The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-07-21
Eloquent Plea for the Reviving
of Ireland's Language.
AN ADDRESS BY REV. ]. M. O'REILLY
The Great Danger is to Become
Thoroughly Anglicized.

One OF the most important and also
one OF the most interesting papers read
at the annual meeting OF the Maynooth
Union i'll Ireland was an eloquent plea
for the Irish language by Rev. ]. M.
| O'Rcilly OF the diocese OF Tuam. Father
ORcilly's paper was in part rs follows:
| The character OF the English mind
ought to be fairly understood in Ire
land, and yet 1 am half afraid to sketch
| it even slightly to this meeting But
it is a natural and unavoidable portion
OF the trend OF my argument to set
forth something of the nature OF that
spirit, and how it is coming upon us,
and l cannot shrink from doing so.
II the English mind has virtues, it has
enough OF tongues and pens to publish
them, and can dispense with MY services
there. But as it bears on nv purpose
and | speak not Of exceptions, but OF
general fact--as it bears on my pur-
pose, il is a mind without God in the
world. 1t is a ilcsh1y spirit, bent to-
wards earth; a mind unnlanncrly, vul-
gar, insocnt bigotcd: Il mind whose
belly is IFS god, yet which cannot ell
durc the word belly; Il mind to which
pride and lust and Mammon arc the
mattcrof-coursc aims OF life, the only
objects conceivable Of pursuit. mind
to which real Christian virtue is in
credible, and sure to be set down as
clever hypocrisy, or stark imbccilty; a
mind which every absurd device from
grosscst Darwnism to most prcpostcr-
| Gus spiritualism, is rcsortcd to and
| hoped in to choke the voice OF eternity
i'll the conscience; Il mind to which the
idea OF ch,rchman possessing real
efficient spiritual authority over his
flock would be unspcakably ludicrous;
mind which can do anything or every
thing most ncfarious and fagitious, and
directly give God thanks for the nefari-
GUS and nagitious deed it has done;
mind to which the virtue or the idea
OF humility is unknown, contrition or
sclf-condcmnation an absurdity; a
mind essentially without God in the
world, yet screncr and more secure, and
prepared to insist on suitable considcra-
ton from God, like Englishmcn,"
when death comes II this mind is bet
ter than our own, then we can, per-
haps, afford to surrender the one bar
rier left us against 1.-THE Irish Ian
guagc.
But that is the great question to be
decided upon; is that English mind an
improvement on Our own, from the re-
ligious side? For, once more, to deny
Or doubt that the spirit OF the English
language is coming down upon the
Irish race is the best way to assist and
accelerate its progress amongst u.s. We
had our McMorrough to invite and well
come the English body to our shores,
and woman the OCCASION; we have
our anti-clcrics to hail the advent OF
the English mind as the dawn of civili-
zation and the door to progress for us,
and woman the unfortunate occasion.
Present day Irishmcn of the noisy
type, usually known as politicians, are
mostly as prompt as the English them
selves to see provoking absurdity and
pcrnicious tendency in the attempt to
hamper business with religion. Wher-
ever they find religion usable force,
conducive in any way to their purposes,
the religion is good thing enough and
may be connivcd at in a polite sort
OF way. But these men are baited and
cxaspcrated to meet it in their path in
its quality OF power claiming to ques-
ton the methods or the machinery of
their progress. They say it should be
confined to department, to preclude
the chance OF its becoming nuisance,
to insure its good behavior. They for
mulate this in a phrase somewhat re-
mote in sound from its real purpose
no priests in politics.
That phrase means, simply, keep re-
l'gion out OF life; it means the English
mind. For the English mind is aptlv
summed UP in that blotting out of
Thou shalt not steal" from the deca-
logue by the pirate in the play. When
asked why he erased that precept, the