Bishop Whyte in Ireland

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 34, 30 August 1923, Page 25

Bishop Whyte in Ireland

KILKENNY HONORS-HER DISTINGUISHED SON. • On Monday night last, at 8 o'clock (says the Kilkenny People for June 23), at a specially convened meeting; of the Kilkenny Corporation, Bishop Whyte was presented with the freedom of the city. His Lordship was officially received at the entrance to the council chamber by Senator Aid. P. De Loughry, Co. C, Mayor, wearing his chain of office. On entering the chamber, accompanied by his brothers, Messrs. John and Michael Whyte, his Lordship was enthusiastically greeted by the large number of clergy and citizens who occupied special seats, as well as by the large attendance of the general public who occupied the body of the hall. His Lordship gracefully acknowledged the cordial reception. The Town Clerk (Mr. E. O'Connell) read the following: Address to the Right Rev. James Whyte, Bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand. Right Rev. Sir,We, the Mayor and members of the Corporation of your "native city, extend to you oh our own behalf and of the citizens generally a most hearty cead mile failte to the land of 3 r our birth after so many years, of glorious exile in the cause of Faith and Fatherland. We do so with the additional pleasure that it is not as a stranger you come amongst us, but as a noble and spirited son of our beloved city. By the dignity of your high office, by the splendor of your sterling patriotism, you have won fame 'for yourself and distinction for your native land and have made the name of Kilkenny illustrious on the farflung shores of New Zealand. You have returned to us at a time when,' with the help of God, the clouds that have lowered so darkly over our Unhappy country are now about to be dissolved, when we are cheered by the joyous hope that the sun of freedom and happiness will bathe a united Ireland once more in its most effulgent rays, and the smile replace for all time the tear in the eyes of Dark Rosaleen. May God bless you long to carry out your noble work in the isles 'neath the Southern Cross in the cause of patriotism, religion, and truth. ' In conclusion, right reverend sir, we take pleasure in assuring you that on no one more worthy or deserving has the honor of "freedom of the city" been conferred than on you, our gifted fellow-citizen, whom we greet so cordially and of whom we are so justly proud. Signed on behalf of the Corporation of Kilkenny,— Peter De Loughry, Mayor; Edward O'Connell, Town Clerk. 18th June, 1923. Continuing, the Town Clerk read the circular convening the meeting, and -also the following resolution passed at a recent special meeting: "Proposed by Councillor J. McKenna, seconded by Councillor James Reade, and passed unanimously—That we, the Aldermen and Councillors of

Kilkenny Corporation, hail with delight the tidings of the intended visit to his native city of the illustrious Churchman, Most Rev. Dr. James Whyte, Bishop of Dunedin, N.Z. In advance we extend to his Lordship, on behalf of Kilkenny, a sincere and very hearty welcome, and we decide, at a special meeting, to confer on his Lordship the righest honor in our power, the freedom of the ancient borough of his native city." •The following is the parchment certificate of freedom presented to Bishop Whyte: "This is to certify that at a specially convened meeting of the Corporation of Kilkenny, held at the City Hall, Kilkenny, on Monday, June 18, 1923, tho Freedom of the ancient City of Kilkenny was duly conferred on the Right Rev. Dr. James Whyte, Bishop of Dunedin, as a mark of esteem and veneration on the occasion of his visit to his native city of Kilkenny, and as a sincere expression of our great joy that one so closely identified with Kilkenny by birth, family ties, and education should, By his piety and learning, have been honored by his elevation to the Episcopacy of the Church.—Signed on behalf of the Corporation of Kilkenny, and sealed with the City Seal, this 18th day of June, 1923.—Peter De Loughry, Mayor; Edward O'Connell, Town Clerk." BISHOP WHYTE'S REPLY. Bishop Whyte, amidst applause, then signed the honorary roll of freemen. On rising to address the meeting his Lordship was greeted with rounds of applause which lasted for several minutes. "I appreciate very keenly the honor that has just been conferred on me," began his Lordship. "I regard it as the greatest ■ compliment that has ever been paid me in the civil sphere, and from my heart I thank you, Mr. Mayor, and your brother Aldermen and Councillors, for your kindness. A municipal body,- I take it, can grant no greater privilege to a visitor than that which you have just granted to mo and I can assure you there is no Corporation from 'which I would accept such a privilege more readily and gratefully than from the Corporation of the City of Kilkenny. (Applause.) I congratulate them on their beautiful speeches this evening, for the reason that they show the high-class mental efficiency displayed by the members of the Corporation of my native city. I congratulate them on that. Kilkenny is an historic city. .Its very ruins are evidence of its high place in Irish history. Its abbeys and monasteries and other buildings tell of its storied past and speak eloquently of assemblies held in bygone ages for purposes bearing upon religion and civic and national liberty. To be granted the freedom of such an historic city is a rare and special favor, and makes a strong appeal to me. (Applause.) A still stronger appeal is made to me by the fact that it is my native city the city of my birth and education. During the past few months I have seen many prosperous and progressive cities both in America and Europe, cities in comparison with which Kilkenny is poor and almost negligible but were I granted my choice I would unhesitatingly refuse the freedom of those opulent centres of commerce in favor of my native city by the Nore. (Applause.) I shall be your fellow citizen henceforth, and shall always be proud of the grand occasion when you placed me on the roll of citizens — a roll on which are found the names of some whose memory 1 fondly revere, notably the name of Cardinal Moran, also the names of such great dignitaries as Archbishop Spence. of Adelaide, and my dear old friend and comrade, Bishop Ilaylen, Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes. My active citizenship will last only for a few months, during which time my activity will reveal itself mainly in striving to observe all municipal regulations. (Laughter.) Foreigners coming as they do with a knowledge of the civic and national affairs of their own city and country, are naturally tempted to give advice as to how many matters could be settled at home. My activity will not show itself in that direction. The people of Kilkenny can be trusted to manage their civic affairs just as the people of Ireland can be trusted to transact the affairs of the nation; so it shall be no duty of mine while an active citizen of Kilkenny to criticise or advise. Neither am I qualified to deal with those bigger questions now; agitating 'lrelandquestions that demand more intimate knowledge than can be possibly acquired by people" 13,000 miles-away from the centre of .Irish' political. life.

Sometimes Kilkennymen are regarded as very clannish. The same charge can be made with equal justice against the. people of other parts of Ireland. To me it is always a, pleasure to meet Kilkenny people and -talk with them about our old historic city. Since last March, when my companions and I landed in San Francisco, we have had the pleasure of seeing in America several priests and quite a number of lay people who drew their first breath in or near the City of the Confederation. The kindness shown to us by those friends it will be impossible for us ever to forget. Two priests who heard of our arrival in the States travelled nearly 200 miles for the sale purpose of greeting us. The genuineness of their welcome was as evident as noonday, and similar acts of kindness were don© to us by our Kilkenny friends in all the cities that we visited. The names of Father Comerford of San Francisco, and Father Fielding of Chicago, as well as Father Vereker and Father Dermody of the diocese of Sacramento, readily come to my mind when I think of the pleasant days we spent in some of the American cities. If clannishness among Kilkenny people is a crime, we must admit that that crime was flagrantly committed while we were in the States. (Laughter.)

But the greatest sinners of America in this respect we found in New York. (Renewed laughter.) The Kilkenny boys and girls- of New York overwhelmed us with their attention. Though I call them “boys” and “girls” —for they were boys and girls when I had last seen them—are some grandfathers' and grandmothers amongst them. (Loud laughter.) Men who had served Mass with me in old St. Patrick’s, or had gone to the Patrick Street School with me came to welcome me to New York, and they brought their children and their children’s wives or husbands and their children’s children. It was for me a delightful meeting; the sincerity of it, the enthusiasm of it, the genuine ring of friendship in every word that they spoke and in every handshake. They were men and women whom you would be proud of. They could speak of many obstacles that at first confronted them, of hard work, of long hours, of strenuous battling against fortune and loneliness and home-sickness: they were able to speak also of success. Many of them hold responsible and lucrative- positions. At first I met one or two of those Kilkenny “boys” at my hotel, and there we discussed personages and places that neither they nor I had thought of for a considerable time. In our chat we went over the same ground that we had often trodden in reality. We mentioned the Bishop’s Meadows and the Canal Walk and Warrington and Bennettsbridge; we spoke of priests and laity whom we had known; and we spoke also of various people of strange eccentric habits. Though each section of the city could lay claim to one or more “characters,” we concluded that Patrick Street had surpassed all other parts by reason of Jimmy . Lutty. (Loud laughter.) Our conversations lasted till a late hour, in fact, almost till “the cows cam© home.” (Laughter.) We were pleased to -learn from one another of Kilkenny people in different places, whether at home or abroad, who had raised themselves by their industry and talents and honesty to positions of trust and influence. (Applause.) We lived again in the past, and we agreed that no apples tasted as sweet in our mouths as Peg Farrell’s, and that there was no river as beautiful as the Nore and no chapel as devotional as the little old chapel of St’ Patrick’s. ■ It was owing to the delusion caused by our chats about old times that one evening, when I expected another visit I almost said to the hotel clerks that a couple of “young fellows” were calling to see me. The “young fellows” had ~ been indeed young, but one had now a family A nme-(laughter)-and the other was a grandfather. (Laughter.) These chats were, however, but a preliminary to the enthusiastic reception that took place a couple of evenings before we left New York. On that occasion men and women well known to many of you assembled, perhaps m all three hundred. < The .enthusiasm was intense. They gave, me messages to their friends in Kilkenny. So numerous . were those messages that the memories of a dozen people would be needed to retain them. Those friends of theirs I shall make it my business and pleasure to see' as soon as practicable. - •> And then, a few days later, when our bid friends came

to see us off! Their affectionate farewell I shall always remember with gratitude. I am saying all this to you to-night to show you how deep is their love for Kilkenny and for all who hail from. it.. (Applause.) It will give them pleasure to know that I have considered the present occasion a not unsuitable occasion for me to tell in Kilkenny all that the Kilkenny men and women in New York did for me as a native of Ye Fair© Citie. It will please them also to know that it was reserved for the old city itself to receive me with still greater enthusiasm than Kilkenny in New York displayed. When they hear of the big-hearted welcome you gave me last Friday evening they will rejoice as greatly as I did. Though apparently a matter of small consequence, still they will be glad to learn that the goldmounted pen with which I have just signed my name in the register of freemen is the pen which they presented to me on that memorable night in New York. Once more I thank you for the kindly thought that prompted you to say such complimentary, flattering things about me. Even when I have forgotten the praise I shall still retain a lively recollection of the kindness of heart behind it. I thank the Corporation for having conferred on me the great and rare honor of granting me the freedom of the City of the Confederation. It binds me in still closer bonds.to the old historic city of my birth and education, and will make me still more ardently long for the day when it shall have a large and prosperous population, supported to a great extent by busy mills along the Nore that have had to slumber too long in idleness. "To go beyond the limits of this city and county” continued his Lordship, “I join with all true Irishmen' at home and in foreign lands in the prayer and the hope that Ireland will soon attain her full stature as a nation, and that among the nations she will prove herself highminded and liberty-loving and noble; that she will be too Christian to entertain ill-will towards those enemies both within and without who in the past have hindered her from pursuing her destiny as a civilising influence in the world a noble destiny which we devoutly believe Almighty God has marked out for her.” (Loud applause.)