Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-04-12
HON. J. F. FINERTY ENTERTAIN
ED AN AUDIENCE LAST
NIGHT AT THE GRAND.
RELATED SOME OF
ERlN'S EARLY HISTORY
The Story of Ireland's Troubles Dur
ing a Long Period Very Inter-
estingiy Told.

audience to llSten u MS N'"'s W -
land" last night. is one of those Bue'e
riddles only to be solved on the assump-
ton that the Irishmen of the camp Woulo
rather witness a stage performance OF
THE Colleen Bawn' or Peep 0 Dav
BOYS than sit through a lecture even
from such an entertaining, impasAoneu
ard poetic orator as the distinguished
Chicago eX-congressnan. Nor was the
audience. strictly speaking. an Irish au-
lience. Fully two thirds of those pres
cnt never saw the shamrock grow i'll
Ireland, and perhaps among them We're
some not exactly in sympathy with the
revolutionary plan of separation from
England which Finerty presents in his
PAPER every week. However. it was an
Intellectual audience: and whenever the
orator made any allusion to the Beers,
the applause following indicated that the
majority of listeners were in touch with
the speaker.
On the right wing of the stage the
| American colors We're displayed on the
left, the ancient Irish flag. Seated back
/ of the speaker We're about % of the lead
/ ing Irish Americans of Butte. Judge
! McHatton in an eloquent tribute to the
! orator of the night, introduced Congress
/ man Fnerty.
/ Mr. Finerty said there We're five times
! more Irishmen in America than in Ire
land: hence these twenty millions ana
! their friends in this free land have some
interest in the story of Ireland. Ireland
and its children have ever stood for prin-
( ciple at home and abroad, and for the
cause of human liberty. When the ma
tons of western Europe were stepped in
barbarism for fully $500 years Ireland
10 civ a
! Solomon reigned in Judea and Moses was
/ the leader of the children of Israel. Ire
! land was nation.
The ancient Irish We're sun Worship
rers. which the speaker said was much
lobler pagan worship than the worship
of idols in Greece and III Rome. St Pat
rick lifted the people from the slough Of
laganism and placed before them the
| banner of the cross, which they have
| reid aloft for 1.40o years. Abiding to
/ Irish education in this early period, Mr..
! Finerty said that Irish tutors taught
! Anglo-SaXon princes and Irish universe
ties contained 5000 students from Ger
many, Belgium and other countries Of
the continent. Abiding to the scheme of
government, Mr.. Finerty said Irish mon
| archs We're elected by the people. the
lands were held for the people. and Irish
ablest English writer's.
| From the historical standpoint. Mr..
Finertys story of Ireland began with the
conquest Of the Norsemen, and it ran
| along like the pages from an historical
| novel. embe!lished with that word paint
ing which gives Finerty such popularity
as a public speaker. The orator did not
conceal the national infrmities of his
reople-disuniGxl and internal strife-fol
after paying a glowing tribute to Ire
lands greatest king, Brian BoroO, (who
expelled the Danes at the memorable
battle of Clontarf) in a half mournful
half resentful voice he began the next
sentence by uttering: But the course OF
| division again fell upon the land" This
stupendous folly of his race he said. was
{ the real cause of the easy Anglo Norman
conquest of Ireland by Henry II and
Strongbow in the twelfth century. aided
by an adulterous Irish chief.
The speaker dwelt at length upon the
close relation between the Scotch ant
the Irish. saying that Irish monarchs
! We're given to Scotland and Scotch mon
! archs to Ireland, and both countries Were
{ considered as one nation in reality. Rob
I crt Bruce fought with and for the Irish
I and both united against the Saxon. Ed
5 ward Bruce was killed in battle and thi!
ended the Bruce dynasty. Were it other
! wise and the Scotch-Irish army triumph
ant, the speaker said there might have
been Bruce dynasty in Ireland today.
The war of the Roses gave opportunit,
! TO the Irish to regain complete independ
: ence, and again Finerty admitted tina
{ EsUnion and jealousy stood in tn,
s way, although England was crippled b,
the strifes of the Plantagenets. Leavin!
\
s speaker took up Henry VIII. of England
{ He quoted Charles Dickens expression
: that this king was the most infamous o
; men. Next came Bloody Mary, VIII
s married Philip II. of Spain. Althoug
Finerty is a Catholic, he fayed tn
! memory of this brutal Catholic queen l.
candid yet caustic language. Protest
s ants We're burned a the stake during he