Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 18, 7 May 1908, Page 27

Irish News

ANTRIM — Diocese of Down and Connor After the interment of the remains 'of , the • Righit Rev. Dr. Henry, Bishop of Down and Connor, a meeting of the parish priests af the diocese present ..was held in St. Malachy's College, under the presidency of • his Imminence Cardinal Logue, and the Very Rev: Dr. Laverty, P.P., Ballymacarrett, was appointed. VicarCapitular, pending the appointment of a successor to the late Bishop. ARMAGH — A Fortunate Postman An old rural postman named James Thompson, who carried the post between Newtownhamilton, Cullyhanma, and Silvierbridge for over thirty years, died at his residence, Newtownhamilton, the - other day. About ten years ago he became heir to a fortune of £20,C|00, left to him by an uncle, who had amassed great wealth in America, and consequently he resigoied his position ■ as postman, but received his pension, and lived quietly on a small farm. After the Local Government Act dame' into operation he was elected a district councillor, 1 for Cully hanna. CAVAN— The Farnham Estate After lengthened negotiations, terms have been agreed upon for the purchase by the tenants of a portion' of the estate of Lord Farnham at Cavan, comprising! the townlands of Ardagh, Drunikilroosk, Aughnacor, Derrylane, Bohoragh, Condry, Drumbullion, Clodrum, Sallaghan, and Portlongfield, under the Act of 1903. DERRY— -In a Satisfactory State At the opening of the County Assiz.es at Derry, Judge Holmes informed the Grand Jury that there were nine cases for investigation, but none were of a very serious nature. He was informed that the county was in a satisfactory state. DUBLIN— The Parliamentary Fund The first list of subscriptions to the Irish Parliamentary Fund for the current year, which was published Kn. the ' Weekly Freeman ' -of March 21, totalled nearly £1400. A Generous Benefactor At a recent meeting of the Lusk Free Library Committee, Rev. Thomas Byrne presiding, a letter was read from Mr. P. F. Collier, the well-known American publisher, intimating his intention of presenting five hundred volumes to the local Free Library. In his letter, Mr. Collier expressed his pleasure at the growth of the library movement in Ireland, and said he was of opinion that the establishment of libraries would be of great benefit to the people. On the motion of ■ the rev. chairman, seconded by Rev. Danby JeSares, Rector, a resolution was passed expressing the thanks of the committee to Mr. Collier. The gift is specially appropriate in view of the opening of the Carnegie Free Library. The Parnell Monument An influential committee, with the Lord Mayor of Dublin at its head, >ias Issued an appeal for funds for , the erection of the monument to Parnell in Dublin. The bronze statue, of heroic size, is $eady to be set on its pedestal at the foot of the great triangular shaft, whose tripod crown will rise more than sixty feet above the ground. The ornamentation for the pedestal and the shaft is completed, and actually cast, where it is of -baronize. All this work, costing nearly £6000, has been completed and paid for almost entirely out of money raised by Mr. John E. Redmond, M.P., and Mr. Daniel Tallon (ex-Lord Mayor of Dublin) In the United States. It is the gift of America to Dublim and to Ireland. It remains only for Ireland to carry out the architectural portion of the work according to ""the " artist's own plan, %vhich . has been laid out in every detail. About £3000 has to be raised to pay for the stone-, selected by Saint Gaudens— red granite from the new quarries at Shantall a and Bar^a, near Galway— for . the cost of erecting the monument and for paying the . architect's fees. The contract for the erection Of the monument has now been entered into, and the work will be commenced with the least possible delay. A Present for the Holy Father Perhaps the most gorgeous spectacle-case in the world, .says, the London ' Sphere,' is the one given as a jubilee present to the Pope. It was designed and mad? by -the Papal optician, Patrick K. CaMll, of Dublin, who was optician to the' late Pope Leo XIII. for sixteen years, "and is also optician and spectacle-maker

to the present Pope Plus X. The casket is surmounted with a perfect facsimile of the Papal arms: The tiara or triple crown, keys' and stole are beautifully worked out in the' finest gold. On a shield appears in enamel' the . Pope's „ crest, and at each side- a translation, - in Gaelic pierced in gold letters of the Pope's name. The base on which the casket rests ijs composed of slabs of the finest Connemara- and Cork marbles. KERRY— A Satisfactory Condition •Lord O'Brien, addressing the Grand Jury at the Kierry Assizes, said he was glad to be able to congratulate them on the fact that Kerry, as a whole, was , in -a fairly satisfactory condition. There were eleven cases to b» investigated by_ them, but njone af a serious nature. . KlLDARE— Peaceable and Orderly Addressing the Gfrand Jury at the opening of the Kildare Assizes, his Lordship Mr. Justice Madden said there would be eight bills presented for consideration dealing with light cases. Most of these represented cases of . offences against property of the most ordinary character. One case was a grave one — a case, of offence against the person, but he did not think the facts would give them any difficulty. There was also a case . of iTLtdmi'dation by firing, shots into a 1 dwelftttigrhouse ardsr * ing out of an agrarian dispute. In the. return- of specially reported cases he observed some instances of that very serious form of intimidation known as cattle- ; driving. ,He observed, however, that all these cases > occurred within a restricted area, and also that nine of - them were of recent occurrence. He was, therefbre, j justified in believing that the infection would not: spread throughout the country. As regards l the re- . mainder of the County Kdldarc, he was happy- to. find' dt in its usual peaceable, orderly, ai>d law-abiding" con- ■ dilion. LEITRIM— OnIy one Criminal Case At the Maniorhamilton Quarter Sessions, before County Court Judge Drummond, there was only one criminal case of a trivial nature to go before the Court. His* lordship complimented the Grand Jury on tlAs happy condition of things. MONAGHAN— A Successful Institution The Convent of St. Louis, Monaghan, at the present time occupies a unique position so far a& the educational 'institutions of Ireland are concerned. Last year it had the proud privilege of being, first amongst the girls' schools 'in Ireland in connection with the Intermediate examinations. Last mouth it won a challenge shield that was competed for by all- Ireland in regard to industrial schools. The shield, wlnich is a most coveted prize, was presented for competition by Mr, John Fagan, H.M. Inspector of Industrial and Reformatory Schools, to show the importance which he attaches to the training of the young girls committed to such schools in all the subjects embraced in t**e study of domestic science, and with the hope that a healthy rivalry shall stimulate both the teachers to impart and the children to acquire suoh a knowledge. One of the essentials im connection with the competition for this valuable trophy is a thorough, complete, and simple equipment of the schools and the general attention of the young children to their duties. The shield, which is of Celtic design, set with medallions, in the corners ofi which are engraved a list of the chief industries of Ireland, is to be presented by Lady Aberdeen. Over fifty schools competed, and so keen must the rivalry have been that Mr. Fagan, accompanied by Inspector Graham 1 , found it necessary to. pay a second jrisdt to the Monaghan Convent before giving his final desision. SLlGO— Death of the Mayor Councillor Michael Milmoe, Mayor of Sligo, died at his residence, High street, Sligo, on March 14. GENERAL Successful Exhibitors of Lace At the great lace .exhibition organised * ■' b'yj -^vt|fe 'Daily Mail ' an-d opened on March 9 at "the .H/ortactilr tural Hall', Westminster, Irish exhibit or s\made'-~a"-Vsplenr did show. Two -of the four gold medals for „ the -best lace of any kind were awarded to the- Convent- of Poor Clares, K-onmare, and the Presentation" Convent; Yougjhal. The stalls of Messrs. Robinson andr Cleaver, tihe world-famed Belfast firm, and of .Mr. J. Kirby, pi Limerick, attracted considerable attention • from thevisiV ;qrs to .the exhib'it:on. • . ;• - >.} National Banquet in London . . : The St. Patrick's Day banquet, held in the Hotel Cecil, London, was a magnificent function, and' was in

•very sense of the word a tremendous success. There is no event of the year . among the- people ,of any nationality" that is so inspiring as the celebration of the Irish National' Festival. The grand " banqueting hall of the Hotel Cecil, the largest room of its bind in Europe, was not equal to seating the whole of -the' guests. The scene was^one of extraordinary brilliance, and the enthusiasm with which Mr. John Redmond, chairman of the Irish Party, was greeted when he rose to propose the toast of ' Ireland a Nation,' was unbounded. His speech was characterised by his usual great eloquence and lucidity, and his review of the , events of the year was followed with intense interest. • , , , , , , . , , ; , , I | l |ji A Pilgrimage to Rome An Irish national pilgrimage to Rome, in connection with the Sacerdotal Golden Jubilee of his Holiness Pius X., is being organised with the approbation .of his Eminence Cardinal Logue and the Bishops of Ireland. A provisional committee has come together, under the •directorship of Very Rev. Canon Fricttoer, P.P. Though the Catholic Truth. Society could not undertake the organisation of the pilgrimage, it is lending • the project Its patronage. It is at present intended that the pilgrimage should leave Dublin for Rome abo/ut the middle of October, travelling by easy stages. The cost of tickets, it is proposed, shall include full maintenance en route, to and fro, and diking* a full week in Rome. His Eminence the Cardinal, whe has been informed of the steps taken, writes : — ' lam delighted that steps are being taken to -"have an Irish pilgrimage on the occasion of the Holy Father's Jubilee". It would be a sad want if Ireland were not. represented on the' occasion.' Marconi Entertained The St. Patrick's night banquet of the Irish Club, London, was held in the Club's handsome premises, Charing Cross iioad, the guest of the evening -being Sigoibr G. Marconi. The toast of ' Our Guest ' was proposed by the Rev. Mr. Games in very felicitous terms. He declared this distinguished son of an Italian father and an Irish mother, the blood of old Rome and old* Ireland, would prove himself to be the greatest scientist of the age. Mr. Marconi responded in very modest terms. He thanked the members of the Club for the great honor they had done Mm in inviting him to be their guest on St. Patrick's Night. . His associations with Ireland were many. His mother was Irish, the station in which he perfnrmed his long-dis-tance experiments was situated in Connemara, and most of his shareholders were Irish. The geographical position of Ireland had done much to facilitate his operations with America. It was a half-way house. Mr. Marconi further said that he must mention also that his wife was Irish. The first practical application of the science with which he was connected, continued Mr. Marconi, had been, conducted some ten years ago from Kingstown. Since he had first conducted those wireless telegraphic messages from Kingstown many developments had taken place. He sincerely thought, however, that there was a great future for wireless telegraphy In spite of the pessimism of the cable companies. The •least he oould claim for his system was that it was a useful one for ships at sea. Mr. Marconi wound up a short and forceful speech with a graceful tribute to the Irish Club. The University Question In the course of a speech in Manchester on March 15 Mr. John Redmond, M.P., referred to the Irish University He said : — I believe that this session of Parliament will witness the creation of a National University for Ireland. I don't say a Catholic University. The University that we want will only be Catholic in atmosphere because the—lrish nation are Catholics. We don't ask for a sectarian institution, we don't ask for any tests "in our University in Ireland, but what we say is this • we want a national University, a cheap, democratic University which will be open to Protestants as well as to Catholics, but which will in practice, no doubt', be Catholic *in atmosphere, because the great majority of those who come Into, it will be Catholics. But I would likie to say this to Protestants "in this country, -and to Nonconformists especially, that we are not seeking for the endowment of a sectarian University, but for a University which by its frame-work would be a -Protestant University if the Irish nation was Protestant, but which will be Catholic in atmosphere and reality because the Irish nation is Catholic.