The Irish standard., 1903-03-14
THE IRISH BARD.
A Tribute to Tom Moore, the Poet
of Erin.

| GIIus
The Catholic Journal of the New
South, published ut Memphis. Tenn.
prints the following tribute to Ton
Moore, as an editorial in it's issue OF
March ., 1903. 1t is IL remarkabl,
coincidence that the same elitoria!
word for word. appeared in the Irsl
Standard of May %, 1897. from til.
pen of the writer of this preface. If it
is worth reproducing at all in a South
ern newspaper, it's Northern contem
porary in which it originally appeared
| Is entitled to credit. The following
from the Memphis Journal is merely
an extract from the article in the Irisl,
! Standard of six years ago on the
birthday anniversary of the sweet poet
of Erin:
The genius Of Tom Moore, the Irish
bard, rises in the appreciation of lit.
erstry people of all lands as the years
80 by, and his countrymen think more
OF him now than they did in the past
for rcscuing the noble music of Ire
land from the oblivion in which he
found it. Moore himself truthfully
refers to the work he accomplished
when lie says:
Dear harp of my country. in darkness
l round thee,
The cold chains of silence had hung
DER thee long,
When proudly, my own island harp.
unbound thee,
And gave all thy chords to light,
freedom and song"
The Irish bard may have dearly
loved lord and spent a great DOR
ton OF his time in the company of
the British aristocracy, but neverthe-
less he loved his country with intense
devotion and gave voice to Irish nj
tlonnlity in soul-stirring lays. what
can make the young Irishman's heart
throb for liberty more effectually than
the martial songs. Remember the Glor-
les of Brian, the Brave" and '"I,hc
Minstrel Boy" When an Irish youth
beholds the beautiful scenery of his
country and the fine demeslms in the
possession Of the invaders, how his
heart beats when he recalls the fol-.
lowing lines from Moore:
"Mononia, when nature embellishcd
the tint
or thy fields and thy mountains SO
fair.
Did she ever intend that a tyrant
should print
The footsteps of slavery thcre?"
Moore was 'the sweet son of song"
the poet of all circles, and his Irish
melodies have done much to keep
aglow in the hearts of his countrymen
that love Of native land which char
actcrizcs them wherever they go.
M""w's poetry has largely helped
t" keep Irish nationality alive, and
though Mangan and Davis may have
sung in boldcr strains we doubt if
either of them loved Ireland more than
did the national mclodist. The Irish
people are deeply indebted to Moore.
for he did more than any other Irish
man TO preserve the music and poetry
OF Erin from pcrShing. Others might
arise in after days to perform the
work of Moore. but it is doubtful If
any one could accomplish it so well.
An English critic says that in the quail
ity of Il national lyrist, Moore stands
absolutely alone and unapproa enable,
while a Scotchman declares that Of all
the song-wrlters that ever warbled
Or chanted or sung, the best is verify
none other than Thomas Moore. In
English literature no lyriSt is his
equal except the bard of "bonny Scot
land" the immortal Robert Burns.
The Irish Melodies of Moore have
been translated into the principal
languages Of Europe, and the late
Archbishop McIlale rendered them into
the beautiful Celtic language Of Ire.
land. He wrote work in vindication
of the ancient faith of his country en-
Titled IAN Irish Gentleman in Search
of a Religion" Though the Catholic
creed which he possessed was despsed
by the British snobs with whom he as
sociatel, he still adhered to it with un-
wavcring fidelity and ably defended it
with his pen. lie rendered valuable
service to Ireland during his brilliant
career. and it is cmlncntly proper that
his memory be kept green in the
hearts Of his countrymcn when Elm
again becomes
Great, glorious and free.
First flower of the earth,
And first gem of the sea-"