lee.
Mahony was native Of Cork. Edu-