BACK TO IRELAND.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 550, 3 July 1909, Page 10

BACK TO IRELAND.

60,000 AMERICAN PILGRIMS FOR NEXT YEAR. A number of prominent Irishmen mot recently at Washington for the purposo of forming -a national organisation to promote a pilgrimage of Irish' Americans to the Old Country no\t year Mr Richard Croker had pieviously urged a numhor of tho men who aro at tho head of the present organisation to carry out such a plan, and declared that Inland was far bettor to-day than it over had been, Mr. Croker thought that Irishmon should go back, not only to visit Ireland, but to stay theie, and predicted that many of the pilgrims who intend going next jear will bo inclined to stop Tho movement has sinco taken more shape, and is now on tho high load to success Ml Francis J Kilkenny, who is tho oiiginator of tho nioveniont, and presided over tho first meeting of it 3 orgamsorsj declares that fifty thousand Irishmen have signified then intention of visiting Iroku\d m August and September of 1910. Tho v.uious steamship companies havo pro» miseU to givo the pilgrims cheap rates, as \es»sds bound eastwuid in that time of tho vear" aro running prncticilly empt\. Tho idea has boon taken up with great enthusiasm all out the Union, and at tho meeting letters commending tho schemo were rend tiom liuttiiginshod Irishmen over the whole world Di Douglas Hydo wrote declaimg that tho pilgrimage should bo nudo an annual ono, and that he believed it. would havo the happy efFirt of linking relatives alid friends is the old country and America m olosor jrfilgtfcifWTfS