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EDITED · BY EOIN MAC NEI'LL.
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Vol. 2.
N~. 67 (New Series). '
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SATURDAY, MARCH 18th, 1916.
PRICE ONE PEN NY.
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The stupidity of Eng).ish militarism in Ireland continues to treat it with contempt. The Act · is l5eyond belief, The oompetent n:li.l~tary autho- r equires the legal authorities to have an a_ccust'l!i rities in Cork ' actually proposed to turn the cele- person tried where he is found. Mr. Birrell bration of S.aint Patrick's Day in tha t city into dr ags his accused from one end of t he counti'y to a Brit ish military and n aval demonstra tion . a nother. Then the L aw to Order At torneyThis week we celebrate , the- festival of Saint Why not stick to Mr. Birrell's plan for the dilu- General " find s " the accused in Mr . · Birrell' s Patrick, eur National Apostle, which is also tion of Irish patriotism by· " :wa tering and wa t er - dungeon at the other end of the country. A Law the festival of our Nationa lity . Tirechan wrote ing " ? Perhaps the anti-Celt who supplies the · to Order judge says tha t is all right" exactly the traditions of Saint Patrick which he learned London " Times " with " the best Irish opinion " what was meant in the Act ! Very honest and from Saint Ultan in the seventh century. Of the from Dublin Ca stle would prefer firing and firing . honourable, the whole performance by 'the Right three peti£ions of Saint Patrick for the Irish, Let them try 1.t whichever way they like, they Honourables. Frank MacDonagh, F:hmer's Son , " as they are.. handed down to us Irish by tradiwill not conquer Ireland. I~ may be that, like of l\f.oycullen, in the west of Connacht , w_as t ion," says Tirechan, one \Yas, " that we may Pharaoh, they will make· another at t empt to '- ', fo und" in Dublin, a fter Mr. Birrell had him never be subjugated by the b;>rbarians." Saint keep us in bondage. " Once too often the pitcher dragged there; and tried under the Act by the Patrick h ad chiefly in ming the Anglo-Saxons goes to the well." excellent 'Drury,, the self-convicted illegal intimiand ·other Low Gei:mans who in his time were dator of a witness, and therefore the nght sort of engaged in the conquest of the neighbouring . P adraig Mac Piarais sends me a copy of his magistrat e t o try a case from l\tfoycullen, in conisland. It is clear that our forefathers under- pamphlet on "Ghosts." With that title, it travention-of t he Act . The Farmer's Son is duly stood this prayer to have been g;rant ed by God, should be sent to Mr. Birrell. The ghosts of the sentenced to three months imprisonment , as a and thus to ha;ve become a propnecy. We have pamphlet do not haunt ine. They ar'e four wit- cure for disaffect ion in Moycull~n. The evidence not been subj ugated, and we t-rust that we never nesses to Ireland's perpetual resolves to be a . showed that t hose who were locally in_charge of shall .be subjugated . free nation. Only one 'of them has a Celtic Irish Recruitment decided to hold a r ecruiting meet.* * • name. The other three were of British descent, ing at the place and time at which the local Irish The Northmen thought to conquer Ireland. and Protestants in religion . Parnell was -a :fifth, Volunteers could ,be expected to be on the spot . Their descendants became Irish and resisted the whom Padraig names and quotes, but hesitates Not a single disorderly act was eveR a)l~ged conquest of I reland. 'Fhe Normans tnought to to class with the rest. What he quotes from in evidence against the Farmer's .S on. Tt was conquer Ireland, and Giraldus wrote that Ire- P arnell's speech on Saint P a tri<;k's Day thirty- said that one man in the crowd was jost led by land 'was conquered. Their descendants became _ one years ago is, to my mind, a piece of sound, t he' Volunteers as they marched 'past, and that Irish and resisted the conquest of I reland. The straight, and honest political thinking. The best one of the Volunteers spat on some papers which E lizabet han invaders thought to conquer Ire- testimony to P arnell's p9litical creed is the fear were· lying on the ground ! There was no preland, and once more the story of Ireland con- and hatred it inspired in the enemies of Irish tence that Frank McDonagh incited either of q uered was written. Their descendants became nationality. these· atr ocities' or was at all aware of them . The I rish and fought against the conqu est of Ireman who jostled the other man was not charged. land. · The P lantation of Ulster was to finish t he I have read a fairly long report of t he t rial of The man who spat on the papers w11s not charged. conquest, and the - descendant s of the Ulster Mr. Kent, of Castlelyo1is., under the Defence of Consequently tnere 'was no possi ble way of 'test·P lanters became United Irishmen. · The Crom- the Realm Act. T e Castle lawyer promised to ing whether these atrocities happened at -all. wellians ~hought that I reland was finally sub- stagger humanity, or something to that effect, Mr. Birrell's evidence mu st be g1·owing still dued. Their descendants became . Irish · and with_ :th~ l~'l'.elatiol) · he, "l'~~ predu<l<l<n- this ~ mo1'e vo'l:umi:aous.' · fought for Ireland. 'Ii-eland · f"effi ains uncon- and Mr, l\tiacSwiney's case.- The danger of Ver* * * quered and not to be conquered. She has con- dun must have interfered with the eifect , but The other Sunday I was with a body of V olunquered more conquerors than any nation in t he the ta wyer may hope t hat h,is conduct in court teers marching · thrbugh Ballyboden . They world. H er people may seem yielding and easywill recommend him' to his m ast er s. marched close past a military band and ot hers natured, but .they are. t he mo$t tenacious of all * * '* who were coming to hold a recruiting meeting. .nat ioni:;, and their history has been so -shaped as t o The Defence of the R ealm Act certainly de- I am quite sure that some of our men touched make it impossible for them to lie down under con- serves· no more respect from I rish people t han shoulders with some of the recruiting party. I n quest. It was St. P atrick's desire that Ireland from a number of eminent E nglishmen who have any case, if it was sworn in evidence that some 'should never be conquered. ·While we celebrate protested against its gratuit ou s creation of an Volunteer, unarmed and unidentified, jostled his memory, let us resolve to be of his mind. official tyranny over public liberty. Mr. Birrell somebody _in the other crowd, and that another
N OTES
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r-small Nationalities. . The Surest Mark of Nationality
IS
I.
a National Language.
" A people without a 111nguage of its own is on1ly half a nation. A nation should ,guard its language more than its territories; it is a surer barrie1r, a more important frontier than: fortress o,r river.''- THoMAS DAvrs .
. THE GAE L IC LEAGUE is trying to preserve the Natio·nal Language1of - I relaind. It is trying to pr omote t he use 0£ Irish Manufactures. It is developing in the
Irish people a spirit 0£ initiative and self-reliance. ·It is concentrairing their t houghts and energ ies on their own country and native interests . I t encourages a feeling of. self-respect, and thereby helps the cause of Tempe1rance'.
The L eague now a.p peals to the sea-divided Gael for their support to carry on its work. Will you help? 1£_ you w~ll, now is the time1, . The Collection for the Irish L anguage National Fund will be held in connectio·n with the Festival of our National Apostle- during the week . 12th to 19th March- and everybody willing to co-operate _· is requested t~ kindly communicate with
SEACHAN T. O'CEALLAICH, Ce1n enl Secretar·y, ., '
.or STIO~HAN BAI READ, Treasurer,
25 ParneU Square, DUB LI N. "Ob! lrish,men be .Irish still, Cl,l)d save th·e dear old tongue, Which, as i-vy to a ruin, to our· native land has olu,n•g ;' Oh! pluck this· relic from the wreck, the only and the last, And cherish i1n1your he~ut of hearts the' language of the, pas~."
t . IRISH
LAN6UA6E FLA6DAY-ST. P4TRICK'S 'DALJ
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