Omaha daily bee., 1919-10-29
De VALERA HAS
BUSY DAY As
OMAHA GUEST
0fficiates at 0'NeiII Monu'
ment Unwilling" -"Perfidi-
GUS Albion PiIIoried by
Speakers at Banquet.

by several speakers last night at a
banquet in honor of Eamonn De
Valera, president of the Republic OF
Ireland, attended by $50 men and
women of Omaha in the ballroom
of the Fontenelle hotel.
England has broken all pledges
| to Ireland as she has broken pledges
Ito all other nations" declared Mr..
De Valera. England, which said
she did not covet square yard of
territory, has come out of this war
with more added acres than there
are in the entire United States.
you are overwhelmed here with
English propaganda, so that you do
not see that wicked race which has
had its foot on Ireland's neck for
700 years.
They tell you that Ireland must
not be free because the Irish are not
tolerant. That is not true. In our
recent election two Protestants were
elected by constituencies which are
almost entirely Catholic.
This movement of liberty was
started by the Protestants of the
northeast of Ireland. What were
Robert Emmet, Mitchell, Davis.
Smith, O'Brien, Burke, Parnell? All
Protestants. But their pictures are
in every home in the south of Ire
land and their names enshrined in
the hearts of all Catholic 1rishmen."
John Rush Arraigns England.
John Rush of Omaha, postmaster,
arraigned England in these fierce
words.
II would rather be classed with
the Asiatics, the Africans or the
North American Indians than be
affiliated with the English, he said.
"Oh, that English government! If
only the story of it could be told!
English propaganda is powerful
enough yet to conceal the greed,
avarice and blood thirstiness of the
English race.
The Irish want their country
which they have been fighting for
for $50 years. 1t is theirs and they
want it despite the shattered prom
ises made during the war that it was
war for the right Of small nations"
Rev. Father Ahearne of the South
side, John Maher of Lincoln, E.. H.
Whelan of O'Neill, also spoke.
Father Ahearne spoke in place of
Archbishop Harty, who was indis-
posed and unable to be present.
Frank Walsh. who was on the pro-,
gram, was unable to come up from
Kansas City.
Sing Patriotic Airs.
Rev. Father Burke of the South
Side sang the Soldiers Song of
Sim Fein." The guests joined in
singing The Star Spangled Ban
per-" and God Save Ireland" The
tables were decorated with the
green, white and orange flags of the
Irish republic. II
President De Valera left last
night at 1920 o'clock for Denver.
He was accompanied to the station
by a committee consisting of P. {.
Heafey, A. J. Donahue, George
Holmes, J. H. Hanley, Louis Kava-
naugh, M. P. O'Connor, John Cof-
few, DR.. Michael Ford and others.
In the morning Mr.. De Valera Wis
tied Creighton university, where he
was greeted by the students with a
tremendous ovation.
Later he visited the Sacred Heart
academy, where the school children
were lined up by the nuns and
cheered. He visited the Ford hos
pital and then went to the stock
yards, where he addressed meet
ing of packing house employees pre-
sided over by T. P. Reynolds, presi-
dent of the State Federation of La
Dor. Later Mr.. De Valera spoke at
the Live Stock exchange, where he
was introduced by Bruce McCul-
loch.
Late in the afternoon he paid
visit to the home of Archbishop
Harty, where he remained for some
time visiting with the archbishop
and the priests.
Unveils O'Neill Monument.
Mr.. De Valera yesterday after
noon unveiled the monument to
Gen. John O'Neill in Holy Sepul-
chre cemetery before large as
semblage.
When the lofty granite shaft was
revealed, as the flag which veiled it
was drawn away, it was seen to
have an inscription as follows:
John O'Neill,
Hero of Ridgeway.
Born in Ireland, March 9, 1884.
Died in Omaha, January 8, 1873.
"To perpetuate his memory, this
monument is erected by the Irish
Nationalists.
God, save Ireland"
Father Mccarthy, assisted by two
altar boys, performed the religious
ceremony of consecrating the monu-
ment.
Harold Dwyer, nephew Of DR.: T.
J. Dwyer. and grandson fot Gen.
eral O'Neil, was present.
OF Race of Kings.
John Hopkins, chairman of the
committee which erected the monu-
ment, presided, and gave a history
of the general and his services to
the cause Of Ireland.
John O'Neill was an Ulster
Irishman." he said, born in Armagh
county. O'Neill is the greatest name
in Irish history. The ONeills were
a race of kings.
Left fatherless at the age of a,
John O'Neill came to America with
his mother and settled in New Jer-
sew. He was in California when
the civil war broke out. He hurried
back and joined the union forces.
At the end of the war he was a col
onel and was brevetted brigadier
general.
Led Invasion of Canada.
Turning then to the arts OF peace,
he soon amassed a modest fortune,
which he proceeded to devote to