Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-19
NOT PR|EST-R|DDEN
People Are Devout and Priests
Are PaternaI Guides.
TAKE HAND IN POLITICS
Catholic Pastors Are Highly Intel
lectual, Cultured and Efficient.
SOME WOMEN GO BAREFOOT
Government Efforts to Prevent Emil
grafton to America-Lord Of
Limerick Not Popular.
SOME WOMEN GO BAREFOOT

Limerick Not Popular.
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
| LIMERICK, August L. 1908.
Religion is live thing in Ireland The
Roman Catholic churches are always
filled to overlooking at every service with
as many men as women. which is unusual
in other countries. In Ireland the situa-
ton seems to be different, and the congre-
cations are invariably composed about
equally of the two sexes. The church of
Ireland is comparatively weak in num-
bers and has more houses of worship than
it needs, having inherited many of them
from the confiscation edicts Of the English
kings. Naturally they are not so well
filled, but the Roman Catholics are COM
PEELED to have three or four services every
Sunday in order to accommodate the wor-
shippers.
The Parish Priest.
The parish priest is invariably the most
influential man in the parish. He enters
directly into the life Of his parishioners
The parish boundaries are sharply divided
and his jurisdiction is so we'll defined
that he knows all the sheep and all the
goats that belong to his flock. over whom
he exercises parental, as well as
spiritual. care. they come to him in all
their troubles and all their joys. He ad-
lvises them about social. political, COM
mercial domestic and personal, as well
as spiritual affairs He is the court of
highest resort in all disputes and family
matters. No other authority reaches so
far or is rooted so deeply in the commune
ty, and this peculiar relation grows clos
er with years. 1t is not customary in
They usually begin work as curates or
assistants to the parish priests when they
first come out of Maynooth or some other
theological seminary, and they remain
NOTED upon the death of their superior.
Therefore. they grow up with the people,
and the attachment, as we'll as the under
standing, is mutual.
| l have formed very high opinion of
the Irish priesthood from the examples
have been able to meet and know. They
| have impressed me as an unusually high
| class of men, Intellectually as we'll as
| spiritually. and every one must admire
| their devotion, their sincerity and their
self-sacriflce.
| ireland Not Priest-Ridden.
Some of them naturally become dicta-
torial, for it is often necessary for them
| to assume an air of authority to preserve
discipline in their parishes, but l think
that is more or less the rule in other
countries and in all denominations. You
can't talk back to a judge or a school
| teacher or a parson. And that is UNI
frequently made that Ireland is priest
| ridden" But the average of intelligence
culture and efficiency among the Irish
priesthood is probably higher. as a rule
than In any other country. and its inf1u-
ence is correspondingly greater
| There is great deal Of criticism about
| the activity of the Irish priest in politics
| and that l find to be largely misrepre-
sentation. Many Of the priests do take
an active part in political affairs but 1t
is entirely a matter of individual taste
| and inclination, and the proportion Is
probably no larger than among ministers
Of all denominations in the United States
| Those who are we'll posted on this sub
ject assure me that about one-third of
the total number of Catholic priests ha-
| bitually interest themselves In political
| affairs, local as we'll as national. still
larger number take an active part In edu-
| cational matters, and about one-half OF
them let politics entirely alone. This is
probably fair estimate and will apply
| to the clergy Of the church Of Ireland and
| the non-conformist denominations with
equal accuracy, although they are much
less numerous than the Roman Catholic
| clergy.
Interesting Sights at Mass.
It is always interesting to attend mass
at a Roman Catholic church on Sunday in
Ireland. particularly in the smaller towns
and country parishes where everybody
except those who are too infirm to come
out is present in their best clothes, and
no matter how poor they may be no one
| passes the man who stands with box
| n no onfr wit dFOnDinQ n
thing, most Of them only a penny
ha'-penny, but none without an offer
ing. The appearance of the people. and
| particularly the women, is in striking
contrast to that on week days. l am told
that this depends very largely on the
priests, many of whom insist that every
man, woman and child shall have suit
of Sunday clothes and wash up before
coming to the house of God.
The women of the poorer classes in Tip
perary and Limerick all wear heavy
| wooden shawls made at Paisley. Scotland,
and costing from s. to SO. according to
heads in place of hats. and although it
has been very hot here within the last
two or three weeks-the longest spell of
the hottest weather that has been known
in Ireland for many years-it makes no
difference. They go around with their
heads hidden in these shawls as the Span
ish women wear mantillas. And most of
| them are barefooted.
| Barefoot Women.
Tipperary was the first place where we
saw barefooted women in the streets, and
it isn't an agreeable sight. We have seen
more in Limerick. The working men do
not go barefooted. although many of
them have shoes very much the worse
for wear, but it seems to be the custom
for the wives, mothers and daughters of
the working ella to go about without
shoes or stockings and with heavy shawls
over their heads, which, like charity. COW
| err multitude Of sins and other things
Their dresses are tattered at the bot
tom. often ragged and always greasy
Their hair, so far as it can be seen under
the shawls, is very untdy. which gives
them a far from agreeable appearance, so
different from the women we saw at
Drogheda, Wexford. Waterford. Cork,
Killarney and other places we have been
lately. We saw the first drunken women
since leaving Dublin at Tipperary. and
several drunken men lay around the rail-
way station, overcome with liquor
There is no occasion for the women of
Limerick to dress as they do, because the
town is prosperous and it used to boast
of the reputation of having the prettiest
girls in ireland. Some poet, who knew
Them long ago, has written thus:
1.-The first time me feet got the feel of the
| ground