The Savannah morning news., 1902-03-18
THE DAY WE CELEBRATE.
Mr.. Patrick j. O'Connor's Tribute to
the Irish People

the Irish People.
Col. Meldrim introduced Mr.. P. J..
oConnor, ex-president of the Nation
al organization of the Ancient Order of
| Hibernians. to respond to the toast
THE Day We Celebrate"
1T is indeed gratifying" said Mr..
| O'Connor, ito see so many members of
| our esteemed society in whose veins
| flows the warm Celtic blood and their
friends assemble here tonight to seek
| inspiration in contemplating the estab-
lishment of Christianity in Ireland and
in the heroic devotion of the Irish peo-
pie to the sacred cause of Irish nation
atty. Upon such an occasion which
comes to us clothed with the fadeless
shamrock and recalls recollections of
more than fourteen centuries, we de-
clare our undying love for the land
from whence we or our ancestors came
and that the name of Ireland's patron
saint will always remain as fresh in
our remembrance as the shamrock in
her beautiful valleys. Tonight our
thoughts wing their way across the
oceans tide to the dear Emerald Isle,
which will ever be as bright in our af-
fections as the sunshine on her green
fields. Before st. Patrick's time Ire
land was an enlightened and powerful
nation. Her form of government bore
the impress of superior genius, and in
her civilization she rivalled Greece and
Rome in their palmiest days. Pagan
ism was the only stain on her escutch-
con, but as soon as her apostle APP
peared Christianity bloomed like a. rose
under the influence of a Southern sun.
Ireland Supreme.
For 800 years Ireland was the CEN
ter of intellectual supremacy in Eu-
rope, and while Gaul and Britain and
other parts of Europe were forced to
crouch slavelike beneath the victorious
Roman eagles, Ireland's remote sea.
girt position, as we'll as the merited
dread in which her brave people were
held. discouraged any attempt at in
cursion on the part of her foes and
kept back the barbarouS hordes that
at later period wreaked divine VEN
geance on the mighty Roman empire.
Thus protected her cherished abodes
of learning grew up peacefully into
magnificent proportions and became so
widely renowned that those in quest of
knowledge fiocked to her hospitable
shores. The radiance of her glory
flooded all civilized nations. and the
going forth of her sons from her famed
colleges and universities to foreign
lands was like the bursting of a great
with a pure and steady light the
clouded skies of Christendom."
Mr.. OConnor referred to the epoch of
st. Patrick and its influences on the
world, and coming down to modern
times, pictured the disaster brought
upon the Irish people by their English
neighbors, but" he said. lin spite of
the heel of oppression, the flame of
Irish patriotism burns brighter to-day
than ever"
EngIand's Boast.
1T is the boast of England" said
Mr. O'Connor. that the sun never sets
on the English flag. Ours, however, is
the prouder boast that the sun never
sets upon the sons of Ireland. Our
people may with propriety claim they
have something to boast of in Ameri-
can history. In that dreadful hour
when the soldiers of the Revolution
were furnishing at Valley Forge, when
our country had no money or credit
twenty-seven members of the Friendly
Sons of st. Patrick of PHILADELPHIA
contributed over a half million dollars
towards supplying provisions for the
continental armies. We can speak
with conscious pride of the Irish SOL
der in this country. They gave to the
Revolution a Montgomery and Barry,