The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-01-05
"THE FAIR HILLS OF IRELAND"
An Incentive to Intelligent Travel in
the Green Isle.


One of the consequences of the Gao
lie revival has been the spreading of
interest in Ireland's natural beauties,
her history and literature among in
telligent persons of other than Irish
blood. So closely is the Catholic
faith identified with The Irish race
1hat-to the latter's exceeding honor
Catholic and Irish are, in the common
mind, Interchangeable terms: am
when an Irish Protestant tries to treat
fairly questions involving the religion
Of the land, it seems to the Catholic
hardly less surprising than If a Ger
man Lutheran were 20 come ana at
tempt like witness. We say this. too
with no foreetfulness Of the little band
Of distinctly Protestant patriots who
suffered and died for Ireland, and are
cherished i'm her heart of hearts,
The book before US, The Fair Hills
of Ireland by Stephen Gwynn, with
some beautiful illustrations by Hugh
Thomson, is delightfully."- written
volume evidently designed to attract
tourists and to help to maintain dis
tinctively Irish characteristics. The
writer has avoided as far as possible
the history of the relations between
Ireland and England, concentrating
himself rather on the seven centuries
before the Norman invasion. when the
former country was still ireland of
the Gael. rot Ireland Of the Gael AMI
the Gall" This material" he saws.
lent itself the better 10 our method
because here regular history is as vet
impossible: and it seems likely that
many readers win be glad to meet not
emily some description Of the monu-
ments which survive from those early
days, but also passages gathered from
lie early documents, cut of which now
at last faithful AMI laborious study is
building up a truly historic record.
We arc sorry to see that the author
accepts the alleged bull OF Pope Adrian
" granting Ireland t. the English
king. There is no record of such doc
ument in the Vatican archives. ana
within a couple Of years past the bull
has been utterly discredited by 2 pro
fressor Of the University of Chicago.
Mr.. Gwynn grants the hardships
which the Catholic Irish suffered at thu
hand of the at first equally Catholic
English invaders. but dwells OH tlle
monuments Of architecture with which
the latter, in line with the custom OF
the Irish princes, enriched the land
and Of the gradual fusion in lam
guage and other interests which was
taking place between the two elements
when Henry VIII and his worthy
daughter, Elizabeth added religious to
political persecution.
Writes Mr.. Gwynn: Tho second
phase of conquest begins when
The object is not merely to subjugate
the Irish and obtain the overlordshir
of their lands, but 10 extirpate the
form of religious belief professed hg
the Irish. To many minds this latter
project seemed to carry with il the
necessity for extirpating the Irish
themselves. Sponsors Lord Grey. tho
governor whom his poet chose as the
embodied type Of justice was of this
opinion. A natural corollary was the
Fcheme for planting Ireland with Eng
land cultivators. and conquest ASSUMED
the double character Of a religious per-
Eecution and a cOniscation Of private
property"
The author however, seems to re-
Gret that Professionalism was in his
way prevented from having a chance
10 present itself ION it's own merits
TO the Irish people; as if that would
have made any difference in che adhe-
zion Of the Irish to the True
Church.
1t must be said for Mr.. Gwynn that
he makes no attempt to deny the Ro.
man mission Of st. Patrick. and while
showing the saints sympathy witt
the development of the native geniua
shows also that Ireland gained not 9
little by being brought into communi.
cation with what was then politically
as wen as religiously the worlds cap
ital Very fascinating are the we'll at.
tested accounts of the advancement OF
prc-Christian Ireland to many Of thC
nrts Of civilization. air. GWynn has
borrowed largely from Archbishop
1Eealy's and also from Burry's Life OF
st. Patrick in recording the strange
incidents which marked the unprece.
dented rapid conversion Of an entire
nation to Christ: the fusing of all tha;
was good-and there was a vast dea'
Of it-in the Pagan laws and learning