The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-03-19
Following Are The Addresses Delivered At
 The Banquet

cuiiar to Ireland's halloved soil. was made to typify the sacred Trinity. We see the whole of Ireland converted to Christianity as it's great Apostle travelled the length and breadth of the country to spread the Gospel of the Redeemer in every vale, on every hill
 That was great epoch for Ire land. Through the centuries of the Dark Ages, when the hordes from the north swarmed over the land like a pail, Ireland kept the light of civili- zation burning. Those were glorious centuries for Ireland and we'll merited for her the title. "Isle of Saints and Scholars"
 During those years was deeply i'm pressed on IrishS hearts, the fidelity to Christianity that has endured through ages.
 We'll may we recall on such occa- sions, as this, the memory of those great leaders who arose among the Irish and directed the valor and en- ergies of the people. And with sor- row must we remember that Ireland owes her downfall to the baseness of one of her fairest daughters and the treachery of one of her bravest sons But Ireland is world renowned for the beauty and purity of her daughters and the Vaior and honor of her sons so that those who achieved the be- trayal of their land were the excep- t1on rather than the rule.
 Dermod Murray, driven from Ire. land by an outraged people, return ed to lead Strongbow and his band of pillagers through the land and from that day to this, the redcoats of Eng land have never been absent from the soil of the little Green Isle From that day to this Ireland has struggled to throw off the yoke of British op- pression and the end is not yet. What other country can show such a record as this? For seven and a half centuries tyranny and hardship have been her portion.
 However galling the yoke of Eng land has always been, the early cen turtles of her oppression by no means caused the most acute sorrow. It was the period of the Reformation, the rise of Cromwell with his army. that ushered' in Ireland's darkest era.
 Ireland did not submit tamely. Many bloody battlefield in that lit tie land testifies to the valor of the sons of Erin and the story of those conflicts tells the awful price paid in human blood by England to re- tain the mastery
 Perhaps the last real prospects Of Irish success through the medium of arms, went out with the Stewart cause. But for more than a hundred years aIlerWarQS England did not cease to feel the weight of the Irish spirit.
 Quite naturally the valor of Ire land sought outlet thereafter in for eign armies and since that time her sons have been found in the van guard of every army fighting for Hb- erty, if not their own, at least some other peoples.
 We need only recall Fontenoy. our own revolution against England, the revolution of 179S to bring to minds deeds of daring that will live forever in history and perpetuate the glory of our race. In the work being now carried on by Redmond, we can see the influence of those former patrf- ots, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Wolf Tone, Thomas Addis Emmett, the other Emmett, the most loved charac- ter of Irish history and the immortal O'Connell.
 And let us hope that before another. twelve months has rolled around the freedom of Ireland will have been achieved.i
 Such are the memories that come to us when we gather to celebrate St. Patrick's day. They are sad, but they are none the less welcome for they are the history of Erin's true sons.