The Irish standard., 1913-06-14

I IAots Soa lAAAa MA8ALN VIC Sli6 AdSS COASeAs
ton, for, with the accomplishment Of
Home Rule. the missionSof the organ
sasation Is finished. it's disappearance
could best take place amid the CUR
roundings of Ireland's capital city.
o'connor President 80 Years.
~ In the year 1888 the organization
was not in sound condition ana Mr..
Parnell asked me to become its presi-
dent and / was elected to that office
at the convention held in Leeds.
took the ONCE, as did all my prede-
cessors. for a year, little knowing that
would hold the same ONCE thirty
years afterwards and be elected thirty
times in succession. But have as
sumed the duties willingly and proud
ly, for 1 belong emphatically to that
branch of the Irish race which lives
in Great Britain and shares and em-
bodies their views and experiences.
The organization has grown In
strength and in discipline and, above
all, in the keenness Of Its political in
telligence during that period, SO that
now it's proceedings at it's annual con-
ventions can compare favorably for
good order and good sense with any
deliberative body In the three king
doms. Even its external appearance
has undergone immense improvement
as. in the Irish conventions. there is
!. a marked superiority in the clothes
and the demeanor of the members;
this is one Of the many Astounding
signs of the progress the whole Irish
race has made owing to the victories
Of the last thirty years; the days of
extreme poverty and Of externals of
extreme poverty have fortunately
passed away.
Selection Of Dublin Fortunate.
-. The choice of Dublin this year was
very fortunate For many generations
Dublin was more tightly in the hands
Of the Irish ascendancy party than is
even Belfast today. No Roman Cath
Ollie could be a member of the city
council; no Roman Catholic could be
lord mayor; the property, the offices
and the taxation of the city were all
parts Of the rich endowment given to
the ascendancy minority, and every
attempt Of Ireland to better itself.
found in the corporation Its most bit
ter and powerful enemy.
y There were six seats in Dublin and
its vicinity, two for the city, two for
the county, two for Trinity college.
and the Dublin six as they came to be
known, were for centuries all tories:
except when. now and then, in the last
struggle for the preservation Of the
old Irish parliament, patriotic feeling
among the Protestant nationalists sue
ceeded in forcing the election of a
Protestant patriot
This is now all changed. Trinity
college, consisting largely of parsons
and members Of the ascendancy party.
still retains Its tory members. but the
four members which Dublin city is
now entitled to are all nationalists
and the county is also represented by
two nationalists. In addition, the lord
mayor for many years has been a ma
tionalist and the Mansion house, which
used to be the fortress of orangeism.
Is now the citadel Of the national
party.
Beauty and Charm Of Dublin.
I pass thus briefly to description
OF the feelings which Dublin creates
in the minds Of those who return to
1t after long years of absence. These
feelings are somewhat mixed. The
first and perhaps the most enduring
impression Is the beauty and the se-
ductive charm Of the city and of it's
people. Few cities in the world have
more beautiful streets or buildings in
the central parts.
The statue Of Parnell is equally
characteristic Of the man as he was
In the flesh. He is tall, thin. with the
thin; oval face, the delicate nose, the
beautifully carved, though compressed
mouth. the tall, slight frame, at once
so vivid, feverishly active and yet,
from the start with the seeds of early
exhaustion and premature death. And.
unlike O'Connell. there are no crowds
about the statue. he is there alone in
death as in life. @
Lonely Statue Of Parnsll.
And this almost oppressive sense of
loneliness is magnif1ed by strange
and daring device Of the Franco
American Irish genius, st Gaudens,
by whom the statue was made. For,
towering above the back of Parnell
,tis an irregular piece of rock. which
rises above his head and forms the
complete background; 1t is weird, i'm
pressive. accentuating the loneliness