Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3, 19 January 1905, Page 9

Irish News

ARMAGH— A Centenarian There is living m the townland of Ballymore, near Tanderagee, an old man named John Kainey, who ha* celebrated his 105 th birthday. He is still hale and hearty and in possession of all his faculties. Notwithstanding; his great age Kainey is able to read ordinary print without spectacles. All his life he has been an inveterate smoker, and at present consumes two ounces of strong tobacco per week. For the lengthened period of 51 years this remarkable old man, who is now living with his son, was employed as land steward. He is the representative of a hardy stock, one of his uncles having lived to the extraordinary age of 113, and another being in his 112 th year wihon he died. At no time during his long career dia Kainey indulge in alcoholic beverages t|O excess. CAVAN — Science Lecturer The Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction has filled tiie vacant Lectureship in Organic Chemistry in the College of Science by the appointment of Mr. Alphons'us J. P. O' ( Farrelly, M.A., F. R.U.I. Mr. O'Farrelly, who was educated at St. Patrick's College, Cavan, anjd University College, Dublin, has had an exceptionally brilliant career m the Koyal University. He graduated In Arts in 1899, taking first place with' first-class honors in chemistry and experimental physics. In 1900 he t\ook first place at the M.A. Degree examination in the same subjects, and was awarded a studentship ; and in 1901 he obtained the highest distinction iji the gift of the University, winning a Junior Fellowship in Chemistry a)nd Physics. Since then, Mr. O'Farrelly has devoted himself to original research in dhemistry. In t<hc qourse ot the last four years he has worked in the laboratories of- the most distinguished chemists in Huriope — Vant' H'ofl of Berlin (who was awarded the Nobel prize throe years ago), Ostwald of Leipzig, arid Moissan of Pans, the manufacturer of diamonds by means of electric furnace. The results of Mr. O'Farrelly's icsearches have been published mainly in the ' Annals of the Prussian Academy.' CORK — A Record in Engineering: By the completion at Queenstown (Irelanid) on November 7 of the laying of a submerged main at a d'dpth of N6tt, across the channel in Cork Harbor which separates Queenstown Irom the (rovernmeint island of Haulbowline, a record m hydraulic engineering has been established. In no part of the world, it is state/d, have pipes been laid at such a depth for a similar pmpose. The work was carried out for the Queenstown Urban District Council, which umdertook, at the request of the Admiralty, to give an ample supply of pure water to the naval dockyard of Ilaulbowline, where upwards of 500 men are employed. When the engineers first designed the work it was thought by experts to be impracticable owing to the great doptFTof water in the channel, and because of the exceedingly irregular nature of the bottom, which chiefly consisted of hard, jajrgod limestone rocks. The submerged mam is about 2000 ft vi length, anl consists of specially cast 0m internal diameter ball and socket jointed pipes. DUBLIN— Good Work of the Christian Brothers The Master of the Rolls had before him recently an interesting case as to the custody of a child named Keelan into which the question of "rehgio,n entered, the father being a Catholic and the mother a Protestant. 'Ihe lather wasi allowed to selo'ct a' school in| 'which the child is to be educated, but the mother is to have unrestrained access to her son. In giving judgment his Lordship paid tribute to the good work the Christian Brothers were doing. Death of a Barrister The death is announced of Mr. John O'Mahony, barrrster-at-law, which took place in Ilowth. Mr. O'Mahjony had a multitude of friends, and his loss is specially mourned by his old colleagues on the Press, and by his brethren at the Bar. A Ladies' Choir The Irish Ladies' Choir of Dublin, one of the best mjusical organisations of Km ope, will make a short tour of the United Stales and Canada in the autumjn of 1905. Two years ago this chorus was founded by Mme. Coss-lett-Heller, a celebrated Welsh stoprano, who became attracted, by the beauty ol the voices of the young Irish girls whom she met. Choral singing is an important part of Welsdi social life, and Madame Heller brought over to Dublin the best ideas and traditions of the Eistedfod. Beginning with her pupils, she formed the nucleus of a singijng club. Rare voices were brought into

the organisation from time to time until it numbered £f ? ';f- hu * d i ed ; An lris » N^io^al Ch^oir was the object in the mind of the promoter, and with this idea in view, the old melodies were arranged for female voices anjl made prominent on the concert programmes of the choir Some of them were sung in Gaelic. At tne Dublin *cis Ueoil of 1903 the choir carried off the first prize lor choral work, and since then has been the winner in every competition in Ireland, England and Wales where it has been entered. For tine American tour lihirty of the best voices have been selected. Every singer in the company will be a soloist of reputation and a prixe-winner in musical contests. QALWAY— The Land Act Mr. John Dillon, M.P., writing to the Clerk of the luam Union, in reply to a resolution forwarded to him by that body on the causes of the failure of the Land Act, says tine wle boycotters of the Act are Mr Wyndhiam, and toe Government, who refused to accept the amendments of the National Convention, pressed by the Imh Party ; and the Uonnaught and other Western landlords who have blocked the operation of the Act by demanding exorbitant prices, refusing to part with the grass ranches, rciusing to allow their estates to be declared congested, and making the most cruel and unscrupulous use of arrears to coerce their tenants intp agreeing to unreasonable terms. KERRY— Drowning Fatality Towards the ond of November a a cry sad and shocking drowning accident occilrred about five miles from Tralee at a place called Kielbawn, Ballymacelligot, whicih resulted in the death of a respectable farmer named Michael O'Kourke and his wife. It appears that the deceased couple, with a young nephew named Prendenille, left Tralee about 430 on the evening in qiuestion to get to their dwelling-house. They had to cross a stream which, owing to the thaw whicih had set in, was considerably swollen. The horse became unmanageable when crossing the stream, with the result that the car was upset a,nd the occupants thrown under, with the exception of Prenderville, who clung so a tree and escape^ with serious injuiies. KILDARE— A Gulden Jubilee A deputation has waited on the Yen. Archdeacon Germaine to inform him that the beautiful pulpit, which a number of his fncuds had decided to erect in St. Michael's, A thy, to commemorate his golden jubilee, was completed, and praying his acceptance of the tribute to him which the election of the pulpit conveyed. LONGFORD— A Generous Donation '1 he Bishop of Aidagh and Clonmacnoi&e has given a donation of £1100 towards the fund for the erection of a new town hall, library, temperance hall, and Catholic Club rooms in Longford. TIPPERARY-A New Temperance Hall A new temperance hall, purchased and equipped by the Very Ke,v. Canon Flavin, was opened at 'Clonmel recently. Over ldu townspeople have become members, 'lhe Bishop of Waterford has written to Canon Flavin congratulating him on his good work, and giving a subscription of £20 towards the undertaking. Death of Mr. M. Foley On Monday, November 21 (writes a correspondent of the ' Limerick Leader '), there passed away at his residence, Cooe&ne, Birdhili, one who, in the person of Mr. Michael Foley, was Held in the highest esteem by all sections of the community. The late Mr. Foley had been ailing Jor some time, and nothing which' medical skill ■could do was left undone to prolong that life which God in His infinite wisdom thought fit to terminate. The deceased leaves a wife and thrde chilidren to mourn their loss, and much sympathy is felt for tiHem in their sad bereavement. In spite of the inclement weather the funeral was attended by an immense concourse of people. It was, perhaps, the largest ever witnessed in tihe district. The interment was in the family bunal place, Ballinahinch, previous to which a Solemn Kequiem Mass was celebrated at Birdhili church for the repose of the soul of the deceased. The celebrant of the Mass was the Rev. Father Coffey, Castledermott, Kildare (nephew), Key. P. Hennessy, O.S.A. (brother-in-law) doacon ; Rev. Father Devane (cousin), subdeacon ; and Rev. Father Riordan, Newport, master of ceremonies. The late Mr. Foley was a brother of the esteemed pastor of Temulca, Canterbury, Very Rev. Dean Foley, an* of the Rev. Father Foley, of Taree, in the diocese of Maitland, and uncle ot the Rev. Father Coffey, South Dunedin. WESTMEATH— MidIand Railway Chairman The Hon. Richard Nugent, the new chairman of the Mihliand Railway Company, is a younger son of the ninth Earl of Westmqath, who, succeeding to his distant

cousin, the Marcfuis, broitght back to Catholic hands the anciemt titles ot l':arl of Wcstmeatjh (1621) and Baron DeLviin (1175). This mnlh Kail was the heir of the junior or Catholic branch of the Nugents, and always has been known before succeeding to the Earldom as ' Lord Riverston ' This title of Riveiston was one of the six ' '89 J'eerages,' the history of which is so interesting. In the year 1689 King James the Second, then being in his Kingdom of Ireland, of which he was de jure and de taeto Ring, made six Pccis of Ireland, whose names and lilies were :— Rkrnrd Talnoi Duke of Tyrccnnell ; Valentine Browne, Viscount Kenmarc , Ju.stim McCarthy, \ l.Muount Mountcashcl , Alexander Fitton, Baron Fit-ton ; John L'ourke, Baron Bourke . anl r i homas Nugent, Baron Riveiston. It is the belief of the best lawyers that all these peerages were perfectly good in law, but they were never acknowledged by the Sta'e, and their holders were never allowed to take their seat^ in the House of Lords. All the six titles have now ceased to exist. The titles ot l'yrccmell, Fitton, and Mountcashel became extinct by the failure of male heirs. The bearer oi the Jacobite title of Kenmare was made an English Earl, and the ' Lord Bounke ' and ' Lord Kiverston ' of their day are now represented by their descendants, the Marquis of Channcarde and the &arl of Westmeat'h. GENERAL Aid from America The National Trustees ol the Irish Parliamentary Fund received drafts, totalling £4000, from the United Irish League of America dining the month of November An Irish Exhibit The announcement that the entire lush exhibit now in St. Lo.ms is to be on show in New "\ ork for se\eral weeks prior to shipment to Ireland is recched with much satisfaction in that city. This suggestion of temporary transfer to New York seems to ha\e emanated from Mr. John Redmond, who, in a letter to Mr Thomas. F. Hanlcy, the President of the Irish Industrial Exhibition at St Louis, urged him to this cry step Madiscn Square Gardens is the place fixed upon for Hie display in New \ork, and a committee, including Mi. Bourke-Cochran, Judge Morgan O'Brien, Receiver Goff, and the Presidents of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Irish Athletic League, has already taken the project in hanvl. A Fighting Tune Apropos of President Roosevelt's pronounced eulogy on the Irish tone of ' Garryowcn,' which he described at the St. Louis World's Fair as ' the greatest fighting tune in the world,' it may be of interest to point out (writes a correspondent of the ' Freeman's Journal ') that the routing melody dates from about the year 17 15 and was set to the present words in 1775. Like ' St. Patrick's Day ' (winch is of earlier date, and was played at the battle of Fonteuoy), it became a fa\orite nilarchiing air m tiie regimental bands- of the Hi it ish army, especially where Irish companies predominated There is evidence that it was played tluough flic Peninsula campaign, t uvi it certainly came into prominence in 180') Its eailicst ap'pearnmcc in piint was as a halfs(heet so.ng, with musiv, issued by Monis Ihme, rf Injblin, ivni 17(17 In the secorfcl atimhet of tilt" ' IrKh Melodies,' published in 1808, Tom Mooie adapted the air to tne words 'We may roam through this world like a ohild at a feast.' The Pig Trade Some idea of the Aery cxtenshc character of the Irish pig trade, so highly threatened in one of its branches by the English Hoard of Agriculture im its regulations regarding swmio lever, may be obtained Horn the fact that the mimber of pia;s' either slaughtered at home or exported e\ery year reached in all tihe enornvous figure of 1,3h0,51f) animals The actual mimlers exported annua'ly \ary irom 560,000 to 6,17,000, or from 11 to 56 per eeftit. of the whole number e\ery year, tlv a\erage belong 600,000 There has been an increase in the' numbers of pigs annually in recent years, both in regard to lat pigs and stores The tate of increase in tine former clas.si is one and a halt tinier as pjeat as tone rate ot inciease in the latter The number of swine exported tor lcedin^ purpose-, to Great Butam is \ery sma'l. Thcf Irish railways earned in 1903 as many as 33,163 pigs in excess of the previous year. The number ot outbreaks of swine fe\er in Ireland last year was 175, that is to say, theic was one outbreak for every 7000 animals either slaughtered or exporteH. It may also be noted as a matter of interest that the number of outbreaks fell from 7619 in 1894 to 175 in 1903, a fact which testifies eloquently to the efforts of tiie local bodies in Ireland to stamp out the disease. The number of pii^s to the thousand acres in Ireland is 68, while the number of pigs to Wie thousand a,cres in England is 60.