Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, 18 May 1911, Page 919

Irish News

ARMAGH— Town Tenants’Movement At a meeting of the executive of the Town Tenants’ League in Dublin, a most satisfactory report was read of the remarkable progress made by the town tenants movement in Portadown. Since the opening meeting, which was addressed in that town last summer by Mr. Briscoe, over 500 members had been enrolled. The branch had returned ; six members to the local Council, and, as a result, one hundred houses were how about to be erected under the Housing Act. The movement had brought together all classes in the town, and all were enthusiastic in working for the common good. Similar reports were read from other centres as to the progress the movement was making in the North. ' ( V; V; !; f • CLARE—The Grand Cause of Nationality In sending his annual subscription to the Parliamentary Fund the Bishop of Killaloe writes as follows to Mr. W. H. K. Redmond, M.P. ‘l enclose with great pleasure a cheque for £lO, my subscription to our Parliamentary Fund. With the prospects of Home Rule, now .so bright— and even its most bitter opponents regard its concession in the near future as a matter of course, the country is at last in a clear position to appreciate the wisdom of maintaining her Parliamentary Party as she has done for so many years independent and unbroken, regardless of either cost or sacrifice. And it must be said that that Party has served her faithfully and well, and has steered the grand cause of nationality through a series of great difficulties and discouragements to its present hopeful outlook with consummate ability.’ CORK —Evidence from the past Mr. Augustine Roche, M.P. for North Louth, is one of the Irish Nationalists accused of malevolent hatred of their Protestant fellow-countrymen and of sinister designs upon Protestant lives and properties (remarks the Irish Weekly). So long ago as 1893 Mr. Roche was Mayor of Cork. During that year the late Right Rev. Dr., Gregg, Protestant Bishop of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross, was chosen Archbishop of Armagh. A congratulatory resolution was unanimously passed by the Cork Corporation and forwarded to the Primate-Designate. In reply Mr. Augustine Roche received the following letter from Dr. Gregg:— ‘My dear Mr. Mayor, — have written to the Town Clerk thanking him for the copv of the resolution which was so generouslv passed on Friday, and requesting .him to convey my thanks r ' i to c you arid'" to the members of the Council. Allow mo to express to you personally how much I feel your kindness in the matter, and my sense of the happy relations which it has been my good fortune to have with vou. ;w I shall never forget the many kindnesses which I have received •in Cork from its generous people. I am, mv . dear Mr. Mayor, yours very faithfully,—Robert S., Cork, Cloyne, and' Ross, Archbishop-Elect.’ The member for Louth recalls this incident because he has been singled out for special attack as a ‘ bigot.’ , It is a testimony, as from the grave, to the kindly state of feeling that prevails amongst Irish communities outside a few Ulster districts. ; ~ A Peculiar Brand of Nationalist Mr. Moieton Frewen’s election for an Irish Nationalist constituency at the bidding of -the, gentleman who proclaimed the Irish Nationalist Party unworthy of the country’s confidence, was so novel and remarkable an experiment that, our interest in the career of the member for North-east Cork needs no excuse. Mr. Frewen (says the Belfast Irish News) Was'an English Tory. He came from America to support Mr. lan Malcolm at the General Election; and Mr. Malcolm had been for years the most indefatigable English libeller of Ireland. Red-hot from Mr. Malcolm’s platform, he was whisked to N.E. Cork by Mr. William O’Brien, and successfully dumped on that constituency; * Then he went back to America, where it is said he tried to collect money for the support of Mr. O’Brien’s ‘ cause ’ at the same time that he preached the necessity for cutting off Ulster from Ireland. Returning from America, the ‘representative’ of Nationalist N.E. Cork took his seat amongst the Unionist members of the House of Commons. Now we find the following convincing item of news in an English provincial journal, the Boinnemnutji Daily Echo, whose London correspondent writes: ‘Speaking of the O’Brienites, may I mention a curious fact which has not, I think, been noticed. It will be remembered. that, very much to everyone’s surprise, Mr. Moreton Frewen, an Englishman, with American and Irish connections,' was nominated at the last moment and elected unopposed for North-East Cork as a supporter of Mr. O’Brien. Mr. Frewen is a Federalist, and was at one time suspected of being ! the ’ author of the “ Pacificus ” letters 7 in the Times. The interacting fact , has ? been brought to my notice that he was “ paired ” on Wednesday with Mr. Hamar.Greenwood (Liberal). This means that Mr. Frewen ranks himself with the Opposition. -No Irish Nationalist has before been paired against the Government. What Mr, O’Brien has had to say in the matter js not known.’

DUBLINA Successful Institution f ? An interesting report is that issued by the Irish Catholic Church Property Insurance ’ Company, Limited, of ; which the following is a summary:— general "revenue of the company for 1910, comprising net income from fire premiums £4582 15s 6d, interest and dividends on investments £1144 14s 9d, and transfer fees £2 25.6 d, amounted to £5729 12s Bd. The general expenditure (1) ! Net fire losses, £1196 16s 2d (2) expenses of management, £1037 9s 8d; and (3) directors’ fees, £250, was £2484 5s lOd, leaving a surplus of £3245 6s lOd. Out of this surplus £IOOO has been appropriated to the : regular dividend of 5 per cent, per annum on the paid-up capital; of , £20,000. The directors recommend that the balance of £2245 6s lOd be allocated as follows: (1) £1245 6s l.Od to credit of the fire insurance fund (2) the residue of £IOOO to the Catholic Archbishops and Bishops of Ireland, as provided by Article 90. , ■ ■ v /■ -i’ 3 FERMANAGH—New Hospice at Lough Derg : ' In Lough Derg a new hospice, which will accommodate, over 200 women pilgrims, is in course of erection. ■' ' The 1 foundation stone has been blessed by Very Rev. Canon Keown, P.P., V.G., Enniskillen, and the hospice will be under the patronage of St.* 1 Patrick and the Blessed Virgin^ GALWAY—Death of a Canon Irishmen everywhere (writes a Dublin correspondent) will learn with regret of the death of Very,, Rev. Canon Dooley, P.P., V.F., which took place in Galway on March 22, in the 75th year of his age. Deceased, who spent most of his ministerial career in the City of the Tribes,., was beloved by people of all classes' and creeds. He' had almost completed . fifty years in the priesthoo ■ and preparations were on foot to celebrate his golden jubilee. At a meeting held a few weeks ago with the object of raising funds for this purpose, the Rev. J. Fleetwood Berry, 8.D., Protestant rector, said there were often questions on which, he and Canon Dooley took opposite views,-but during the twenty years that he had been living in Galway they had ? never had a personal difference, and he could say with all sincerity that he had found in Canon Dooley at all times a kind and courteous Christian genternan, anxious to treat those who did not agree with him with courtesy and consideration'. ; The Bishops of Clonfert’s Appreciation The Bishop, of Clonfert, in sending a subscription to the Parliamentary Fund, wrote as follows : — ‘ I have great pleasure in sending you a small contribution (£5) towards the Party funds. I only regret that the amount I can afford is anything but commensurate with the tremendous issues that are now at stake. Apart, however, from the. overshadowing question of Home Rule, I feel bound on many grounds to support a United Parliamentary Party; To omit other reasons, the educational wants of the country, are in urgent need of redress. The support of secondary education has become a heavy tax on the people of this diocese, and there are several places where the erection of necessary primary schools has heen long delayed owing to the parsimony of the Treasury. I have no doubt of the ability and zeal of the present Party to take care -of all the interests of Ireland in the Imperial Parliament; and hence it is only in discharge of what I consider a duty that I am sending you this small contribution.’ KERRYAddress of Congratulation A remarkable public demonstration was held at Brosna the other day, when an extremely large crowd-of, people,i representative of Brosna, Knocknagoshel, Mountcolhns, and Abbeyfeale, assembled at the presbytery, Brosna, in support of an address of congratulation to Father Arthur (now Canon) Murphy, P.P., on his elevation to a.Canonry of the Kerry diocese. ... LOUTH—Peaceful Condition of the County ~j .;; Dundalk Quarter Sessions were opened on, March 27 by County l Court Judge C. Green, K.C. His Honor, in his address to the Grand Jury stated that there was only one case to go before them. As there were no cases to; go before him at Drogheda the previous week, he thought nobody could feel otherwise than satisfied at the peaceful condition of the county. The case to go before them was not of a serious nature. The Grand Jury returned no bill in the case, and the accused was discharged. 7 ' ‘ ; i/5 TIPPERARY—- Appointed Member Cathedra! Chapter The Very Rev. Dr. O’Neill, of Lattin and Cullen, has been appointed Canon and a member of the Cathedral Chapter of the archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. For years. Canon O’Neill was Professor of Dogmatic and Moral Theology in St. Patrick’s College, Thurles, when heV, was .the daily associate of his. Grace the Most Rev.: Dr. Leahy.The Very Rev. Dr. O’Neill left Thurles College for the important curacy of Tipperary. He threw himself heart' and soul into the work there, and his work and thrilling ; eloquence will be remembered there for many a long , day. To mark their appreciation of him, the people of Tipperary presented (him, on two occasions with magnificent testimonials. Canon O’Neill has been ministering as parish priest of Lattin and Cullen for twenty-five years. The work he has done since lie was appointed parish priest of

Lattin .and Cullen is worthy of him; He has built six or eight up-to-date schools. Ho has, at great expense, beaut'fied the churches, and he has ameliorated the condition of his parish and of his people in every way, so that it is easy to understand the joy of the people of Lattin and Cullen at the good news they have of - ; their devoted pastor. s ‘ 1 Canon O’Neill made his preliminary studies at the Abbey School,- Tipperary. _ He was for a short time a student of Thurles College, where he read - with distinction. He won ; other honors, as well as the degree of Doctor of Divinity, in the Gregorian University, Rome, where he was a graduate for some years. Canon O’Neill is a Bachelor, of Civil and Canon Law of ; the Sapienza University, Rome, and he is a priest of exceptional erudition and. culture. He speaks many languages, and he has been in ’many lands. Fallen into Abeyance -(The custom of ‘ drowning the shamrock ’ seems to have fallen into. abeyance in Ireland. . At the St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Clonmel (remarks the Sacred Heart Beview), Archdeacon Flavin said that there had not been in the town that day the spectacle of an intoxicated man or woman. And they are no longer hanging men and women for the wearing of the green over there, either. The Nationalist of Clonmel says that ‘ shamrock and green favors ere universally worn, not alone by civilians, but by the soldiers of the garrison. The men of the Royal Irish Regiment, as usual, wore the triple leaf in their helmets at the church parade, and were accompanied to Mass at SS. Peter and Paul’s by the regimental band playing spirited national airs.’ Dublin papers note the few cases of drunkenness to be seen in the streets of that city on St. Patrick’s Day, and a Cork journal says; ‘lt is gratifying to be able to record that throughout the day there was in the streets of the city, and in public places, a complete absence of ; drunkenness, not even a single instance being observable.’ ? GENERAL A Convert to Home Rule . Amongst the subscribers to the Irish Parliamentary and National Fund whose names appear in this week’s list ,is General Alfred Turner (says the Irish Weekly of April 1). Within the memory of many men who are not yet entitled to reckon themselves amongst the greybeards. General Turner was regarded as one of the last individuals in Ireland likely to figure as a generous subscriber to a National Fund. He is a native of London. After more than twenty years’ service in the Army, he was appointed A.D.C. and Military Secretary to the late Lord Spencer, then Viceroy of Ireland. Thenceforward —with a brief —Colonel Turner, as he .was at the time, maintained an . official connection with this country for. many years. He was Commissioner of Police’ —which meant despotic rulerin Cork, Kerry, Clare, and Limerick during the ‘ hottest ’ period of the Plan of Campaign struggle; and it was during this experience of Ireland from thirty to twenty . years ago that the able soldier and resolute executive officer arrived at the polifcal convictions which are responsible for his subscriptions year after year to the funds of the national movement. • By the w r ay, General Alfred Turner is really a more brilliant, experienced, and resolute warrior than either Colonel McCalmont or Captain Craig.