The Irish standard., 1915-01-09
WHAT IRELAND OWES IRELAND

WHAT IRELAND OWES IRELAND
At the beginning of the European
conflict 1t was urged that ireland had
many debts to pay. A debt to France.
because France came to the assistance
OF Ireland in an unsuccessful attempt
to aid Irish freedom. England claimed
a debt of gratitude because the home
rule bill had been passed, even If not
placed upon the statute books. Thus,
on all sides, the Irish people find that
the allied countries were piling up
debts against the one country in the
world that fought the battles of every
land successfully but its own. France
can easily be dismissed from any
claim upon Ireland. The memory of
Fontenoy should have ever kept
France from asserting claim against
Irish gratitude, and the French, for
which the sons of Ireland fought so
valfantly in years gone by, was Cath
Ollie France and not the anti-religious
France of today.
Englands claim should be answered
In contempt. If like answer were
given to England in terms that Eng
land answered Ireland, the same DESC
lation and the same sad history would
mark ruinous progress of an Irish
army on England's soil. The matter
is we'll stated by John Brennan in the
Irish World.
EARLY in this war someone did
think of asking Irishmen to fight on
the side of the Allies in order that we
might pay off our debt to France for
all she had promised to do for us in
the past; but Ireland of late years has
begun to read and think for herself,
and Ireland knows only too we'll on
which side the debt lies. We remem-
Der today how the Irish Brigades
fought in the French service from the
earliest days of Ireland's subsection,
and how France threw them aside
without praise or reward when she
had no further use for them. We re.
member today how Napoleon deliber.
ately duped the Irish patriots of '9S
and kept them fighting the battles of
French Imperialism when they should
have been in Ireland fighting the bat.
ties of Irish freedom. We hold Napo.
leon guilty Of robbing US of our fight
ing men, and Of deliberately dipping
them by promising them to send an
expedition to free Ireland. We have
not forgotten that, If the men of the
famous Irish Brigade who won so
many victories for France, had spent
their strength and their blood fighting
for Ireland, Wolfe Tone, Robert En-.
met and the many other Irish martyrs
would not have died in vain and the
Act of Union would have been impos.
sible.
1.-THE Island of Destiny has a higher
destiny lying before her than that of
being the mercenary of one imperial
ism or another. What true 1rishman
doubts that our country has been put
through the fires of purgatory SO that
she may be fitted to hold the sovereign
place of all the nations of the earth:
not as the manufacturer of shoddy,
nor as the ruthless destroyer of the
souls of other nations, but as the great
and holy pioneer and missionary-the
redeemer and reformer of materialistic
Western Europe? To us Ireland is
still Holy Ireland The coming strug.
gle for nationhood is a holy war. To
every man and every woman who
works for Ireland today has come at
some time the revelation of the fu.
ture greatness of the Island of Des.
tiny. 1t is for this we live, for this we
may die. 1t is for this we are working
and arming and preparing, SO that
none of the gross and greedy of the
earth shall step in again between Ire.
land and her right. Today we say
with the great Teacher 1t is not meet
to take the children's bread and cast
1t to the dogs"
PROTECTING ENGLAND.
The foreign policy department OF
state shows lack of an understand
Ing of international nolitv ond rr;r.