The Irish standard., 1906-06-30
nOMfWARD BOUND
President of Gaelic League Sets
Sail For Ireland,
Issues an Address to the Friends
In America.

lis New York friends, DESTROYS of
showing their appreciation of his loyal
and unselfish efforts on behalf of the
Gaelic League, made up a fund for the
purchase of a motor car for use in his
travels in Ireland. When the fund was
raised and was about to be presented
to DR.. Hyde the matter was made
known to him, and while he was very
much touched and gratified at this dis
play of kindness and thoughfulness on
the part of his New York friends, he
declined to receive it, feeling that he
must adhere to his course of not ac-
cepting any gratuity or reward for his
work as President of the Gaelic League
and in the cause of Irish unity. The
checks were accordingly returned to the
donors.
DR.. Hyde has been president of the
Gaelic League for fourteen years. He
is not a man of any great means, but
in all that time he has not received a
penny of remuneration, desires none,
in fact, and has personally paid his
own travelling and other expenses. For
this reason a few who had come to ap-
preciate his total lack of self-interest
and his splendid zeal for the great
cause of an Irish Ireland desired to
lessen his expenses by furnishing him
with IL motor car to use in his numer-
Gus journeys on League business. The
promoters Of the movement We're Mar
tin J. Keogh, Victor ]. Bowling, w.
Bourke Cochran, James Byrne, w. Il.
Sheehan, Morgan ]. O'I3rien, John D.
Crimmins, Henry A. Macdonald, D. +.
Cohalan, c. ]. Sullivan and John Quinn.
seven months. He arrived on NOvem-
Der Is and sailed for home on June Is.
Before embarking he sent the following
greeting to his friends in this country:
0 Friends and Children of the Gael
in America: l am departing again be-
You'd the seas. and 1 am going home
to Ireland. would like to say a word
of thanks to you all and to leave with
you my seven thousand farewells and
blessings in each single spot in which
you are scattered throughout this Won
drous country. l have travelled the land
up and down, east and west, north and
south, and have found nothing in any
place except q welcome and twenty.
In whatsoever place 1 spoke and ex-
planned this new teaching the teaching
of the Gaelic League, the people have
accepted it and they have been all Of
one mind with the people at home,
and it is not alone that they were of
one mind and one word with us. but
they We're also generous and open and
kind and hearty, assisting us in every
way, putting courage in our hearts
and putting money in our treasury in
order to establish a Gaelic Ireland
again in Erin.
| have travelled now close upon nine
teen thousand miles, and l have visit
ed between three and four score cities,
and l have explained the cause Of the
Irish language in the presence of eighty
thousand people or more, and l have
not heard single word in any town of
those that was not favorable to our
cause, and the newspapers were every
where more than kind.
l understand now in way in which
l never understood it before how great
is this country and how numerous and
strong and powerful are the Irish who
are in it. and these tidings will raise
the heart of every Irishman at home
when he hears them.
I have expressed my deep thanks by
letters to many of the friends whom
met, but there were many others to
whom had no time to send letters, and
I shall ask of them to accept this excuse
from me, for l had not much Zine "a
myself to do everything as 1 should
have liked.
I offer thousand thanks to the
Archbishops, to the Bishops. and tt
all the clergy for so readily under.
standing the meaning of my story
and for heartily helping me as the,
have done; and it is not to the Irisl
alone that am grateful. but to tn.
Americans themselves also. There l!
a great likeness between the two ma
lions, and have found that the peo
pie Of Ireland have left their own mari
on the mind and character and spiri
of the Americans. There are fey
places in which there is not dro
or two of the blood of the Gael to b
found amongst the people. woul
sooner have the goodwill Of this coun
try than anything else in the struggl
which we have set on foot to brin
back the language and music and Gus
toms of Ireland. and If we are loya
and faithful to ourselves we shall &c
that from them.
l have been seven months amongs
you from the day arrived until thi
day, and there is grief on me to b
leaving you, but, the thing which 1 sc
before me I have now done and thel
is no Irishman in this country VIII
can say that he does not understan
now what the Gaelic League Is doing /