Dublin Notes.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 24, 13 October 1893, Page 21

Dublin Notes.

(From Content orjrLs.)

CARDINAL MoaAN arrive t in Galway on Friday night, August 18, on a vißit to the Lord 8 shop, the Most R>v Dr M'Cormack. His Eminence, who, ie is stated, is in delicate health, his Belected Galway for change of air and a short stay at t.je seaside.

A disgraceful exhibition wuh witnees-d on Tuesday, August 15, at Scarva. on the arrival of a Oa-ho ie band from Tullyish. A few of the bandsmen left their comrades for a few minutes while waiting the arrival of a train to go on to PorUdown. The band was then attacked by a number of Orange rowdier, and some of the members received serions injuries, but one man, in particular, received a most fearful gash over his eye. Only for the timely interference of the constabulary, matters would have been moat serious.

Joseph Walker, a man who, after two abortive trials, was con. vioted at Belfast on March 25tb, 1887, of the manslaughter of Private Hughes, West Surrey Begiment, during the Belfast riots, was releaeed from Mountjoy Prison on August 18. He was sentenced by Lord Justice Fitzgibbon to twenty years' penal servitude. When receiving ■entence he shouted out " You might as well execute me at once. 1 ' He has served about six and a half year* of his Bentence. Walker reached Belfast by the Great Northern line on Friday morning. The two prisoners, the brothers Delahunty, stepped out of Mountjoy Prison on Friday morning, August 18, free men. They were oonvicted at Coik Assizes of 1862 for a Wniteboy offence, and although there was no injury to life or limb by the shot that was fired on the occasion of the outrage for whici they were convicted, Lml Justice Barry sentenced them each to twenty yeprs' peaal servitude. There was a strong impression in the district where the Delahuntys lived that they were innocent. About six years ago, it is alleged, a dying declaration was made by a man named Patrick Slattery that he had been suborned to give untrue evidence at tbe trial. Immediately after their release the two men proceeded to Ennin by the morning train and thence to their old home at Kilbarren.

A Eubhn Telegraph man hai a chat a day or two ago with Mr Moore, manager of Messrs Ihomas Cook and Bod, in regard to the present influx of tourists to Ireland. Mr Mooie thinks there has been a falling off in the number of tourists to Ireland this year compared with tbe number for jrevious years. The decrease in the number of tourists to Ireland from America is, I think, due to the lact that the American liners, City of New York and City of Pans, do not now call at Queenstown, but go straight to Southampton! When they did call atQuee.stown during tLe season they alwaj* brought a great deal of tourists. As far as our knowledge extends of those tourists who are visiting Ireland during the present season, what are the favoured districts with them ? The North seems to get tbe preference. Killarney is very quiet this season ; I was there a few days ago, and everybody I met omp'.ainei. But they had a larger number of tourists than usual dun.g the early sprint.', m account of tbe exceptionally fine we.ther. I caonot speak from experience of Conneruara or other parts of the West. But I think a fair number of tourists have visited C are ; there id Dothm.> like a crush, though. As far as those districts to which people go fishing are concerned, there are all but deserted, owing to the drought. which has dried up most of tbe rivers.

A most interesting meeting took place lately at Delgany. The objective point of interest was the historical associations of this quaint village in the bills of Wicklow, where, tbe Annals of the F, ur Maatera tell us, a great battle was fought between the Danes of Dublin and the Septs of Leinster in the year A.D. 1021. The site of the battle remained unknown for centuriep. until the learned Dr Colgiu identified the place in his •' Life of St Mogtron," a contemporary ot St Kevin, who, according to Canon O'Haalon's '• Life of the illustrious Abbot of Glendalough," attended him m his last illness. The cell of 8t Cntp.n is said to point to the abode of this holy anchorite— a ruin on the Ureystoms road. The site of the battle is situated between the village of Delgany and S.iabh Culauu— the majestic mountain known as the Sugar Loaf in our time. Thi battle, it may be observed, took place seven years af er the victory at Cloutarf, but the Danes held portion of Dublin, Wicklow, and Wexford btill. Tue Danes were commanded by Sitrif. and tue Leinster men by Ugaiu, King of Leinster. The fight wm a terrible one— the Aonansts recording the defeat of the Danes wi h six tdcusmd slam. There is no record of tbe number that fell m the Irish rank«. Tne ground about Delgany is in many places marked by small mounts, but ihe cultivation of the site has tfEaced all or near y all the vesti^s of this loog-forgotten battlefield.

Tbe last rampart of Orange a-.cer.denc) in Ire'and is about to be assailed and captured. The pas-a^o of the Home Bule linl through the House of Commons means ihe complete and irretrievable lojs of tbat power which a narrow and biyo td clique so long and so unjus ly wielded. The Tories know that the h >ur ot their overthrow has c^me, and tbey have now fallen back upon a last resort. Tbey propose to

start a defence fund of aquaiter of • million hterling. This fond they will employ for the purpose cf defeating the Home Bole Bill, and it will be drawn upon only in the event of the Bill becoming law. This is the limit of " Ulster's " defensive lines of organisation. By " Ulster " w« mean, of course, the " Ulster " which gravitates round landlordism, and makes its influence felt in the dark recesses sacred to " Jacob's Ladder " rites. The Defence League could not, of course staud long without funds. Even " loyal heroes " cannot be expected to protest and fight while they are not backed up by the indispensable sinews of war. Hence ihe latest ani most whimsical development of " Ulstena." We have no donbt the money, if necessary, will be subscribed. The landlords' pockets are pretty deep. They have battened too long and too greedily on tbe nnfortunate tenantry not to be now in a position to contribute their quota to aid in depressing and degrading the farmer and the llabourer. Nor will the capitalists who have amassed wealth by the toil of "sweated Ulster " be far behind them in defending the citadels of Tory ascendency. What is a paltry half million to the millions which they annually extort from rack-rented tenants and underpaid mill hands? But what about the gigantic reserve fund which some few months ago was reported to have been subscribed by prominent Unionists in the province? We recollect how some of the imaginative London correspondents over here in search of " good copy " for their journals gave wonderful accounts of the amouat of the dollars and dimes behind the fighting men. Some unscrupulous local contemporaries gave colour to the rumunr. Where is this fund now? Has it vantph-d, like the creations of Prospero, in thin air ? Or had it really never an existence. Tbe new fund will do just aB little harm to the Home Rule cause as the old.

The Bight Bey Dr Bagshawe, Bishop of Nottingham, has written the following letter to Mr J. M. Wilson, who challenged hie Lordship for condemning the Primrose League while supporting the Irish National Federation :—" St Barnabas's Cathedral, Nottingham, " Dear Sir— Allow me to say that the Holy See has not condemned either the National League or the National Federation ; it has only condemned some mode 3 of action used by them or by some of their members, in their efforts to deliver themselves from oppression. This is only an additional reason why I should wish well to the more legitimate endeavour to obtain justice by Parliamentiry agitation for Home Rule. As I have already told yon, Ido not belong to, and said Dothing about the National League. I spoke only of Home Bule. As for boycotting and the Plan of Campaign, it is enough that tbe Holy See has condemned them. I have neither reason nor pretext for interfering with the matter. If any do not obey, it is for their own pastors to correct them. But to say that the National League agitating for Home Bule is in any way condemned by the Holy See as • a body of men,' is incorrect. Heretics and Freemasons are 'a body of men ' condemned by the Holy See, and I think it is dangerous and scandalous that Catholics should be brought into such close intimacy with them as they are in the Primrose League. I warned my own flock of this extrinsic danger, end added that I judged the Primrose League to be intrinsically, or per se, unlawful, as being a conspiracy directly inten el for the ma nt^na cc and protection of a heretical estab lehmeot 1 have been deep.y grieved by the manifesto of a ca-adful of English noblemen and g< ntleman. When they acciee the great body of Iribh Catholics with being children of the Fiench Revolution and lament over the Irish Hierarchy as being UDtrustwortny and unfit to take care of the flocks, their manifesto becomes con-picuous for its ignorance, uncharitableuess, and impertinence. I have no doubt they meant it in good faith, but their act is deplored by the great bulk of the Cathehcs both of England and Ireland— l am, dear sir, yours faithfully, ' f Edward, Bishop of Nottingham."

Before tbeir departure for home, writes an Ennis correspon lent, I bad an interview, necessarily brief, with the brothers Delabunty and obtained a few facts as to their prison treatment. Both men' who are yet quite young, look f-irly well considering their eleven j ears' experience of prison regimt. The youngest brother. Luke bears ninct tiaccs of gaol discipline. Ha is very pale, and complains of an internal complaint, la reply to my queries, Tim Delahunty informed me that, after being sentenced by Judge Barry, at Cork, a tre '82 Winter Assizes, he and bis brother were at once removed to Mountjoy Prison. Their sentence was for life. At Mountjoy they pj.ent the fi^t fifteen months of their weary imprisonment. Where were you Btnt to tbtn ? Luke was left in Mountjoy, bat I was sent to Chatham with a batch of Dineteen others, amongst whom wer« some of the Ptccnix Park prisoner*, the Crcssmsglen conspiracy pnpomre, and a Cork *aan. There were at that time a number of the ''djnamite" prisoners in this giol, and they were treated very hardly, In fact, all tbe Irish prisioners were treated very hardly wl lie in t'.is prison, and I myself got » blow of a key from a warder on tbe chest while I w*b standing naked one day, from which I have since suffered. I *pat up blood fiom it. As showing the treatment the political prisoners received in Cba'him he then told me how ore day two warders heard some conversation while at exercise in the yard, and a though they knew quite wel . or snould have known, that tbey were quite innocent, th°y pulled out two of the Irish

prisooert from the ranks for punisbmen*. No matter what was done it wn tbe Irish prisoners were blamed and punished. After nine months in Chatham, Tim Ddlabunty, with with a large batch of feliow-priscners, was returned ;to Downp&trick, where he spent tbe following eleven months cf bis imprisonment. He was then changed to Maryborough, where the remainder of his time waß put in. Questioned as to his treatment in the prisons he named, Delahunty bad nothing in particular to com pi ai a of bis stay in tbe Irish prisons, though gaol discipline was vigorously observed in each of them ; bat he spoke bitterly of what be had undergone in Chatham. He epoke well of tbe present governor of Maryborough Prison, and bis management of the institution. Amongst tbose in hospital in Maryborough at present, he said, were Joe Mullett and Fitzharrif, alms " Skin the Goat," both of whom were not in strong health. Luke waßall the time in Mountjoy Prison, and from him I learned that Dowling, one of the men undergoing imprisonment in connection with the shooting of Constable Cox, in Dublin, in 1882, has lost tbe use of one of his eye*, through an accident in the forge where he was employed? throogh a defective implement. He is not in strong health and an inquiry should be held into his ease.