The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-05-20
HIGH TRIBUTE TO THE A. O. H.

The New York Evening Telegram, in
an interesting article on Celtic studies
at Harvard, makes reference as follows
to the endowment by the Ancient Order
of Hibernians OF the United States of
a Celtic chair in the Catholic university
Of Washington:
''The only endowed chair of Celtic in
| the United States is that at the Cath
olic university in Washington, pre-
! sided over by Professor Joseph Dunn,
who was formely a pupil of Professor
/ Robinson's, at Harvard, and later a
| student under Celtic scholars in Ger
many and France. The story of the
establishment Of DR.. Dunns chair by
| popular subscription among Irishmen
is q familiar one. OF it Douglas Hyde
| says eloquently in his Literary History
of Ireland:'
I hardly know sharper contrast
| in the history of human thought than
the true, traditional literary instinct
which, four years ago, prompted fifty
| thousand poor. hard working Irishmen
in the United States to contribute each
! dollar toward the foundation of q
| Celtic chair in the Catholic university
in Washington--in the land of their
adoption-choosing out a fit man and
sending him to study under the great
Celtists of Germany, in the hope that
his scholarship might one day reflect
credit upon the far-Off country of their
birth: while in that very country by
far the richest college in one of the
Wealthiest universities of the world
allows its so-called Irish professor
ship" to be an adjunct of its divinity
school, founded and paid for by a so
ciety for the conversion. of Irish Roman
Catholics through the medium of their
own language. -
The college here referred to is Trim
ity college, Dublin, founded by Queen
Elizabeth on the confiscated estates of
Irish Catholics. from the revenues of
which the institution is still largely
maintained. It's Irish professorship''
was, as DR.. Hyde observes, established
for the purpose of aiding in the work
of Protestant pToselytisn in Ireland.
This was sought to be done by means
of Protestant Bibles and tracts trans
lated into the native Irish language
and circulated among the poorer ele-
ments of the Catholic people, in addi-
ton to more material agency in the
shape of creature comforts, including
soup. from which practice the prosely-
tisers got the sorbiquet of "soupers."
But, needless to say, the soupers didn't
succeed in their converting" project |
in Ireland, though they had the Trinity
college Irish professorship' at their !
back. as well as ample funds contri- |
buted by pious old ladies in England. |
The Evening Telegram, after quoting |
DR.. Hyde's eloquent tribute TO the !
Irish literary instinct as illustrated |
by the A. O. Fl. fund for the Celtic chair |
At Washington, goes on to remark |
that:
''One thing that has operated here
ofore against the endowment of chairs
If Celtic in American universities and
colleges is the fact that the Irishmen.
Nelshmen and Scotchmen who are
most interested in the literature found
lmong the prosperous business men,"
But there are Scotch millionaires.
Andrew Carnegie, to-wit and we have
rish millionaires too What of them?
Apparently their tastes are not in the
direction of the ancient literature of
heir fatherland, SO highly appreciated
" scholars not of Irish or Celtic blood. !
N. Y. Freeman's Journal.