Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 7, 18 February 1909, Page 267

Irish News

ANTRlM— Shipbuilding in Belfast Messrs". EDirland and Wolff secured the ' blue riband ' of the shipbuilding world for 1908. The output of 106,523 tons of shipping, representing an indicated horse-power of 65,840, far exceeds any other firm's record. Belfast has been outside the zone of the labor troubles experienced in the British yards. There is a sort-ol Home Rule in this matter, says a critic, so far as Ireland is concerned, and Belfast has largely been the gainer by it.- In the second place, Messrs. Harland and Wolff build for the North Atlantic Combine, and it would be strange indeed if one or other of tile companies forming part of that great organisation did not make substantial demands on the resources of the Queen's Island works. CORK— A Satisfactory State of Affairs It is satisfactory to hear of one- Irish district (says th?. Irish Weekly) where the people are fairly content because they have work to do. Writing to the Council of the Cork Industrial Development Association, a firm of woollen manufacturers in the village — or, rather, town — of Douglas - say : • You will be pleased to hear that there are no unemployed in Douglas, ,and so far as we are aware, there is not a single ease of distress in the district.' Douglas herereferred to is a place three miles away from the southern capital. Its population in 1901 was 764, and this has probably been doubled since the last census. Two thriving woollen factories not only give vigor and health to the* veins of the village, but give good employment to many men and girls in the surrounding rural districts who would otherwise be compelled to emigrate, or to swell the ranks of those fiercely competing for meagre wages in Cork City. Destruction of a Catholic Hall Early on the morning of December 28 a fire, which threatened to have most disastrous consequences, was discovered in the Gork Catholic Young Men's Society's Hall and before effective measures to check its course could be organised, it destroyed a great part of the building DUBLIN— A Climb Down Owing, no doubt, to pressure of public opinion, the committee of the Royal Dublin Society's Library have climbed down and taken in The Making of Ireland and Its Undoing, by Mrs. Green, which they refused admission to under circumstances which called forth widespread condemnation. KILDARE— A Provincial Passes Away -„ On December 22 there passed away at the ■ Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin, the Rev. Brother Anthony J. Flood, Provincial of the De La Salle Brothers- in Ireland and England. Brother Anthony was a native of Thomastown, near Bathangan, County Kildare, where his family is one of -the most respected in the neighborhood He ]oined the De La Salle Order in London over thirty years ago, and passed his first years of religious life at St Josephs College, Clapham. Since that time he" filled 'with credit many positions of trust in his Order, and he directed the College of the Brothers in London and was subsequently qLTYr y T\ at th TT 6 + head °l St - Industrial School, Manchester. It was under his direction that' this ■ school acquired the distinguished place it has since held ? m °^o inS ? Ji ° nS , of lts class in the Nortn England' " In 1892; at the early age of 35, Brother Anthony was an pointed Provincial of the Order in Ireland? was.apL l MERlCK— Extension of Tillage At a meeting of the County LimerickJcommittee of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, Rev. J Nolan Cappamore presiding, a scheme for the extension of tillage in the country was, on the motion of Mr. John Coleman seconded by Mr. T. W W Bennett, unanimmSy addled The scheme provides (1) that a grant of £1 lO f be made to farmers whose valuation does not exceed £40, and who increase thexr tillage by one Irish acre; (2) that a grant of 15s be made to farmers whose valuation does not exceed £10, and who increase their tillage by half an Irish acre ?tY ?! s^ estl °* °* Lord Emly, it was also decided- ' That ton prizes of 7s 6d each in each of the large rural dia tricts .and Jive of the same amount in each of ?he smaller rural distT.cts be gxven by competition to the labored who have cultivated the whole of their plots in the best manner.' LONGFORD— Member of Parliament Sent to Prison The prosecution of Mr. J. P. Farrell M P „^ OT Aot of Edward 111 -for having 'puSafe certl^o™* n^V^T/T-^ ln a convicti °»- Mr. FarrelTwas ordered to find bail m a personal surety of £200 and two

sureties of £100 each, to keep the peace for twelve months, or in default to go to gaol for six months, without hard labor. He refused to give bail, and was taken into custody and lodged in' Kilmainham Prison. MONAGHAN—A Golden Jubilee On January 6 the Sisters of St. Louis celebrated the golden jubilee of the foundation of their Congregation in Monaghan, for it was on the Feast of the Epiphany, in the year 1859, that the first St. Louis nuns arrived in % Monaghan. . TIPPERARY—A Veteran Nationalist The death is reported of a veteran Nationalist in the person of Mr. Jeremiah Condon, father of Alderman -T. J. Condon, M.P., who passed away at his residence, .Clonmelj on December. 30. Death of a Religious Far beyond the boundaries of the archdiocese of Cashel, in which Doon is situated (says the Freeman's Journal), the news of the demise of. Mother Mary Catherine Ryan will be .received with feelings of the deepest sorrow. A member of an old and illustrious Tipperary family, which has given sons and daughters to -the Church, at a very early age she joined the -Order, of Mercy at their convent, Kmsale. For the last few years she had suffered greatly m health, and had handed over her staff of authority to younger and stronger hands. But to the last she has been a beloved Mother to her deaf children, to whom her memory will be for ever green. On- Tuesday, December 29, she died in the odor of sanctity, the members of her community being around her. A Generous Gift Ri ekt -Rev. Dr. Fogarty, Bishop of " Killaloe, has sent £50 to Nenagh Convent to provide food and clothing for the poor children, attending' the schools. TYRONE— Sad Death of. a Priest The Rev. Patrick Brennan was overtaken in- the storm on the night of December 29, on. his way from Dunganhon to Cookstown, and by over exertion in cycling through the heavy fall of snow became exhausted and succumbed to the severe strain. The deceased's first mission was -in tho parish of Clonoe, Tyrone, where he spent nine years. He afterwards went to Cookstoirn, where he spent almost seven years in missionary duty. In both -Clonoe- and. Cookstown the deceased endeared himself to all, his zeal and indefatigable energy in the cause of religion earning for him universal esteem and admiration. His death has caused profound grief and mourning in both parishes, where* his memory will be revered for many years as a great and ■. good -priest and a kind and generous friend to the poor andiowly. Father Brennan was born in Haggardstown Dundalk. He was nephew of Rey. P. McCartney. PP ' of- Forkhill. ' GENERAL Severe Weather A very severe blizzard was experienced all over Ireland a few days after Christmas. Considerable damage was . done, especially in the North of Ireland, - where its full force was felt. A National Convention A National Convention was held in the Round Roomof the. Mansion House, Dublin, on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. The Convention was of a very representative character. The following were among those entitled to attend according to a fixed scale of representation : — Prelates .and clergy of all denominations, all members of the National Directory of the United Irish League, and delegates of the undermentioned bodies: — Each branch of the United Irish League in Ireland and Great Britain, the Ancient .Order of Hibernians, Irish National Foresters, Land and Labor Association, each County Council, County Boroughs, and other towns, each Rural District Council, each Urban District Council,- Trades and Labor Councils, etc. We -were informed ~ by cable last week that the National -Directory of the United Irish League had re-elected - Mr. John E. Redmond, M.P., as president. The report declared that the activity of the branches was never more manifest or the tone and spirit more satisfactory. Owing to inquiries and representations made by the organisation 2000 tenants had been, restored by Lord Londonderry at Belfast. The report also states—' The next general election will be one of v the most critical since the Unionist party was formed, because the Liberals, if' returned, will say that they have a mandate for Home Rule.' His Eminence Cardinal Moran cabled the. Convention, his heartiest congratulations to tho Irish Party, 'whose past victories, he said, were a presage" of future „ triumphs. ' Australia is united with you in wishing the Convention a complete success.' The message was received with cheers.

Irish in the National University Controversy regarding the' position wliicli Irish should occupy in the -National University grows apace (writes a Dublin correspondent).- There are those who would have a knowledge of the Irish language made compulsory from the very first for students wishing to enter; those who would postpone making- it an obligatory for some years, and in the meantime encourage the study of it in a practical way ; and those r who on' 1 no account wotlld have the language of the Gael .taught in the new University. The latter count for practically nothing, for they are few and represent an infinitesimal number of Irishmen. That Irish will be taught in the National University, is beyond doubt. That there will be a Chair of Irish, and' that studentships will be founded by which young men of limited means who are willing to study the language may obtain a University education which would otherwise be denied them, is absolutely certain. Between the upholders of the two schemes first mentioned, a bitter controversy rages, a fact much to be deplored, for on both sides excellent Irish Irelanders are ranged. The Most Rev. Dr. Clancy, Bishop of Elphin, in a letter to the press, strongly condemns the tone of some of the letters that have appeared in the public press. Miss Hayden, M.A., an advocate of Irish as a compulsory subject, also deplores in a letter to the press the tone in which a good deal of the controversy has been carried on. [A cable mess ge received on Friday statei that the National Convention in Dublin;, acting against Mr. Dillon's strong view, by a large majority recommended that the Irish language should be made a compulsory subject in the curriculum at the new University.] Irish Industries In the course of a lecture in Dublin on the ' Irish Woollen Industry,' Mr. Oldham, 8.A., said that Irish cloths, friezes, serges — white, fed, rnsset, and green — were known and sold in England for himdreds of years, from at least 1200 down to 1600. Not merely was Irish cloth sold in Florence, but it was sold in Bologna in 1315; there is evidence of it in Genoa and Como in 1324; and earlier still, in 1265, at Bruges and Antwerp. There was a systematic policy of kidnapping Irish weavers and selling them as slaves in Bristol, where they were employed as skilled workmen in developing the weaving industry. The destruction of Irish trade and industry during the reign of Queen Elizabeth was referred to. From 1558 to 1603 a systematic policy was pursued by the English people for the purpose of taking the Irish wool and yarn away from Ireland, and not allowing it to be manufactured in Ireland. In 1822 there existed 45 manufacturers in and about Dublin, having 92 billies, employing 2885 -working people, manufacturing 29,312 pieces of cloth per annum, of various qualities, the value of the product being £336,000. Ho referred to the decrease in the number of persons employed in the woollen and worsted industry in Ireland between 1881 and 1901, the figure for 1881 being 8950, and the figure for 1901 being 4550, though the mills in Ireland were very prosperous, and were extending and building up their trade. The explanation in the decrease in the number employed was found in the introduction of labor-saving machinery. Let those who looked to obtaining employment for the people of Ireland not be too hopeful of getting it in the revival of the woollen industry. They could employ ten times as many people in just increasing the tillage of Ireland. A Refusal Lord Ardilaun's refusal (says the London correspondent of the Freeman's Journal) to allow the London County Council to place a tablet on his residence, 11 Carlton House Terrace, recording the fact that Mr. Gladstone once lived there, is not at all surprising — for Lord Ardilaun. It is the 'first time that the Council has found anything but the readiest acquiescence on the part of proprietors of houses once inhabited by famous men in a request of this kind. Lord Ardilaun imagines that by his refusal he "is in some sort getting even with Mr. Gladstone for bringing forward a Home Rule Bill. This indicates at once a very unsophisticated condition of general intelligence, and a deplorable depth of partisan intolerance; but, after all, what more is there to be said, except that it is Lord -Ardilaun's way? It creates surprise here, and is very bad policy to boot; but it will create no surprise where .Lord Ardilaun is better known. Even one of his nephews, Mr. Walter Guinness, appears to have pleaded with him against putting this slur on the family name, but fruitlessly.