Irish News.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXV, Issue 10, 20 August 1897, Page 9

Irish News.

(From Contemporaries.) CORK.— New Monastery at Kinsale.— On Tuesday, June is, the Most Rev. Dr. O'Callughan, Bishop of Cork, opened the new monastery for the Presentation Brothers at St. Mary's Mount, Kinsale. The Brothers have had some difficulty in procuring a suitable site for this monastery, but they have at last, through the kindness of Mr. \V. Prendtrgast, Kinsale, purchased v beautiful plot of ground overlooking the Bandon River, on which they have built their monastery. It is now nearly six years sin* 1 tne Brothers settled in the town. The Brothers have left nothing u:.done to make it equal to similar institutions, but in doing this they have incurred a very heavy debt.

DONEGAL. — The St. Columba Commemoration at Gartan. — As mentioned in our it-sue of last week the thirteenth centenary of the anniversary of St. Columbkille was celebrated on Wednesday, June It, in the diocese of Eaphoe in a manner worthy of the memory of one of Ireland's greatest saints. The celebration was held in the midst of a grand and picturesque mountain scenery. Its programme was not confined to the religious ceremony, but included Irish. Bpeech, story and song. The religious ceremony itself was on a grand and impressive scale. It included a High Mass, Benediction, and a Te JJeu m on the mountain slope where the saint was born. There was a sermon in Irish. The proceedings that followed were a great Irish revival. But the programme of events, important as they undoubtedly were, did not so impress the beholder as the religious fervour, one might say the enthusiasm, of the multitude assisting at it. The peasantry for miles around were walking toGartan all through the night. At day-break there was a very large concourse already assembled. The flagstone which marks the spot where the saint was born, and the ruin hard by of the little church which he founded, were objects of careful and reverent scrutiny. The rising sun was saluted with the prayers of the assembled people invoking the intercession of Columba for themselves, their families and their country. The common form of salutation was Dia agux, Muir agux, (\.lum agut, "God and Mary and Columba be with you." The ceremonies held on the mountain side recalled to many memories of the penal day. when Mass was customary in Ireland on the mountain wide, and many of tho^e present contrasting the spectacle where the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice was held in triumph, and with full choral accompaniment, with that presented in the penal times when the people assisted at the Sacrifice under terror ot the momentary invasion of the yeomanry. The attendance was an enormous one at the time for the commencement of the sacred ceremonies at Gartan, and at the time the clergy arrived ttie hills around were quite black with the lines of people converging on the scene. The saorul ceremonies opened in Leiterkenny with Mass, celebrated at halt-past se\en by his Eminence Cardinal Lo^ue. The church was crowded. The choir bang the hymn ot St. Columba taken trom mi old Ofliee of St Columbkille. Later thj pioci-hiun st irtud trmu Li-t erkenny tor Gartan. A detour was made so mto tak (i in TompL'douglas. where St Columbkille w.i* baptized on Dceember *\ a.d •">2l, in the doorw.iy in the old church which stands within the ohur h)ard theie Gartan was reached at ele\en o'clock A \ isit, was paid 10 the ti agst >ue which marks the place ">f the birth ot ttie saint. H.to he w.i". born on December 7, ."ill 1 . Alter the ceremonies Kilmac einian was \wted, where the saint was iduc ited lvtore he went to the schools in Clonard and Glo-snevin. The Lean nan flows by Kilm.ierennan. and Owen Connellan records a beautiful 1. geud tint the mor got its name, which means " the follower."' because in the mind of the people ot Gurtun the waters followed tlie saint when lie letl them for Kilmacrennan. The road to the natal spot It ads across the Leannan. Gartan was quickly reached, and ttm cer monies commenced shortly after eleven o'clock. High Mass was celebrated in the field close to the spot where the saint was born, and only a short distance from the remain* ot the ancient church which he founded, the first of the great number that his energy raised up in this country and in Scotland. A tempoiary altar was erected surmounted by a canopy, and was beautifully decorated with liowers. A large banner with the (it;ure ot the So\er»ign Pontiff w.is raisid over the canopy. On thertrtdos was an Irish inscription — .1 CoLiunetllt yu'iiUi Ortimn, '"O Columbkille pray for us." The sacred ministers were robed m white vestments. His Kminence Cardinal Logue, robed in cappa inagiia, and wmnng the Cardinal's red hat. pi elided at the temporary throne. '1 he eluvr, which King the music admirably, consiotcd of the n.embets ot tlie choir ot the new Cathedral, Letterkeuny, and was conducted by the Rev. J. Sheridan, C.C., Falcarragb. The lliyh. Mass was followed by Benediction of the Most Holy Sacrament, admiriHtert d by his Eminence Cardinal Logue. A feolttnn Te JJeitrn was th< n sung. Besides Cardinal Lo^ue, the Most Itev. Dr O Donnell, Bishop of ltaphoe, was also present, as well as a large number ot clergy. The sermon, in Gaelic, was preached by the Very Rev. A. M'Xelis, P.P., Ternion.

DOWN.— St. Columba Celebration in Holywood.— On Thursday, June 17, the impressive ceremonies iv honour of the thirteenth cuntena'y ot the death of Saint Columbkille took place at Holy wood, a picturesquely situated town on the '-bon-- ol Bellast Lough. The parish priest of the ])l.u:e is the Very Itev. James O'Laverty, P.P , M R.1. A., author ot the luminous history ot the ot Down und Connor, and a (listing uished antiquary. The K-huroh, wh eh is a magnificent edifice built at great cost, is dedicated to iSt. Coluiubkille The panegyric of tlie sa nt was preached by the Very Rev. Edward U'Laverty, C. SS. It., Rector, Dundalk. Af'er the Mass the following letter from the liight Key. Monsignor Kelly, ltector ot the Irish College, Rome, was read by the Very Rev. Edward O'Laverty, C. SS. It. :: — •• Colh-gio Irelande-e, Roma, 3rd June, 18 ( J7. The Very Rev. James O'Laverty, P.P., llolywood, County Down, Ireland. — Very R_:v. and Dear Father —

The Holy Father has been plea-ed to authorise me to transmit his congratulation to jourstlf ;md parishioners upon the succe s which Divine Providence through the intercession of St. Columbkille granted to your mogt arduous and most commendable undertaking of building, furnishing, and endowing a parochial church in llo'ywood. His Holiness desires that the preachers and also the Catholic newspnp'rs would proclaim the great merits of our forefathers in the Christian faith, and finally the Apostolic Benediction is cordially imp irted to yourself, to your parishioners, and to all who assii-ted in the good work of building and endowing the church. My tfear Father O'Laverty, your humble servant in Christ. Michael Kelt^y." Afterwards tho Bltssed Sacrament was borne in procession through the church grounds, the children of the boys' school* walking in surplice and soutane and the pupils of the girla' schools in white costumes and wearing veils and wreaths. DUBLIN.— Board of Works Cabinet-Making Contract : The English Order Cancelled. — The livening Telegraph of Saturday. June 12. says : — Many persons have been interested and not a little puzzled by an advertisement which appeared in Thursday's Dublin papers calling for new tendtr^ lor the supply of office furniture, for a period of three years, to the several public buildings in charge of the Commissioners of Public Works. In view of the fact that it was announced that this contract was given last November for a term of gome years to a Bristol firm this advertisement for new tenders seems very unusual It is explained, however, we believe, by the fact that the Bristol contract has been broken, aud in all probability the fresh tenders will now be confined to Dublin. This result is chiefl}' due to the exertions of Mr. John Dillon, M.P., who has been pressing Mr. Hanbury very hard upon the subject, and who insisted on the whole correspondence with regard to the contract, as well as the contract itself, being produced for inspection. Xo doubt when Parliament re-assembles we shall have some interesting light thrown on the matter, consequent on the intervention of Air. Dillon. It is to be hopid that the authorities of the Board of Works w ill profit by this lesson, and that we shall hear no more attempts to send w ork out of the country, which, according to the tenour of the Parliamentary regulations, should be done hero by Irish workmen at fair wages. Dublin furniture manufacturers and their workmen are to be congratulated upon this remarkable collapse of an attempt to transfer elsewhere work that they have so long enjoyed and executed so creditably. Philanthropic Reform Association.— The first annual meeting in connection with the Philanthropic Reform Association was held a short time ago in the Central Lecture Hall, WeKmoreland stroit. Dublin. Dr. J. E. Kenny presided, and there was a fairly l.ir^o attendance. The h«n. se> retary, Mr. C. Eason, junr., submitted the annual report. The chiiinn.in referred to the work done by the association as mentioned in the report. H>' said that a large amount of attention had been given, among other important matter^, to the sid'iniiistrauon of the poor laws and to the nur-ing a r.ingeincat*. in union hospitils. It their association did nothing eUu but in prove tlie condition ot the nursing in those in^tru'ious t hoy would perform a huhly-itnportant and good work. 1 h* 1 report w is a'iopud on tlie n.otion of Mr. 11. J. Allen, seconded l>y Mr Cha:lis Daw -oi.. Mr T. W. ltuvtll, in the course of an address, ob-erwd that Homctbing had been said ab ut nursing in their io r 1 i\v infirmaries', lie thought that nameless horrors were suil'ercil by the sick poor, not troir any ill-intention on the part of the [m. uilians, bub incuse guardians in the country parts of Ireland and Ln^l.uid could not rise beyond their environment (hear, heai) It you talked about a trained nurse to a guardiiin in a country put of Inland ho would think, c\cn though he might not say it, that he had not a tiained nurse at home, and that the pauper could do without one. Although he could hsiidly say it here, because the ord-r had not yit bpen issued, undou tedly before many months were. o\er a system would bu in operation in England which would have the erl'ect ot removing the last grievance in this matter (bear, hear). Public opinion should be quickened and stung on this queotion. With wider information as to the facts and the needs of the situation, a Bill would probably be carried that would do the work that the Government and thin association intended to do sooner and better than the Bill that hud been introduced and withdrawn. G-ALWAY.— Aid for the Evicted Tenants.— A meeting was held in liallina-loe, on May 3. to arr mge tor a collection tor the E\ icted Tenants' Fund. Father Heemm, president ot Kt. Mieha 1 s Seminary, oc< upied the chiiir, and among those present vteie Father Xoliuly and the leading re presentutives of all sections ot Natit-iia'ists in the town. Subscriptions to the amount of £.'2~) were received, and collectors appointed to wait on thp people at their homes. The priests. a!u r paving a subscription of £1 each, volunteered to go theiiisehes with the collectors. KING'S COUNTY. -Poor Law Contest in King's County : A Signal Nationalist Victory.— At the meeting: of die Board ot Guardians, on June 12, the clerk stated that Mr. John Kilinartiin, of Balhnuloghan, had been elected poor law guardian tor the Frankfort electoial division in the room ot the late Mr. James E. Gamble. The 1 \otmg was as under — Kilmartin (XationuliM) ... ... Kill Jackson (Tor\ ) ... .. ... 4\) Majority ... tiO The defeated candidate (Mr. Francis Jackson of Longford House) has bern a member of the Board for many years. lie beloDgs to an influential and personally a most popular connection. But for very cogent reasons he w,is opposed on purely political grounds, and us a protest against tlie cruelty of the landlord party in this part of the country bince the new Land Act came into operation. The victory was greater than the Nationalists expected.

MAYO.— Catholic New Castlebar Church : A Blessing from the Pope. — His Grace the Archbishop of Tuam arrived at Castlebar towards the end of June, and visited the new church buildings, which he was proud to observe were progressing rapidly. The appeal for funds h;\s been most 1 berally responded to and already several large subscriptions have been received by Father r Lyons to assist in the erection of his new church. The Archbishop of Tuam has forwarded £300 (with an encouraging letter) ; Bishop MacCormack, ,£2."> ; Father Lyons, H'.Vh) : Mr. Thomas M'Cormack, J P., £200; Anonymous. £200 ; per brother Paul Carney. £200 ; Mr. James Faulkner. J I. (first instalment), .Clo<> ; Sisters of Mercy, £100 ; Mr. Joseph Sh-rid,m, £I()<> ; Mr. M. MaeDunagh, £100 ; and the remainder subscriptions from C.">o to £1. The following letter has been received from Rome: — "Collcrio Irlandese, Roma, 3rd June, IS'.)7. Very Rev. P. Lynn-, PP.. C.i-tlebar, Ireland. Very Rev. and Dear Father. — The Holy Father has been pleased to authorise me to inform you that among the grand works of religion in which the Irish prie-ts and people are zealously cngng. d that of providing a new and suitable church for your important district of Castlebar, renowned for its sluire in the nob'e-t traditions of our ancestors — martyrs for the faith which sanctifies our lives, anl shows us the glory of our he ivenly destiny — rommends itself eminently to his interest. Accordingly he sends his Apostolic bles-mg to yourself and to your parishioner-, and to all who give material aid to the perfect carrying on of your pious and pastoral undertaking. My dear Father Lyons, with much respjet, sincerely yours in Christ, M. Kelly, Rector." Before leaving town hio Grace presided at a conference of clergy of the deanery.

ROSCOMMON.— Insanity after Eviction : An Evicted Tenant Starving. — At the weakly meeting of the Castlerea Board of Guardians on Saturday, June 12, Relieving Officer Higgins, Ballaghahderreen, produced a petition which was forwarded to him by Mary Fleming, Curraghogill, who wanted outdoor relief. The petition state 1 that the applicant had five helpless children, the eldest eight years and the j r oungest six months. They were evicted in February last, the consequence of which was that her husband became demented, and is at present an inmate of the Castlebar Lunatic Asylum. Emergency men were planted on their home. Applicant sold everything to try and get back to the little home, and is now, with her five children buffering" from acute hunger. The petition went on, " For God's sake, for the sake of my

five starvirg children, crying for bread, grant in. j-o'nej -one outdoor relief The petition -\vas signe 1 by Rev. John McDenno t, I' I' . , Key Po< 1 Filan, C.C. , Rev. 11. Nannie, C C. : 11. lwnnrly, F Curng in. 1' L.G , Robert King, Domimck Jordan, Michael 1$ >\ le, Martin Mull p in and John Mermnan. The board, alti r win • d s.-a^on, m whidi they were inclined to doubt tht lr ability to a--i t, relerre 1 the matter back to the relieving officer for repmt. TYRONE. — Glebe Tenant's Grievances.— a short tin-u ago a meeting of the gl be te unit- m Dro nore pin-li, County Tyrone, was held in that town — Mr. 11. M. Kml'-y ill" ctvivt hit, presiding — -to consider the grievances mil r whi h I hey laboured. The chairman said that in 15.?!1 5 .?!, 0n racknntul land-, they were compelled to pay twenty-five year.-,' purchase, and till I'-sC, pad four percent, interest, when it was reduced to three and three-quai ters per cent. Now the Land Commission wished to raise it to tour per cent, in order that the principal and interest may be paid m fortynine years, which left them in a worse position than the tenant", who were now purchasing. A number of resolutions protesting against this, calling for agitation and securing Parliamentary influence on the matter, requesting Mr. Murnagh m (me über for the division) to receive a deputation on the subject, and nl-o communicating with Mr. T. \V. Russell. M.P . and Mr. R. M. Dane. M.P., were unanimously pa-sul. WESTMEATH.-Pauper's Grave for an Able Linguist. On Wednesday, June lfi, took ]>lace m Athlone Workhouse the death of an able Irish scholar, Francis O Connor. The d' cea-ed. \v ho was fifty-eight years of age. was for five or six year- an inmate ot the workhous 0 . He was a man of wid > re "i ling and a professor of Oriental languages. He was most rei-icent in life to men ion anything of his antecedents, but it is believed he vva- a nitue of the County RiOscominon. While an inmate ot the workhou-e he was on several occasions visited by distinguished persons staying in Athlone, who were satisfied of the genuineness ot the claims lie made. Amongst them Surgeon-Colonel Charleton, who had lately n turneil froui India, «!Olared him to have a thorough knowledge of several of the native nguages. O'Connor took his discharge from the house to attend the recent Irish Feis, where he contribute I several Gaelic compositions.