Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1907-03-16
Bishop of RaphOe a Tower Of
Strength to the Irish
Nationalist.
Believes Old Tongue Will Be
the Common Language of
Ireland.
BISHOP REFERS TO COMING CHANGE

All Ireland is ON tiptoe. All eyes
on Westminster, writes the Dublin
correspondent of the New York
Times. All expectations centered on
the brave eighty-two Irish repre-
senta.tives behind John f. Redmond,
who are facing the Liberal Govern
ment and saying to it's Ministers:
You are strong now! We have
helped to make you strong You
have raised Ireland's hopes to the
straining point by your promises.
Do not keep the word of promise to
the ear and wreck it TO the hope. Do
not mock ohose hopes by an unnec-
essary delay, any petty mincing of
justice. Now is your chance to re-
move the old, Odd grievance that has
been drag and a distraction to you,
a scandal to the world, and death
and disaster to a brave people. Can
ada, Australia, South Africa, are
shouting to you to give ireland
home rule as you gave il to them.
and so end the longest, blacklist
chapter in the history of any nation
of any time. All the world will APP
prove, for Ireland has no enemies,
except the grafters of Dublin Castle
right here, who have no reason for
their enmity but the cowardly fear
that the Irish people, free, might
turn on them and revenge past in
juries. Foolish fear, for Ireland
would be too joyously busy setting
her long-neglected house in order.
She has been too generous a foe to
be vindictive when the cause for
anger is removed.
Such, in effect, is the gist of sew
eral impassioned speeches from Red
mond, Dillon, Hayden, and otbers-
which circumstance h;ANnjsF0ughtr
out in the House of Commons, even
in the short time Parliament has
been in session.
These are days of quick develop
menbs, and most of us would not
be surprised to see the old House of
College Green opened again for re-
pairs before the year is out.
But it is the Bishop of Raphoe that
heads the list of piety and patriot
ism. He issued his Lenten pastoral
this year in the Irish language, and
thereby did more to encourage the
revival of that language than
years propaganda of the Gaelic
League could do. He is n tower of
strength to the Nationalists in Par
lament. He heads the trustees of
their fund. There is an infectious
enthusiasm in this militant young
churchman such as we are wont, in
song and STORY, to ascribe to the
saints of Ireland in the
early years of her Christianity.
Bishop O'Donnell firmly believes that
the people will become bi-ingual in
speech and letters, and that the old
tongue will be the common language
of Ireland in the coming generations.
He has always been an ardent Home
Ruler, even when that cause was not
so hopeful as it is now. He believes
that the coming home rule bill will be
more than a halfway house to a
separate Parliament, and that he will
live to see Ireland manufacturing for
herself and behind MO other people
in arts and industries. Bishop O'Don-
nell was appointed recently to the
COngested Districts Commission to
help unrayel the tangle that keeps
so many people out of the benefits
of the land act. Here his good sense
and direct methods and sympathy
with the poor people are badly
needed.
Nearly all the Irish Bishops re-
ferred to the coming change in the
Government of Ireland in their
Lenten pastorals. DIR. O'Dwyer of
Limerick says: until the Irish peo-
pile acquire power TO make their own
laws, and manage their own business,
no true prosperity is possible" An
other patriotic churchman, Bishop
Clancy of Blphin, in sending his regu-
lar annual subscription to the Irish
party's fund, set the good example
of doubling it this year, 'tas an ex-
precision of confidence in the party
and in the policy it has pursued.