Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1919-03-15

In ev'ry war and age;
The Shamrock green shall ever
CLEAN
On history's. brightest page.
Irish blood has Redeemed every
battlefield of the republic; the sons
| of Erin bear not a divided al
! legiance. Full hearted, ardent,
grateful, they stand first, last, all
the time, in peace and war, for the
cleaning stars and glittering stripes
of Old Glory to do or die-and to
the end-for the only banner that
never knew defeatl
Warning seven hundred years
'gainst oppression, tyranny, injus-
tice, the history of this Spartan race
untarnished by a single act of per-
secution for conscience sake, Hiber-
mia rejOices in the citizenship Of a
land, fairest within the seas, that
has forever ordained the priceless
blessings of civil and religious lib
erty for all mankind.
The fadeless pages OF Americas
annals proclaim in letters OF gold
their part in the glowing story Of
Columbia. Ever faithful to mem
DRY of the green isle beyond At
iantlc's roar, ever helpful TO loved
ones on its shore, the children OF
st. Patrick reared new fanes and
affairs in a welcoming land and
gladly gave the star Spangled Ban
ner their all. Their men, true even
unto death to the church of their
fathers, their women. bejeweled
with diadems OF modesty and mani
fold Christian virtues, the Gael
brought new bulwarks to a nation
that shall endure till time Is Ger,
a nation founded on the rock eter-
nal. honor of manhood, sanctity of
womanhood,
Not unduly regardfui of things
material, the Celt bore precious
gifts of wit, sympathy, imagination.
TO the temple of the New World.
In the warp and wool of American
life golden strands of mysticism,
idealism, spirituality were woven
in full measure by his genius and
In the broad clarity OF native toler-
ance and judgment. No proven
charge Of discrimination gainst
race or creed was ever laid at his
door.
They buoyantly bore the heat and
burden of the day, but ambition
Knocked their lowly TOLL" and the
bede roll Of Columbia lumes re-
splendent with their lustrous deeds
in every avenue OF high, honorable
endeavor. Dashing, yenturesome,
constructive. indomitable, never
counting the cost or reckoning the
odds, they breasted iron circum-
stances" and wrought we'll for the
land OF their choice. Leaders and
pioneers in well-nigh every field OF
our national life, the impress OF
Irish hand. heart and brain is
deeply cast in the mould Of the re-
public. Seven Presidents boast the
blood Of the Gael--Jackson Bucha-
nan, Arthur, Mckinley, Polk, Mon
roe Roosevelt-tand we have un-
dodbted evidence that centuries be
fore Columbus glimpsed the West
ern hemisphere st. Brendan. an
irish monk, had preceded him and
named the new continent Great
ireland. The irish were here
first. They were aboard the Nav
flower, and there is a weli-founded
belief that when the. caravels of the
Discoverer cast anchor at San Sal
vador a rollicking, care-free Galway
man was among those present" in
the first landing party.
The Irish are bountifully repre-
sented in the ranks of educators
among our private, public and de-
nominational schools, for in the
training OF the young the marvellous
self-abnegation of the Celt finds
noble expression. Essentially re-
hgious, many of our churchmen are
Hibernian in origin. Three Car
dinals and more than a score OF
Bishops and Archbishops bear Irish
names. Archbishop Hughes, dis
patched by martyred Lincoln as
special commissioner to the Pope
and the courts of Europe, did hercu-
lean work for our stricken country,
torn by domestic strife, and Father
Matthew. the apostle of temperance,
led hosts of Americans TO the altar
of total abstinence, achieving won
ders for God and fellowmen. Father
Abram ]. Ryan, poet-priest of the
South, sang the sweetest, tenderest
songs of poignant. appealing senti-
ment, and our own Rev. Henry B.
Tierney, the inspired writer of Mis-
souri,, scars to the loftiest peaks of
Parnassus in prose and verse of
perennial beauty and charm. The
Gaels believe that ideals are of inn
measurably more moment than
lives; materialism finds stony
ground in the Irish heart.
They blazed trails and trod UNI
beaten paths in every era of our
national existence from the days of
the painted Indian to the latest land |
rush, mining excitement or oil |
strike" In the realms OF high |
finance and commerce they are |
found, the silver kings OF Cali |
fornia, Mackay. Fair, Flood and |
O'Brien, living Aladdin-like lives, |
fiction. Their stout |
hearts and sturdy hands conjured |
and millions from mother |
earth, aiding powerfully these |
United States in the resumption of |
specie payments by the flood % |
precious metal they poured into the
worlds monetary circulation. Mar
Gus DAILY, the copper magnate OF
Montana, did like deeds in the |
treasure State and rose from the
lowest 70 the highest round In the |
ladder OF industrial supremacy.
In art, oratory and literature
their potent powers OF expression
have won lasting renown. and nu-
meorus noted names shine on the
long roll. Gen Thomas Francis
Meagher, rhetorician. warrior.
statesman, was the author Of that
thrilling classic, the Sword
speech, and the hand Of Theodore
O'Hara penned the finest soldier
dirge in the language, a flawless