Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 29, 16 July 1903, Page 9

Irish News

ANTRIM.— Fire in Belfast The extensive premises of Elliott and Co., blouse manufacturers, Beliast, were destroyed by lire on May 21. The neighboring warehouses of Young's Paraffin Light Co. and Bell and Reid, tea merchants, were extensively damaged. Death of a School Inspector The death occurred at Donaghadee of Pr John Moran, the head Inspector of the National schools in Belfast. Dr. Moran was a native of Limerick,, and had held his position as inspector under the Irish Education Board for close on 30 years. Irish Harps Mr. James Mac Fall, Belfast, has received an order from the Lord-Lieutenant for an Irish harp. His Excellency writers : — Haying heard the small Irish harp recently played in Dublin by Miss Florrie Kerin, 1 was much pleased with the sweet and powerful tone of the beautiful instrument.' These harps are of Irish manufacture, and Jiave been modelled on the ancient harps of the bards. They were the instruments used by the band of harpers from Loretto Abbey, Rathfarnham, led by Miss Florrie Kerin, which played at the recent Oireachtas. The study of the Irish harp has progressed narvellously since the Gaelic League undertook its revival, and the beautiful work of the Belfast maker shows that there are great industrial as well as artistic possibilities in its development. DUBLIN.— The King's Visit It is understood that the Royal party on their visit to Ireland will reside at the Vice-Regal Lodge, Dublin, paying visits from that centre to Cork, to the LordLieutenant at his country scat, Rockingham Castle, Roscommon ; to the Duke of Devonshire, at Lismore Castle, Waterford, one of the loveliest beauty spots in Ireland ; and to Lord Londonderry at his place in County Down. Christian Brothers' Novitiate The event of the week (writes a Dublin correspondent on May 27) is the grand iete in the Rotunda in aid of the Christian Brothers' Training College and Novitiate, Marino. Jt was formally opened by the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor in the presence of a large gathering of the leading citizens of the metropolis, who showed their sympathy with the object in view by the generous manner in which they patronised the countless attractions provided for the public. As the days go by it looks as if the organisers of ' Juverna ' would be rewarded with a golden har\est as a result of their labors on behalf of the great teaching Order. The undertaking, however, is a heavy one, and will iequire the strenfuous efforts of the Christian Brotheis' friends to raise sufficient to defray the cost, which is estimated at £50,000. Speaking at a luncheon given to the members of the executive committee in the Gresham Hotel, Ru"\ . Brother Ilcnnessy said that the Supei ior-Genei al had to prov ide for two larg-e no\ it Kites at an annual expenditure of at lea.st £.10()(). He had to pro\ule for the sick, the decrepit, and the aped, whose work was done, and all of whom, thiough the various houses, had to look to him in order to fe maintained when their life's labor was finished lie had to maintain a large executive of inspectors, school e\aniinf>is, and school organisers, and a large staff for various pm poses m carrying on the work of the institute thioughout the world To meet all these expenses, and nunibei less otheis which he need not specify, required very extensive resources Hence it was that the Superior-Geneial was obliged to have recourse to tho ' Juverna ' bazaar and to a collection not alone in Ireland but in countiies. outside of it to meet the necessities of the case. GALWAY.— The Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy m Ballinasloe celebrate this year the golden jubilee of their advent in the town. Irish Language and Literature On the occasion of a visit to Ball.\haunis the Most Rev. Dr. Hoaly was presented with addi esses from tho priests and people, the Children of Mary, and the Gaelic League In replying, his Grace referred to the progress which had been made in the parish since he last visited it, about 20 years ago In the meantime the beautiful convent which crowns the eminence over the town had be^n erected. Many other improvements for the spiritual and temporal welfare of (he people had been made. As to the words of welcome contained in the address from the Gaelic League, he said that ho took the deepest inteiest in the preservation of the language and literature of the country. If the language were to perish the literature and national spirit would perish with it. He had given the greatest part of his life to the study of ancient Irish history and literature and tho folklore of Ireland. Tn conclusion, he thanked the members of the League for the excellent work they had done. KERRY.— Death of a Priest Tho death is announced of the Rev. James Neligan, P.P., Brosna, which took place at the residence of his brother, Rev. M Neligan, P.P.. at Beaufort, after a protracted illness. The deceased clergyman was a native of Dingle, and was 63 years of age. Father Neligan was a great favorite with his people in all the missions in which he labored.

Golden Jubilee The golden jubilee of the Yen. Archdeacon O'Leary, P.P., V.F., was celebrated recently in the parish church, Castleisland. The ceremonies w&re of a most impressive character, and were participated in by a biff gathering of priests and people. During his 50 years in the sacred ministry the Yen. Archdeacon has labored with indeJatigable zeal and solicitude for the spiritual welfare of the flocks committed to his care throughout the Kerry diocese, and during the eight years that he has presided over the spiritual destinies of the Castleisland parish his zeal and devotion to the interests — temporal as well us, spiritual -of his flock, have won for him the warmest a flections of his people. During his brief term in charge of the parish ho has built handsome new convent schools and a new presbytery, and has, in fact, at all times, devoted himself earnestly and zealously to the promotion of the moral and material welfare of his people. That his faithful flock are not unmindiul of his many services to them was, indeed, amply testified by their presence in large numbers at the ceremonies, and by the many addresses and congratulations and presentations made to him on the auspicious occasion. KILDARE.— The New Member Mr> Denis Kilbride, the new member for South Kildare, first entered the House of Commons on the arm of the renowned Mr. Joseph Biggar, who introduced him early in the session of 1888. He returned to the House m the Parliaments of 1892 and 1895, and the omission to return him at the General Election in 1900 seems to have been due to some oversight. In Ireland, where platform oratory flourishes, Mr. Kilbride Is reputed to be ono of the best of platform speakers. Mr. Kilbride held a fa,rm rented at over £.700 a year on Lord Lansdowne's Queen's County estate at the time of his eviction as a Plan of Campaign leader in 1887. Clongowes college The Clongowes Union, an association of past pupils of the famous Jesuit College in Kildare, which has turned out so many distinguished Irishmen from Meagher to I'alles, held its sixth annual meeting at the college on Sunday, Way 21. An enormous influx of visitors attended, and the weather conditions were ideal. Sir Francis Cruise, M I")., who presided, is one of the most distinguished medical men in Ireland, and is one of the highest living authorities on the ' Imitation.' Lord Chief. Baron Palles was re-elected president of the Union, and the vice-presidents chosen were: Mr. John E. Redmond and General Sir William Butler. Judge Barry was elected honorary treasurer, and the other office-bearers were reappointed. LOUTH —No Crime in Drogheda The sub-sheriff of Louth had to invest in a pair of while gohes for presentation to the County Court Judge Kisbey at Droghoda qiuarter sessions. There was no criminal business. ME Smallpox through the Post At the meeting of the Dunshaughlin Board of Guardians it was stated that the postman, whose duty it was to receive and deliver letters at the wot 1 house, had been admitted into the hospital sufiei ing trom smallpox. Jt appears the cause of the outbreak was due to the fact that as some smallpox patients wore in the hospital, the letters he received contained the germs or niiciobes of the disease ROSCOVllVlON,— Compensation Refused r lhe Midland and Croat Wt stern Railway Company claimed £10.">0 in connection with the i ecent accident on the borders of Roscommon. in which a man named Milling was killed and some damage was clone to the permanent way. The popular im| ression is that the accident was caused by the collision of a train with a bogey winch was believed to ha\e been hauled on to the line by a goat tethered to the bogey by some railway emphnee Witnesses swore that they saw the goat tethered frequently to wheels like those found on the line, and other evidence was submitted to show that the lemams nf the deceased quadruped when disinterred had some railway appurtenances, such as telegraph wire, -still clinging to "them. The lailway Company's appeal for compensation from the county was dismissed. A New Church Tn Roscommon a new church, the foundation stone of which was laid on St. Patrick's Pay 1897, is fast appioaching completion. The building, which is ono of tho finest in the pro\ince, is intended to serve a double pury.oso It will take the place of the old parochial church, which was entirely inadequate for the wants of the congregation It is also intended to be a memorial to the late Most Rev I)r Gilloolv who was a native of the town, and whose labors for the spiritual welfare of tho people durint" the many years that he ruled over tho diocese of Elphin will loner to remembered. GENERAL Expected Loss ' New Treland ' makes the announcement that Maynooth College, the great seminary of the Irish priesthood will lose over £3000 a year as a result of the redemption of Irish land mortgages under the Land Bill, and Trinity College, Dublin, will lose about £7000 a year. End of the Struggle Mr J E Redmond, M.P., speaking at Burnley (England) last week, declared that the end of the

struggle for Irish rights had fairly arrived. He advised Irish voters in Britain not to pledge themselves upon the fiscal question, but to await the word of command as in 1885. He would not vote on the merits of the fiscal issue, except in the way that would best serve the Irish cause. The Nationalist party were bound to pursue a selfish policy if they wished to see Ireland succawfal. Success of Local Government Local Government in Ireland has been a great and conspicuous success. Contrary to the ominous forebodings of Lord Salisbury and his friends the Irish county and distxict councils have performed the work allotted to them with praiseworthy zeal and public spirit. This statement may appear exaggerated, but it is made on the authority of the annual report of the Local Government Board for Ireland for the year ending March, 1902, which has just been laid on the table of the House of Commons, and derives special interest from the fact that in this report the Local Government Board authorities are able to pass judgment on the work that has been done during the first term of office by the county councils and rural district councils. The Local Government Board speaks in the highest way of the manner in which the county councils and rural district councils ha\e discharged their duties. Irish Minstrelsy The recent purchase of a M'Fall Irish harp by the Lord Lieutenant (says the ' Freeman's Journal ') may help to introduce the national instrument into the salons of our Irish moneyed folk. It is now almost 500 years ago since another Lord Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, became a patron of Irish harpers. From the State papers it appears that Lord Dudley on coming to Ireland as Viceroy, in 1428, was determined to administer justice e\enly between the Irish and AngloTrish. The harsh measures adopted by his predecessors, Lord Furnrvall and Sir John Gray, towards Irish bards and harpers had provoked lamentable reprisals, and so Lord Dudley adopted conciliatory measures, which much encouraged the art of music. His patronage had a stimulating effect for three years ; in fact, until the appointment of his successor, Sir Thomas Stanley, in 1432, and for a time the enactments of the Statute of Kilkenny, as regards minstrels, were utterly ignored. A confirmation of this may be found on tho Patent Itolls of the 15th of Henry VI. (1435), wherein it is stated definitely that ' the Irish mummers, harpers, tinipanists, minstrels, chess-players, rhymers, story-tellers, bards, and othes, contrary to the Statute of Kilkenny, went amongst the English colonists, and exercised their arts and minstrelsies, and afterwards proceeded to the Irish enemies, and led them upon the King's liege subjects.' Coming nearer to our own day, the Duke of Richmond, when Lord Lieutenant, in 1809, purchased two harps from John Egan, the famous harp maker, of 25 Dawson street. Dublin, who added pedals to his harps so as to compote with the French double-action harp, which had been introduced by Sebastian Erard in 1801. A Tribute to the Teaching Orders At the meeting of the Protestant Synod on April 23, the Bishop of Killaloe proposed the appointment of a committee to inquire into the condition of secondary education as affecting the interests of the Chinch of Ireland. He said that m Cork, where he labored for many years, tho principal positions in the iargje mercantile establishments, the positions of clerks, accountants, and, in fact, all remunerate e positions, were occupied by persons v. ho had been pupils of the Christian Brothers. The same thing w-as happening throughout Ireland in e\erv place that the Christian Brothers had established themseUes. This admirable organisation the Christian Brothers, had, he said, spread itself into c^ery centre in Ireland where there was a suflicie'nt number of Catholic children, and following the Christian Brothers they had the Presentation Bt others, another excellent organisation, giying \ cry good education indeed ; and then there were a large number of other religious Orders, and puyuls were being educated and trained in thorough, sound education. ... It had come to this, that the members of the Church of Ireland who wished to give their children better education had to depend on the monastic institutions They all saw where some time ago the diroctois of the Grent Southern and Western Railway Co were attacked for appointing Protestants to positions in the senice of the company in preference to Catholics The directors, the maiority of whom are Protestants, naturally nominated Protestants to positions m their p\\ ing, but after the agitation of the Catholic shareholders, th/> directors came to tho conclusion — and m his opinion it was a -\orv wise conclusion —to opon up these positions to competition This would mean that positions could only bo got in future by eompetitko examination' This entirely satisfied the Catholic shareholders, because they always had plenty of welleducated applicants, thoroughly trained up to Ihe requirements of those very positions. The result would lio that the Catholics will have the whole thing in their own hands when the system of examination camo into operation. He proposed that a committee be appointed to inquire into the present system of primary and secondary education in Church of Ireland schools.