The Irish standard., 1907-01-05


the good fortune to know was q man
who must still be remembered by
many who We're acquainted with the
British House of Commons during the
last quarter of the nineteenth CEN
tury. This was the OGorman Mahon.
an Irishman who had led a life of
wonderful experience. When / first
came to know him he had returned,
after q long absence, to hold q seat
in the House Of Commons. He had
been a member of. the House in his
earlier years; in fact. he entered the
representative assembly for the first
time during the same session which
saw Mr.. Gladstone make his earliest
appearance in that House. The
O'Gorman NIahon was IL splendid fig
ure of a man. He was, should think,
one Of the tallest men in the House,
with Il handsome face, a fine stalwart
form. and a commanding presence,
and his movements had all the energy
OF life's very prime. / do not know
what his exact age was, and his
friends did not seem to think that he
was particularly anxious to have it
made generally known. What we did
know for certain was that he had TAX
ell an effectual part in bringing out
Daniel O'Connell as candidate for
the Irish county in which The O'Gor-
man Mahon had then much territorial
influence, and that O'Connells en-
trance into Parliament was the pre-
lude to the passing of Catholic Eman-
cipation. In 1928 O'Connell presented
himself as d candidate for election in
Clare County, with The O'Gorman Ma
hon to support him, and he was elect
ed-,.to represent Claire in the House
Of Commons: But: according to the
English laws:of that, time he could not
take his seat In the House of Com
mons without making public declara-
tion that he abjured some of the teach
ings of the Catholic Church-tha5
Church Of which oConnell was a most
devoted member. of course he refused
to make the declaration, and was or
dered to withdraw from the House.
Then came storm of popular feeling
In ireland which meant nothing short
of civil war; The Duke of welling-
ton. then :;at the head of the British
Government, promptly and nobly re-
fused to undertake. the responsibility
OF a civil war. andfhe brought in the
measure known to. history as Catholic
Emancipation. have introduced this
historical subject only in order toAaf-
ford my readers a h easy opportunity
Of judging what tile age of The o.
German Mal1on must have. been when
first made his acquaintance. He was
evidently "a man OF mature years and
Of; Influence -whetS he brought out
O'Connell las, candidate for Claire III
1928. came to, know The O'Gorman
Mahon for the first time in 1879, the
year in which L. entered on my Parli-
amentary career. lit. will be seen,
therefore, that The O'Gorman Mahon
was a public man Of some influence
flfty-one years at least before I came
to make his acquaintance. In the
meantime he had led a life of varied
and stirring adventure. He was a SOL
der by profession; he: had served in
the English, army, then in the French,
then in the Austrian, and know not
in what other European forces; and he
afterwards transferred his services to
the struggling State of Chill, in whose
battles both by land and by sea he
bore a gallant part. He had a great
love for the life Of sailor, as we'll as
for that of a soldier; and the story
was told, and wast easily believed
among. us, that Tie rose; to be at once
Commander Chief of; = the Chilian
army and. I4ord High Admiral of the
Chilian navy. However that may be,
it is certain that he had brilliant
military career in the Old World and
the New; and when he returned to
quiet life in England and Ireland he
was always addressed as Colonel The
O'Gorman Mahon. He was delight
ful companion, had an inexhaustihle
store Of anecdotes and a rare sense of
humor. His animal spirits were new.
er-failing, and he. seemed to be always
youthful-no one, who met him and
who did not know anything of his
previous career could have associated
with him for Il moment the idea of
old age or even anything like advance
ing years. If ever there was in life
a ''grey-haired boy. it was my old
friend The O'Gormar Mahon-and he
was not even very grey. His man
ners were those of a perfect gentle-
man, and he could show stately dig