The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1914-05-23
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(Barry Monument Unveiled

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forced ignorance; from Tara's Hill,
glorious in ropalty, liberty and re-
ligion, to the sweet vale of Avcoa in
whose bosom the bright waters meet
all is variety.
The Irish people made up of the
Celts. Phoenscians, Milesians. Danes
and Saxons were as varied as the
land they inhabited. From a climate
Salubrious and healthy they received
strength, and from ancestors, who
had taught even the Roman legions
to respect them, they inherited cour-
age. They were a restless, energetic,
quick, impulsive, versatile, reckless,
extravagant, daredevil, brave and
generous people. They loved a fight
for the sake of fight. fighting with
the Dane, the Saxon, and with each
other, crimsoning every sea under
every flag and dying on every land in
every cause. And this was so, for the
Irishman is no metaphysician. His
quarrels are settled by blows, not
words. He is no sceptic, for he an
swers all doubts with his mistaken
faith. His nature is intensely hu-
man, and his mind strongly imagina-
tive; hence the literature of his
country is characterized by the
pathos of Stern, the tenderness of
Goldsmith, the humor of Swift, the
beauty of Moore, the wit of Curran.
the invective of Grafton and the elo-
quence of Burke.
1t was natural that the yoke of
the Saxon should guard such peo-
pie to desperation, and the stringent
measures enacted for repression but
led to further excuses. These ex-
cesses afforded pretexts for more
cruel prosecutions until the Irish
driven from Ireland became exiles in
every land, filing the armies of
Europe with a splendid soldiery and
writing in blood the names of Lacey
and Brown in Russia, Nugent and
Kavanaugh in Austria, O'Reilly and
O'Donnell in Spain, and Sarsfield and
Clara in France. Separated by
oceans breadth from the country by
tyranny accursed. there arose above
the western horizon new land in
which the Irish have made their
home. We see them with the Pill
grims on the Mayfower, and hear
their rich brogue among the Quakers
of William Penn. Nearly two hun
dred years ago, five hundred families
of our people settled in the South.
These Irish entered with zeal into
the cause of liberty. and at Neck
lenburg, year before independence
was declared at Philadelphia, the
Scotch-Irish babe defiance to Eng
lands power and the standard of
freedom raised. Among the signers
of the Declaration of Independence
are the names of Smith, Mexican,
Taylor, Thornton, Read, Lynch, Car
roll and Rutledge. Seventeen thous-
and Irishmen fought for American
freedom, among whom were Montgo-
merry, Sullivan, Barry, Knox, Moylan,
Wayne and Clinton. From the rocky
heights of Quebec to the sandy plain
of Savannah, there ran a rich. red
stream Of Irish blood.
From Barry unfurling his flag up
on the sea to Haggerty dying for it
on the shore at Vera Cruz, the Irish
in peace and in war have done their
duty to America. In large part their
labor cleared the forests, built the
railroads and dug the canals, and no
little of the physical and intellectual
strength of the American people is
due to the Drawn and brain of the
Irish emigrant. We contributed not
only strength, but also energy and
enterprise. He became a merchant
like Stewart and a miner like Mac
kay. He built steamboats, like Full
ton and telegraphs like Morse. He
constructed subways like Mcdonald
and laid cables like Lynch. He in
vented machinery like Mccormick
and developed wilderness like Hill.
The dream of Irish independence
has been at once the charm of her
misfortune and the genius of her
woe. The revolution in Ireland to-
day is the idea of the epoch. Destiny
offers to her that for which she has
sought through all the centuries and
has sought in vain. Opportunity.
Will she grasp it? Will she grasp it?
Will she rise above religious pro-
JUDGE and political passion and en-
brace it? Is there no party in Ire
land that has the reason, no mind
that has the genius, no soul that has
the virtue, no arm that has the
energy, to seize upon this opportun-
ity.
Let the dead past bury it's dead.
1t is with the living present that Ire
land has to deal, and may she deal
with it to her honor and glory,
through justice, wisdom and modera-
ton.
AS Barry and our fathers aided
him, who in glory sleeps within this
tomb, to make the republic possible