The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1919-01-11

IF ireland were pro-German, do you
suppose 58.1 per cent-not II or 20
per cent as have seen in some papers
hereof her man.power would have
volunteered up to last January"
eff she were pro-German car you
imagine 10000 or $4,000 men enlist
ing since the uprising in Dublin?
IF you knew what the men who
have been through the battles believe
officers of all ranks in all armies
who know of forlorn hopes turning the
tide to victory, of impregnable places
captured, Of divisions, yes, whole ar.
mics being saved by irish troops, you
would have ready answer to those
who seem to think that we have done
little, and are doing nothing now.
eve are doing our fighting in the
present big push. We need no apollo.
gies, no defense. Our standards tell
the story" 4
These were few of the statements
made at the University Club, Boston,
by Capt. Thomas F. MacMahon of the
Irish Guards, man not yet turned
80, who has been through the hell of
warfare: He is an Oxford man, and
went from Australia to enlist.
AS a memento of one of the battles
d piece of his skull was torn away.
He is now on recruiting duty with the
British and Canadian Recruiting Mis-
sion here. He does not like to talk
except to his close friends, but he has
heard and read so much about the
Irish that he cannot help expressing
himself strongly at times.
cts pity some of our American
newspaper men were not with the
forces in the first couple of years of
the war;" he said. II mean, close up
where you could get the stories first
hand, and not after they had filtered
through. There would be something
worth writing about.
"Now, mind you, am rot making
comparisons, Tor all our troops fought
with the greatest spirit--Scotch, Eng
fish, Welsh and Dominion forces But
somehow or other it seemed that little
attention was paid to the Irish; and
undoubtedly it is due to this fact, and
to the ignorance Of the whole Irish
question by the papers here, supple
mented by cables from across that are
often based upon imaginings of the
writer's, that today our race is placed
in a doubtful position.
"But what am getting al is the
apparent feeling that because Con
scription was held up for Ireland SO
many people here seem to think we
have done nothing. The issue has
been clouded here. If you were tc
read the big papers at home you
would see that there was consider
able antagpnism against the plan
among the big men in England In the
Commons and the Lords; that it was
not Ireland alone that objected.
Never mind that. Just consider
the fighting facts. Take the Irish
Guards. I'm not boasting because il
is my unit, but we have won more
honors than any other regiment fight
:. ing under the English flag, except thu
Royal Irish and the Royal Welsh
Fus1Iiers And when left home ou
of LOO Of us, officers and men, there
remained less than a dozen who arr
still on the list of effect1ves. Ani
other Irish regiments have suffered
about as badly.
Briefly, all the Irish regiments
and the other British units as we'll
that made up our first little arm!
have been wiped out. But the Tegi
ments are still fighting. And yo,
may note from the records how the!
increased by reading the 9Th Con
naughts, the 7th Dublins, the 9th 1iein
STEERS, 18th Inniskillens and SO on AL
through the list.
~Remeunber, when l say Irish negi
1HSS1ICS IL 4S uOC 'cOlSly IA0 SdSuOl9SS
refer ta, but to the Ulstermen a
wen, for there, battling shoulder t,
shoulder, brothers in arms, we haH'
found that sufferings and privation,
have made the whole race kin.
ut was the Ulster stretcher bear
ers who found Willie Redmond dyin,
on the field, and who brought hin
back to their aid post, then to thu
field ambulance, where he died. Ant
among the officers who mourned hi
passing away were many from tn
Ulster brigade.
"That is why have faith in tn
future for Ireland. If Home Rule i
delayed until the war is over, the mel
who have gone through the canpaig,
cheering each other on will decid
the issue. And they sill do it no
IL