The Irish standard., 1907-05-11
His Long Life Was Linked in Honor With
the Young Ireland and Succeeding
Fenian Movements
In an Interesting and Characteristic Book He
Has Preserved His Recollections
of Fenianism.

In the person Of John O'Leary, who
died ON the eve of st. Patricks Day.
Ireland has lost her veteran among
Nationalists. says Alice l.. Miligan in
Donohue's. A picturesque and inn
pressive figure will he missed in the
Irish capital. for in Dublin he spent
his declining years. His life. as far as
II. concerns the recent history of Ire
land, was linked in honor with the
Young Ireland and succeeding Fenian
movements In remarkably Interest.
ing and characteristics book, he pre-
served his "Recollections of Fenians
and Fenianism.' treasure amongst
my personal possessions the copy he
gave me, with it's shaky inscription
and the splendid poets cut that adorns
the first page.
All the Irish newspapers have been
recalling the historic incidents of h's
life, and 1t is possible that there arc
far more people In America acquainted
with the history Of Fenianism than
we can count In Ireland. so for read
ers of an Americans Irish magazine
will not go over the old story. 1t viii
be more acceptable if record some
personal memories and Impressions
beginning with the very first
go back to the autumn of 1898. |
was at that time living in a. country
house on the slopes of the Cavehill
Belfast MY people had spent the
whole summer at a seaside residence
and was in solitude by choice. fo,
| was reading busily in the old chron-
icles of Irish history, and writing my
first poems. IT is strange to remem-
Der that within the boundaries of the
hig city T was; not acquainted with .
single Catholic at the beginning of that
year. In May | had joined an Irish
class. which was taught by no"
celebrated Gael, T.. J. O'Shea. but had
not yet met nor spoken to my teacher
fellow pupils. Tn Derry City. where
! was at school some years before,
had known two or three Catholic girls
and had CHANGED to meet a, Catholic
priest,-an ardent Gael and National
ist,-in the person Of Mnnsignor Mac
Fadden of the town OF Donegal. II
was an event in my life but not, as far
as 7 could see, likely to he repeated
In Belfast, walls of hostility and di-
vision rose all around me. and those
Of the separated creeds never met no,
mingled ] was as strong and ardent
d. Nationalist as ] am today. but quite
solitary, with no comradeship to look
forward to, and very little hope that
would ever be on social ind inti-
mate terms with the real native popu-
lation Of Ireland. look hack to that
time as my period Of exile, so tc
speak.
At the hend Of the road. not five
minutes walk from where ] lived. ir
q. house circled by beautiful trees
lived a lady. of whom | had heard in
directly, and who wrote for the same
papers that I did. AS ] took my soil
tary walks to watch the sunset shine
over Belfast Lough, and the stars
come out over the Cavehill. I used tc
see the lamp kindled in the neighbol
house. If had only plncked up cour-
age, gone up the avenue, and knocked
at the door, Ethna Carbery herself
would have welcomed me in. stranger
and all that was. and our friendship
would have lasted from an earlier
date.
Walking past this house of the
beech trees (there were both colder
and copper beeches around iD, ! once
on a time met a tall. handsome ole
man with white, streaming hair anG
beard-and strangely-fashing eyes. He
| was attired in a picturesque fashion
and wore wide brimmed hat. I knew
at q glance that he was somebody o.