Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, 11 January 1912, Page 35

Irish News

ANTRIM—Death of a Priest Ulster has lost, one of its most distinguished ecclesiastics in the Rev. Dr.' Daniel O'Logan, for some time Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Maynooth, who , died at the Mater Hospital,' Belfast, about the middle of November. ' ' DUBLlN—Talented Brothers Two brothers, Masters Joseph and William Keohane, took first and second place respectively at the % recent examination among the sons of Civil Servants in Ireland for free scholarships of the value of £l5O each in the National University. They are the sons of Mr.' W. Keohane, Inland Revenue, Dublin. Founded Fifty Years ago A most touching function was held at the Jesuit Church, Gardiner street, Dublin, on Sunday afternoon, November 19, when Father Bannoh, 5.J.,, took formal leave of the Sodality of Our Blessed Lady, Help of Christians, established by him fifty years ago. Increasing illness and infirmities have prompted a step which is keenly regretted by all who have learned the worth of his services "as director, and his valedictory address was listened to with whole-hearted sympathy by the large congregation which had assembled for the occasion. * What the Public Read , : : Alderman ■ Doctor McWalter, Chairman of the . Public Libraries Committee, has caused lists to be prepared showing the thirty works of fiction most in de- : mand amongst Dublin readers. For this the worthy doctor deserves much gratitude, as it is clearly shown that only the most wholesome literature is demanded by the numerous patrons of the public libraries. Canon Sheehan Dr. McWalter finds to be the most popular novelist among Dublin readers. Matched with writers like Dickens and Lever, he counts more patrons. Another cleric, he,adds—the. Rev. J. J. Meldon— the Canon close. Kickham's Knochnagow is still a favorite in some of tho libraries, but not in all. Amongst: the lady novelists Katharine Tynan and, Rosa Mulholland outclass Mrs. Henry Wood and Miss Braddon. Mrs. Alexander .; and Helen : Mathers are well in the running' with favorites like Baroness Orczy and Mrs. Pender. The classical novelists make a very poor show amongst the favorites. The friends of George Eliot or George Meredith are too few to get a place for them in the list. Bulwer ,Lytton and Disraeli are nowhere; meither are Wilkie Collins, G. P. James, James Payne, nor, any of the -Victorian,* second-rate stars. ,In \ concluding, the doctor says now that the fever of virtuous indignation against prurient printed matter is raging, it may be claimed -that the thirty novels which /' Dublin favors most' are singularly innocuous. There : is not one of them, he thinks, that might not fittingly find a place in. the most austere convent library. LIMERICK—A Brave Boy At Glin Petty Sessions Court on November 18, the chairman (Mr. Woulfe Flanagan, R.M.) presented a silver watch from the, trustees of the Carnegie Hero Fund to a twelve-year-old boy named James Dillane for his bravery in rescuing his eight-year-old brother j from; drowning in the :■' Shannon. -..'"*•' ■ - : . , MAYO—New Bishop of Killala .-." His Grace the Archbishop of Tuam received word from Rome on November 20 that the Very Rev. James .Naugbtoh, President St. Muredach's College, had been:',: chosen to succeed the;late ;Most Rev. Dr. Conmy in the See of Killala. The news was received with the greatest satisfaction in Ballina, the native town of the new Bishop-elect, and throughout-the diocese:. All I; the houses were brilliantly illuminated in 'celebration of the tidings. Dr.- Naughton was ordained in 1889,, after passing through a distinguished course in May- - nooth. His first curacy was in Enniscrone, and he: was afterwards at Erris, and from there transferred to i ■'./■■'

• : ■ ■ if '■ Ballina. In the year 1891 he became Administrator of the Cathedral parish, and five years ago, when the new college was opened, he was appointed its President, in which position he has remained, giving proof of great administrative capacity, and conducting the Vcollege with the highest success. 'At a large meeting of the Palmer tenants in reference to the recent purchase of the estate, the chairman (Very Rev. Father Quinn, Vicar-Capitular), before the opening of the proceedings, made the announcement of the nomination of the new Bishop amidst prolonged applause. : He tendered to Dr. Naughton the congratulations of the priests and people of the diocese. ROSCOMMON— Parliamentary Party In the course of a letter to the Roscommon U.I.L. in which he intimates that he will this year double his subscription? to the Parliamentary Fund, Very Rev. Canon Cummins says: —' With T regard to the Parliamentary collection, lam prepared to add in every way in my power in making it a success in this parish. The Irish Party deserve not only the gratitude but the practical ;■' support of every true lover of Ireland, and especially of the Irish tenant farmer, whom they have raised from a position of slavery to one of independence and self-respect. The. Party\ has accomplished great things for Ireland; a big struggle just now. lies before them; they have to fight Toryism, Orangeism, and creed ascendancy arrayed in ferocious opposition in the last ditch, and on the issue of that struggle depends the freedom and progress of our beloved country.' TIPPERARY—Monster Apples Apples grow to a great size under cultivation;' 1 We are told of a Bramley's seedling weighing 28ibz—a fruit that won first prize at the recent Clonmel Show. It was grown by Mrs. Blackmore, Piltown, County Kilkenny, who holds an experimental orchard under the Department of Agriculture. It was picked from a tree planted seven years ago. At that show there were plenty of apples weighing from 20 to 250 z each, the second prize winner weighing 270 z. TYRONE—Another Centenarian The death is reported from Dunamore,, a mountain district-near Cookstown, County Tyrone, of . James :. Loughran at the great age of 110 years. The deceased centenarian, who resided with an unmarried daughter was a small farmer. V' '■''-" "'. '" GENERAL Land Purchase Figures .' .■,_.'■ Replying to a question in the House of Commons, Mr. Birrell said:—The Estates ; Commissioners inform me that the. total price of lands I sold to March 3] last ; under the Land Purchase Acts ■ was £67,839,088, and .the area is 6,497,162 acres. March 31 lands of an estimated value of over £45,000,000 were pending for TilJ those Acfcs >' and he " area ■is approximately 4,075,400 acres. " '-V .' r " .' J Ireland and the Insurance Act ' The following are the principal amendments made m the Insurance Bill as regards Ireland:—lreland is to have a separate Commission, a distinct fund and separate administration of the Bill. The joint contribution from employer and employed in Ireland will be i feat Britain ifc is 7d ~ from the master and 4d from the man. The saving in Ireland is to be divided between the employer and worker: From waees under nine shillings a week there is to be no contribution from the worker at all. .. All the benefits ai ven in England will be given in Ireland, except medical oenent.: bmce that is already given in Ireland by the local dispensaries i (without inflicting any disfranchisement), public opinion is against the incurring of any new financial outlay for what is considered *an unnecessary innovation. Irish Fisheries s h P ll^M q i Ua^ y -° f T Se i a 5 1 * salmon and shell-fish) landed in Ireland during 1910 is calculrJed (according to the Department return for 1910 which has just been issued) at 52,000 tons, the estimated value

being £316,500. The centres of supply have been, mainly, Howth, Kilkeel, Ardglass, Buncrana, Cleggan, Cahirciveen, Kinsale, Galway,- and Dublin. (Contrasted with the year 1909,, there were only 5652 vessels engaged in sea fishing, as against 5976, and in hands employed—men and boysthere was a decrease c.f 1542, > the figures being for 1910 20,690, as against 22,232. The development of motor power in, fishing has continued, and it is said that the demand for large fishing vessels has been so great that the building yards have been unable to keep pace with it. Utilisation of Peat During the past half-century many unsuccessful attempts have been made to utilise the stores of energy in the peat bogs of Ireland. At a meeting of the Institution of Civil Engineers in Ireland, Mr. P. C. Cowan, in the course of a very interesting presidential address, said that there was now some hope that this problem was near solution. At a weaving factory at Portadown a peat gas engine has lately been erected by which power is obtained at a fuel cost of only one-sixteenth of a penny per brake horse-power per hour. The interesting plant supplies the driving power for Mr. Hamilton Robb's weaving factory, which employs between five and six hundred workers. The peat itself is cut from a bog near Lough Neagh, dried in the open air in the ordinary way, and brought by water to Portadown, a cheap method of transit.