Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume 14, Issue 24, 14 June 1906, Page 9

Irish News

ANTRIM— Death of a Nationalist Councillor John Ferguson, the leader of the Irish Party in Glasgow and the West of Scotland, who recently sustained injuries by falling when stepping from a car, died the other, day. He had for half a een\h7*FJT f ed o a \, al l th2 great Irish demonstrations in the West of Scotland, and was on terms of close intimacy with Mr. Parnell and the other Irish leaders Mr Ferguson was a native of Belfast, and carried on a large publishing business in Glasgow for many years. Orangeism and Democracy In concluding an address to the members of the Independent Orange Orjder at Ballycarry Mr. Lindsay Crawford, the Grand Master, said the gospel of independent Orangeism was a gospel of peace and toleration, and'already North and South were drawing closer together and realising that the points of agreement that stood outside religious differences were so numerous that if Irishmen co-operated in carrying them out, no time would be left for sectarian and party strife. The same selfish influences that rackrented the farmer into exile had driven .between North and South the wedge of sectarian bigotry and intolerance, but the eyes of the people were opened, and not even the g-ates of hell could prevail against the spirit of unity that was brooding on the waters of desolation and regenerating their country. The Magistracy 1 An Ulster Liberal ' writes in the ' Tribune ' : ' In the two constituencies with -which I am well acquainted —Mid and North Antrim— the disparity in the magistracy has reached to a monstrous pitch. We have lately had an election in each of these constituencies, and, taking the two together,, the Liberal candidates polled within two votes of Those recorded for the Conservatives. But what is the proportion of Tory to Liberal magistrates on the Bench ? The Lieutenant of the County, resident in North Antrim, is a Conservative. Of the thirteen Deputy-Lieutemnts, all are Conservatives ; there is not one Liberal in the lot. And out of a total of el hty-four magistrates, sixty-five are Conservatives, eight a re Nationalists, and enly eleven are Liberals. ARMAGH— A Castle Destroyed About the middle cf April Donacloney Ctistle, near Lurgan, one of the finest residential buildings in the North of Ireland, was destroyed by fire. The castle was the property of Mr. Abram Combe, of Belfast. DOWN— Death of a Distinguished Priest A zealous' priest and a most learned historian and antiquarian has passed away in the person of the Right Rev. Mgr. O'Laverty, P.P., M.R.I. A. Full of years, the devoted pastor of Holy wood, County Down, has gone to his reward. Corn in November 22, 1828, Father O'Laverty was ordained in Clarendon street Friary Church, by the Right Rev. Dr. Whelan, Bishop of Bombay, on November 21, 1851, and, after fourteen years as a curate, was appointed parish priest of Holywood in 1866. -He bitfilb ihe .beautiful church of Holywood, which was solemnly dedicated on June 11, 1871, by the Most Rev. Dr. Dorrian, the preacher be : ng the gifted Dominican, Father Tom Burke, From 1866 till his death Monsignor O'Laverty was devoted to Irish archaeology and history, and he it was who really revived the study of the Irish harp. His best monument, however, will be the scholarly five volumes entailed ' Diocese of Down and Connor, Ancient and Modern.' As late as last Juily he contributed a valuable paper to the ' Ulster Journal of Archaeology,' in which he made public the fact that in 1859 he supplied the late Father Meehan with the copy of the portrait of Sullivan Beare — which Father Meehan subsequently presented to the National Gallery in Dublin. . , , i i 1 DUBLIN"— A Public Reception On the afternoon of A^ril 21 Miss Maud MacCarthy, tha dd<stin£uis3ie ) d' yqung Aus-taalian violinist, was the recipient of a brilliant reception at the Mansion He use. The Lord Mayor, the Provost of Trinity College, Sir Christopher Nixon, Mr. John Dillon, and "Mr. William Redmond were speakers on the. occasion. The San Francisco Disaster On April 23 a meeting of citizens, called by the Lord Mayor, was held at the Mansion House, to express sympathy wii<h the> American people in regard to the terrible -disaster at San Francisco. Notwithstanding the statement of President Roose\elt, it was determined to open a subscription, and £250 was subscribed at the meeting. Mr. John M'Neill, vice-president of the Gaelic

League, stated that the League would not touch the £3000 lnw y Hhl!j SS * r o£ ed » S ? n Fraoicisco. Archbishop Walsh subscribed £25. Resolutions of sympathy with the sufferers were passed by nearly every public body i» IreDeath of a Well-known Citizen of S^um** tool 55 T P lace recently at Fernside, KUliney, an of SJS, H^ n f on Findlater, at the advanced m?««+r ?y « o The dece^sed knight was a D.L. and magistrate for County Dublin, and had filled during his varied career many positions of honor. Proposed Boot Factory in a letter to the press, Rev. T. A Finlav S J states that a Mr. Hegartv.'of Boston, u!s if'is wili! mf,h?nn P r ■"?^. £im worth ol modern boot-making mach nery in Dublin, capable of. turning out 300 pairs a o \ J , suit , abl <" Premises are provided and £6000 subscribed locally. Papal Honor "J? understood that o Tidal intimation has been UTtr f' th f *£> H,°lyH ,° ly Father has been graciously pleaHnVn™ k th 5- dlgnity of Do^stic Prelate to his Rr g rßev On Dr. e ManniS U ' iShe^ Pießideilt ° f MayU °° th ' th * Trinity College A cable message received last week stated that a noyai Commission had beon set up to inquire into Trinity College. In connection with this matter a letter wnich appeared in a recent issue of the London ' Standard, from Archbishop Walsh, shows that the College is a thoroughly Piotestant institution as represented by its governing body. The government of Trinity College (writes his Grace) is shared by two bodies— the Board and the Council. The Board consists of the Provost and thci sevQn, Sorttorf Felljows. The .sevun vS,eni'or Fellows are Protestants, and, moreover, a majority of them though this is in no way indicated in the list in the College Calendar, are Protestant clergymen. The Provost also is a Protestant. Now, as to the Council lhis consists of .seventeen members— the Provost exofiicio, and lfi elected members, representing various bodies, or classes,' in the. College and the University. To avoid a needless intrusion on ytur space, I can deal with the religious composition of the Council briefly, by stating that of its 17 members, 16 are Protestants so that there is but one Catholic— Dr. Starkie, the Resident Commissioner of National Education in Ireland Coupling this with the facts that the College Board is without exception, Protestant, that half of its members are Protestant clergymen, and that the majority of its members, ineludi<>g the Protest, are either Protestant clergymen or ta*-e an acti c part in the management of the affairs of tho Protestant Church in Ireland, your readers will have little dificulty in coming to a conclusion as to whether Trinity Gol'ege is dominated by a Protestant go\ernina; body .cr not. KERRY— Proposed Recreation Hall A large and representative meeting of the people of Valentia has been held at the Chapeltown, under the presidency of the Rev. Father Keane, to consider the advisability of erecting a new recreation hall in Knightstown. The rev. chairman made the gratifying announ> cement that Sir Maurice Fitzgerald, Bart., Knight of Kerry, had given a site for its erection. The favor is enhanced by the fact that the site given is a most suitable one being situated in the most central part of the ■village. A ropresentath c committee was formed, with the Rev. Father Keane, P.P., as president ; Messrs. A. O'Driscoll, J.P., and D. CTSullivan, A.A.T. Co., as vicepresidents ; Dr. O'Driscoll, M.D., as hon. treasurer ; and Messrs. J. O'Ricrdan and B. A. Tracy as hoa. secretaries. LIMERICK— Boating Fatality A sad boating fatality occurred on the Shannon on Sunday, April 15-. A party of six young men went for a sail en the river, and were going under canvas about three miles from the city on the' stretch opposite Coonagh, when, through some cause or other, the boat'vvas caisizrd and five of the occupants were drowned. The only man who escaped was one by name Punch, who chins; to the keel until rescued. The men drowned were brothers named Browne, and three young men named Creamer, Connery, and Lynch. MEATH— A Venerable Religious At the advanced age of 86 years, % and the GOth of her religious life, Sister Philomena Mcnaghan, Mount St. Michael's, Claremorris, peacefully passed to her eternal reward on April IS. The deceased lady was a sister of the Very Rev. Dean Monaphan, P.P., Tubter, Moate. Five years ago she celebrated her golden jubilee in religion.

TYRONE— A Centenarian Mr. George Fletcher, of Killary, Pomeroy, County Tyrone, died on April 21 at the age of 11« years. The deceased was some time ago presented by the King with a gold sjnuff-box, Fletcher being the oldest British subject. Departure of a Priest Much regret is felt by 'he people of Dromore, County Tyrone, at the departure of Rev. Father Maguire to Tempo. He was the pioneer of the Irish Revival in Dromore and the surrounding country. During the past eight years he inaugurated several movements for the betterment of the people among whom he lived. WESTMEATH— A Well-known Lady Passes Away On April 20 the death occurred of Charlotte Mildred Marquise de la Bedoyere, Rosemead House, Delvin, Ccxunty Westmeath. The deceased lady was well known in the local life of the district, and much regret is expressed aU her death. She was a member of the Delvin Rural District Council and of the Board of Guardians of that Union. She had been ailing for some time. Her two sone, Count and Viscount de la Bedcyere, were with her in her last hours. She was the daughter of the late Lord Greville, of Clonyn Castle, Delvin, and sister cf the present Lord GrevilJe and of the Hon. P. E. Gre-ville-Nugent, Clonyn Castle. Her mother was heiress and daughter of the Marquis of Westmeat'h. 6 GENERAL Priests Pass Away Two well-known Northern priests passed away the other day— the Rev. Patrick Magee, Upper Badoney, County Tyrone, and the Rev. Terence Conlon, Donaghmoyne, CarrickmaCTOss, diocese of Clogher. The former was forty years pastor of the parish in which, he died, and the latter about eleven years pastor of Donaghmoyne. Both have left many memorials of their zeal in the sacred ministry in the shape of improved schools and , „, , | U <J The Police According to a return presented to Parliament with reference to the Royal Irish Constabulary, the Catholics are 75 per cent, among the constables, &7 per cent, among the acting sergeants, 72 per cent, among the sergeants, 67 per cent, among the head constables, 29 per cent, among the district inspectors, and only 11 per cent, among the county inspectors. There is thus shown in the clearest way how as the policeman ascends the ladder o-f promotion the fact of his being a Catholic tells against him in increasing; ratio. The Ulster Unionists probably resent the fact Ihat there should be any Catholics in the force at all, while the Nationalists certainly loathe a system in which promotion is so clearly determined by belonging to the faith of the minority. Labour Members and Ireland Mr. James O'Grady, Labor Member for East) Leeds, has written a notable letter to Mr. John O'Callaghan, of Boston, secretary for the United Irish League of America, in which he declares that the Labcr movement will throw its whole influence and voting strength on the side of Irish aspirations. Jn the very first division that took place, Mr. O'Grady says, twenty-eight of the Independent LaT)>or party voted on the side of the Irish cause. He himself made his maiden speech, in accordance with instructions from his leader, Mr. Keir Hardie, on the question of Home Rule for Ireland. ' The Irish Party can now be said,' according to Mr. O'Grady, ' to have a total of 112 — eighty-two Nationalists and thirty Independent Lalbor men.' ' I venture to say,' Mr. O'Grady •continues, ' that within the next six years., if the Liberal Government remains in power that length of time, measures will be carried for Ireland of such a character that the steps to ultimate, Home Rule will be very short.'