The Irish standard., 1902-07-26
ARCHBISHOP FEEHAN.
A Speech of the Late Prelate on
Thomas Moore.

>>@~
on the late Archbishop Feehan, says:
AS an Jlish patriot, he had no su-
perior among the men of his race,
whether clerical or lay. He loved her
ancient religion, her histery, her Ian
guage, li'r music, her oratcry, and her
song. He sy:n;athized With her as
piratio ,s and never heSitated, on prop
er occasions, to lift up his voice
against the crimes and intrigues of
her oprressor. Who that heard him
can forget, Willie life lasts, his noble
address as chairman of the Moore an
rivcrsary celebration held in Central
Music hall, when he placed before the
great audience the question Of Irish
independence in language at once SIM
pie and sublime?
We have pleasure i'll reproducing the
speech, which will serve to keep the
good Archbishop's memory green in
the hearts of his kindred people:
Ladies' and Gentlemen" he said,
1--WE are assembled tonight on an oc-
casion that is most Interesting. A
year ago we met here to commem orate
almost the centenary of Moore, the
great Irish poet, and having had on
that occasion the pleasure of saying
a few words to these WHO We're pres
ent, l think expressed thought that
such meetings might take place, at
least occasionally, with pleasure and
likely with profit in many ways to all
OF us. 1t was a very sincere pleasure
to me when | learned the idea was
taken up of continuing the meeting
last year by having meeting this
year to continue also the memory of
the Irish poet. We meet together to-
night with a view and a desire of
originating the work of erecting n
statue in some public place of our
city to the memory Of Moore. In
doing this we are entirely in accord
with the feeling and the sentiment Of
lnen in every age 81 far as time
gives us any record. All men ana
races have desired to commemorate in
some substantial way, so far as they
could, the memories of their great
men-great in whatever way it may
lave been, great soldiers, great ora
tors, great poets and the like. Even
in tha ,.,1iuc of Coma ~ +-l,, ,,,.;,,,l
cities of history explorers in our day
lind monuments erected ages ago to
the memory Of some great man. We
have already, as YOU may notice, il
some OF the parks of our city monu-
ments Of this kind suggested by the
sentiment of the people, to whom the
man whom they represented belonged.
We have the monument of the great
German poet, Schiller AMI of the
great French explorer, LaSalic, the
:sTeat Scandinavian Linnaeus, and
others. and why not somewhere, as we
HaSs by, cannot we look upon some
monument of some great man of our
race? There have been in the his
t&ry of Ireland many men who were
great in the various degrees and
ways of greatness. AS yet, among us
in this new world, we have made no
effort to commemorate and perpetuate
their memories. If we 80 back, even
to the later centuries, how many and
many Il name distinguished can we
find to whom we would be glad to
build monument. But some one
may say to me: Why build monu-
lnents to men whose lives as a rule
were failures? The greatest Irshmcn
Tor many generations did not succeed
i'll their efforts for their cause, not
Whhstahing they had great genius,
great talents. great collr;l sc. and great
devotion to their country. Their lives
Went out i'll defeat, and some say.
why build Il monument to Il defeated
hero" Neither you nor l will, | am
sure, admit the truth of this. Men
nave built monuments to great men
even though they did suffer defeat.
We glance back through the ages and
were not those Greeks, who died at
Thermopylae in defense Of their nj
tive land, nobler than the hosts of the
iersi;ns who destroyed them? What
name more illustrious than that of the
great Roman general taken captive,
defeatcd in BATTLE and brought in
chains to Carthage, and when he was
ordered from thence to 90 back to his
native place, to Rome, to make a
treaty of peace with his enemies? He
went to discharge this mission, and
when lie stood among his fellow
countrymcn in the II man scn:,tp. he
said, You must not make the treaty;
ana he went back to chains and to
die in torture. because he had promis-
cd he would not, and did not, break
his word, and the world from that
time to this has hOnored the memory
of ltcgulus. (Applause) We read with
great pleasure how that same senate
in Rome's splendid day voted tri-
umph to a defeated general because
he had not despaired of his country,
and so would we. so far as we could
so at least we ought-to build monu-
ments even to men who We're defeated
because they did nat despair of their
country. (Great applause) They
We're men WHO believed and acted upon
the great truth. a truth that can