The Irish standard., 1900-03-17
The IRISH NATIONAL FESTIVAL

The IRISH NATIONAL FESTIVAL.
The anniversary OF the death OF St.
Patrick is a great day for the Irish
race. In veal or in woe, in prosperity
or in adversely, i'll slavery or i'll freedom,
the people OF the Green Isle and their
descendants in foreign lands will never
forget to reverence the name OF the
glorious apostle who in the fifth century
converted their pagan ancestors from
the superstitions OF idolatry to the
truths OF the Christian religion. For
fifteen hundred years the children OF
Erin have adhered with marvellous tc-
nacity to the holy faith implanted in
their hearts by St. Patrick. They have
suffered untold prosecutions for that
INTERPRETATIONS which, according to
Dr. Johnson, surpassed in severity those
OF the early Christians by the Roman
emperors; but despite every oppression
they have preserved and cherished the
faith in all its pristine purity. The most
atrocious laws were enacted by England
to Danish the faith from Ireland, but
without avail. In 1873 Dr. Johnson, as
recorded by Boswell, Indignantly ex-
claimed: The Irish are in the most
unnatural state, for we sec there the
minority prevailing over the majority.
There is no instance, even in the ten
prosecutions, Of such severity as
that which the Protestants of
Ireland have exercised against the
Catholics" Edmund Burke declared
that the laws were the most odious that
ever proceeded from "the perverted in
gcnuity OF man." Arthur Young, an
English traveller, dwelt upon the laws
with righteous indignation and said
they have crushed all the industry and
wrcsted most of the property from the
Catholics; but the religion triumphs; it
is thought to increase Bancroft, the
American historian, said OF them: "By
the laws OF William and Anne, St. Pat
rick himself in ireland, in the eight
ecnth century, would have been felon. +"
And Thomas Davis, the Protestant pa
triot, refers to the infamous penal code
in the following lines:
Oh! weep those days, the penal days,
When goddess prosecutions reigned;
When year by year,
For scrf and peer,
Fresh cruclties were made by law,
And, filled with hate,
Our senate safe
To weld anew each letters flaw;
Oh! weep those days, those penal days
Their memory still on Ireland weighs.
They lost their property, they became
par;ahs for the faith, and the soil Of
ireland was drenched in their blood,
and still they kept the faith of St. Pat
rick. Men may say it was easy for them
to escape all their sufferings, and that
they were foolish in relinquishing all the
pleasures and comforts OF life by their
stubbornncss. All they had to do was
to abandon their faith and acknowledge
the kings and queens of England as the
head OF the church instead OF the Popes
of Rome, who were generally Italians.
But the Irish had principle and con-
science and preferred confscation and
death to a change of faith from Catho-
licity to Professionalism.
Times have changed for the better
during the present century; but to the
present day the Irish Catholics are suf-
fering from religious disabilities in 4
modified form. The Protestant minor
ity have rights and privileges that are
denied to the Catholic majority. The
Irish Catholics under British rule in
Ireland cannot acquire the advantages
of higher education without endanger-
ing their faith in Protestant institutions
of learning. To retain the loyalty of the
foreign Protestant element in Ireland,
the statesmen OF England will not grant
equal justice to the Irish Catholics by
placing them on an equality with the
followers of King William. But the
day is rapidly approaching when the
British government cannot withhold
from the Catholics the rights to which
they are entitled in the land OF their
birth
The readers OF the Irish Standard are
already familiar with the life and labors
of St. Patrick. He arrived in Ireland ir
432 with his commission from Rome tc
rescue the pagan inhabitants from idol,
airy and to preach to them the gospe
OF Christ. That was thousand year:
before the art of printing was invented
and hence the few records extant from
which true history of him can be gath
cred. The country of his birth is a mat
ter OF controversy, some claiming hin
to be French, some Scotch, other:
Welsh, and a few biographers say h.
was Irish. Some say he died at the ad
vanced age OF 100 years, but the proba
bility is that he died on March II, 465