The Irish standard., 1905-02-25
AT the "Feis,' or Festival, Prizes Are Offered
For the Best Irish Achievements of
Great Importance.
The Amount of Talent That Has Reen Rrou,ht
to Light By Its Influence is Simply
Astonishing.

Within the last few weeks there
has been a marked accclcration in the
Gaelic movement in New York. The
cause of it may be largely traced to the
arrival in America OF a young priest,
Father Michael O'Flanagan by name,
who has come from county ROscom-
mon to spread the movement, not only
among the full-bloodcd Irish people
who have lately come to America to
seek their fortune, but also among the
descendants Of Irish Immigrants, says
the New Yrk Sun.
In fact, no man Or woman, boy or
girl, with n drop of Irish blood in
his veins is too far removed from the
stock to discourage Father O'Fanagan
in his attempt to revive the national
istc, the racial spirit. Not, he says,
that he wants them to be less Ameri-
| can, but to enrich their Americanism
by the heritage Of their Irish forbears
He believes that in reawakenlng the
Celt real service is done to the new
made American and his adopted coun-
try.
"Here in America," says Father
O'Flanagan, "you have the making of
the most wonderful nation in the
world. You have to choose, in the
making Of your citizens, the best char
acteristics Of every nation. 1t seems
to me that the true America, the
richest, most perfectly developed AM
erica would be the America in which
the racial characteristics Of it's con-
stituents were not effaced but fos-
tered.
II am here in America today pri-
marily in the interests Of n recently
founded industrial school at Lough-
lynn, in county Roscommon, in the
west Of Ireland, where we have begun
to instruct n few young people in the
ways Of earning their own bread on
their own soil. We have already de-
vcloped thriving rug and carpet
weaving industry, we are teaching
kitchen gardening in order that our
pupils will know how to get the most
nollrishing food from their little plots
of ground, our manual training and
domestic science departments are al
ready doing excellent work, and we
are now looking forward to even larger
achievements.
1--WE have so far confined ourselves
to the practical task Of ameliorating
the Industrial situation, but in the fu-
ture we expect to take up and carry
on the more interesting side of the
revival. For instance, instead of teach
ing our pupils foreign art we shall
instruct them in ancient Irish art up
to the point where its development
was arrested by conquest, and will
allow them to develop it as it would
have developed under normal condi-
tions Of peace and prosperity.
"In architecture, literature, music
and all other branches of race develop
mcnt we hope to follow out the same
general plan. At the time the foreign
influence was first imposed upon her,
Ireland was developing distinctive
and characteristic art, architecture,
music, literature and set of industries
and inventions. Our aim is to go back
to that time and take up the develop
mcnt of our national characteristics
where it was broken off.
Zone of the strongest revivifying in
fiucnces at the present time is the
'fcis,' a festival as Gaelic as it's name,
at which prizes are offered for the best
essays in Gaelic on some subject of
national Importance, the best folk
song. the best Irish poem, the best
set of Irish proverbs, and the best
achievements in Irish dancing, oratory
industry, art. music and story telling.
"Most of the 800 branches of the
Gaelic League in Ireland gave a feis'
once a year. The amount of talent that
has been brought to light by their in
fiuence is simply astonishing.
''For instance, the champion orator
of all Ireland at the present day is one
Michael Ruadhri-or Michael Rodgers,