The Irish standard., 1909-05-22

which is ever tipped on its edges by
an ineluctable hope for better times;
his confirmed belief in the marvellous
his idolatry of personal prowess, his
bravery, generosity, hot heart, and
witty speech-all these qualities are
not by any means missing in the plays
Indeed, they loom large"
| That is how the N. Y. Sun, said to
be managed by Mr.. Laffan, all Irish
man, writes Of the Irish Of Connaught
the province that gave birth to the
great Archbishop McHale.; to Father
Mcguire. who vanquished Fcpe in a
polemical debate; to Father Burke
who silenced F'roude, the lying Eng
lish historian; to Michael Davitt, the
patriot and statesman, who gave it's
deathblow to British feudalism in Ire
/ land; and to many other rnen of re-
nown, which space precludes us from
enumerating. The section of Ireland
that produced these celebrated men
contains a virtuous population-poor.
indeed. by oppression, but not super
based, as the Sun stignatizes them.
What Synge and the Sun mean by
superstition is the piety CT the peo-
pie who make the sign of the cross
and go on their knees to worship God.
They know the folk lore of ireland,
and speak the ancient language cor
rectly. They recite fairy tales, speak
Of the leprachuan's pranks and the
banshee's wailing moan, and these
educated critics call them supersti-
tious for doing so. There are no clair
voyants and fortune tellers, as in this
enlightened country. among The peas
antry of Connaught. They may be
uneducated in the arts and sciences.
but they have never been ignorant
about their faith and nationality dur
ing the 260 years that have elapsed
since Cromwell drove their forefath-
ers at the point of the bayonet into
the sterile regions of Connausht, to
be afterwards preyed on by Lord
Leitrim and Lord Clanrickarde. AS
for "savagery, drunkenness and de-
basement" among the Irish of the
West or any other section CT ireland,
they are conspicuously absent, and
one has to cross over to England to
find them in abundance. An apology
is due from the pro-British Sun to the
Irish people whom it has slandered
worse than j. M. Synge.
The matter with Synge wes that he
was not "racy Of the soil" and misun-
derstood the Irish character. which
had been previously caricatured by
Carleton and Lever in their novels,
written for the British market. He
looked upon the peasantry of the West
as inferior beings because they were
not like the cultured AngIo-saxons
The educated theatergoers OF Dublin
A~oSASSu S1IC Insult CkoI VII tIGlv COun.
trymen and hooted his dramatic carl
cature off the stage. They offered
him no personal violence: nor to his
manager. William Butler Yeats, a kin6
Of paganized Irishman wis knows nc
more of the traits Of the Irish charac-
ter than did his protege.
An attempt is being made ~ Chica-
go by chatfield- Chatfleld Taylor, for
mer editor of America" the A. p. A.
organ. and others Of his ilk to adver-
tise synge and his play. It has not
been produced at any theater yet, bu,
If it is put on the boards Il will meet
the fate Of "Squatter Sovereignty
which was presented at the Fence Or
era House in Minneapolis over %
years ago. The patriotic irish of this
city. many of whom have since pass
ed away. made such good use of ad-
died eggs that the offensive play has
never since been given in any part O,
the United States.
We highly commend the attitude as
sumed by our worthy contemporary
the New World. in the vindicatton OF
the Irish character from Islander and
false representation. In Justice to the
dead dramatist. 1t may be said that he
might have had no intention Of mis-.
representing the character OF his own
countrymen. and we sincerely reere,
that SO gifted an 1rishn1an passed
from earth at the age of 80. Stephen
Gwynn. M. p. for Galway. in his ESSAY
on the Irish drama. refers to Mr.
Synge. and says that his Rivers tc
the Sea-" produced at the Royal Thea
ter In London, is masterpiece. Moth
Ing offensive to the Irish in that EN-
anation from his brain.
WAS SHE A CATHOLIC?
An esteemed con&enoporor>y r,,hnsk