Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-13

! t't'|ssSfsttttftttftFtt
against sucn craven timidity, vulgarity
and degradation.
the spirit of Irish nationality as
it speaks through the Gaelic league
shall never be appeased so long as our
boys are called Dan and jeremiah,
instead of Donal and Dermont. and
our girls Honny, Ninny and Ellen in
stead of Nora and Una and Eileen.
"The venerable custodian of lreland's
song and music, the man whose well
come was assured at every door, where
is he nov? Alas, he sleeps with his
green bag beneath the green grass in
the grave. And in his place appeared
upon the village Stage that quintes-
sence Of all vulgarity and abomination
that is known throughout the world as
the stage Irishman. The action of the
Gaelic league is resulting in the killing
of this monster.
well, with the language went our
musical Instruments and our music.
The beautiful harp was extinct. The
bacpipes, a really fine artistic instru
ment was rapidly becoming extinct;
also, the very violin was becoming Tn
known, and what was Anelicization
giving us in return? For our songs.
'Ballyhooly' and other such things;
for our cu5todians of music and song
the stage 1flSnGldl, lOI our llSIdlulS'
HarmsWorth's papers,
ReViVing the Language
"I have pointed out some of the
blots | must now tell you what we
have done to fill them.
| First let US take the language. A
dozen years ago it was taught in less
| than a dozen schools in Ireland. Six
years ago it was taught in 105 schools.
/ lag. 4
| 5000 schools. Between the public and
rarochial schools, colleges and con-
vents. there cannot be less, in round
numbers, than a quarter of million
studying the language and history OF
their fathers. Six years ago a stranger
would never see a word of Irish or
anything to show that Ireland was
not a big, vulgarized English county.
| Now in many towns the street names
are put up in Irish for all the world to
see and all the national daily papers
and very many weekly ones print more
or less Irish in each issue.
"Six years ago an Irish book was a
rarity. Now, scarcely a week passes
| but one comes from the press and the
distribution of books and pamphlets
| from our own offices alone amounts
| to over u quarter of Il million copies
yearly.
six years ago, if you spoke Irish
as well as owen Roe ONeill, or wrote
it as well as Jeoffry Keating, it was
not worth anything to you. Today
| you cannot obtain a place under the
corporation in the capital of Ireland,
or under the county councils of Cork
or Mayo, Limerick or in dozen other
places unless you know the national
| language of the country-the Gaelic
language.
Creates a Demand for Irish Products
"Six years ago, for the products of
Irish brains or hands to find sale it
was actually necessary to bear the
| hallmark of London and Paris--an-
other terrible comment upon the sit
uation that had to be faced by the
Gaelic league, but now we are train
Ing our people to demand goods of
Irish manufacture, and to demand
Irish literature, and the results have
| been amazing.
"Now, [ am told in every direction
that the trade of our Woolen mills is
doubled, of our paper mills trebled,
and of every little industry we have
enormously increased, and I believe it.
1.-THE harp is becoming a common
instrument again. We have established
two pipers' schools-one in Dublin, one
| in Cork We have nearly killed songs
! Irishman. There is hardly a big town
in Ireland that does not hold a festival
for language and music combined. Our
games and dances have revived. We
have established an Irish training col
lege in Munster and another in Con-
naught for the training of teachers.
1--WE have a weekly paper, mostly
written in Irish, which is self-support-
ing, and conduct a monthly magazine,
also in Irish, and nine organizers work.
ing in the Irish districts to keep the
language alive there, that it may
spread out later on and absorb the
English districts in its en-
! brace.
How the Movement Started
"And now you ask me how we man
age to do all this. Where do we get
| the money for it? Well, it has not
been out of the pockets of the great or
the wealthy in Ireland, / assure you.
1t was plain Patrick Mullins, hard
working gunsmith, who left $4,000 in
his will, and fitting it is that man
of the people should have come to our
rescue, for this is movement of the
people.
"This was the beginning. Our work
is necessarily circumscribed. We are
a moor country and an impoverished
people. The pennies and the shillings
of the poor do not go far. We are
|, accomplishing our great work from
hand to mouth, as it were. 1t is one
thing and one thing alone-the devo-
ton of the men engaged in saving the
Irish nation-which has made our
movement even possible
"Oh, if we only had an intellectual
headquarters for the Irish race! oh,
il we only had ain assured position for
the next ten years! If we could only
] send an organizer into every diocese