ANNUAL BANQUET.
President-General Quinlan: Ladies and Gentlemen and Honored Guests, in the name of the American-Irish Historical Society, I bid you welcome to our city and to the Twelfth Annual Banquet of our Society.
During the last year, some events have crowded into the history of the Irish people in this country that give thrill and romance to the race. One feature that is preëminent, and one that stands vividly before us as if yesterday, was the pageant on the land and sea of the Hudson-Fulton celebration. That grand occasion, ladies and gentlemen, brought forth in this city and its environs a multitude of people who have come to honor the men who have placed their names in American history and who have perpetuated its grandeur. The conditions surrounding this great event are only too well known to you, and it would be like bringing coals to Newcastle were I to burden your memory by referring to that occasion.
Tonight we have assembled to commemorate an event in the history of this Society. Some twelve years ago, in the city of Boston, a call was sent out by the late Secretary-General of this organization to some men in the outlying cities and suburban towns to assemble and organize a society that would correct the wrong that had been done the American-Irish or Irish-American, and make known what they had achieved. The history of our country has oft been written by men of English blood, and it was the purpose of that body that was assembled to correct erroneous impressions and give color, feature and dignity to the men who have made it possible for us to enjoy the beautiful flag of our Union. (Applause.)
This Society is essentially American because its interests are coupled with the defence of the flag, and we have everything in common with the community of our great nation. It is Irish because its sons and grandsons have made their weight felt in every walk of life, and are commemorating the conditions that were given to them by their sires. It is historic because it is our pleasure, our pride and our privilege to record the achievements of Irishmen in every walk of life, and to make them better known in the history of today and in the history to come, and to give force and color and emphasis to what they have done for our Republic. (Applause.)
As this is an historical body, it may be my privilege tonight to refer occasionally to manuscript, in order that every word uttered by the executive may bear the imprint of record. Sustained as I am on both sides by the law and the Church, I could not otherwise but give utterance to that which emanates from and has been conceived by people who have toiled and wrought and developed a condition and a color that has stood out for what is right.
With the inception of our country, Irishmen have been ever foremost to proclaim their allegiance—from Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who dedicated his life and fortune to the cause of Independence, to the humblest wage-earner who contributes his quota, from the bleak shores of Alaska to the Mexican Gulf. They have added lustre to Columbia’s Coronet, and in the womb of the unborn future they will continue their unswerving devotion to the cause of Freedom.
This is the youngest historical daughter of Erin in America. It has been suckled at the breasts of the Mother Irish Societies here, many of whom are older than the very country itself. It has grown and matured because it was sustained by a spirit of justice, and it has lived and prospered under the sheltering influence of the Stars and Stripes.
Our fathers sought this country as an asylum from the tyranny and misrule of England, and they builded far better than they knew. For the past two hundred years, they were deprived of every condition, social and educational, that belonged to a country whose civilization at one time had illumined the world. The pages of Irish history for the past seven hundred years present little else than sorrow, privation and oppression. During the past two hundred years, Irishmen have come to Columbia’s open arms, and they have not been unworthy of her tender care and affection. We stand here tonight entrenched behind the history of our past, and Ireland’s sons and daughters have taken their place in the household of America, and we will strive to be worthy of the position assigned to us in her family.
I am pleased to announce that the past year has witnessed industrial and educational changes in the Emerald Isle. One-half of the present occupiers of the land have purchased the ground outright (Applause) and the division of the untenanted pasture lands among the people has stimulated thrift and neatness, as well as increased production, whilst the Irish trade-mark has protected its home industries. Home Rule agitation has strengthened the position of Mr. Redmond and vindicated his Parliamentary activity. The prospects for Home Rule in Ireland, whether from the tariff reform or from the Conservatives or Free Trade Liberals, are now brighter than they have been since the year 1885. (Applause.)
HONORABLE THOMAS F. GILROY,
Far Rockaway, Queen’s County, New York.
Formerly Mayor of New York City.
It is not my thought, in this prefatory address, to invade the province of subsequent speakers, but rather to introduce to you in a modest way our position as an historical body in this great nation. The gentlemen who will follow me will give you detailed accounts of our activity and strength in this country, whereas it is my humble part to explain our existence and ratify our importance as one of the races that make up this glorious Republic. (Applause.)
We know no creed except the Sermon on the Mount; no race but the community of honest purpose; no politics but those which serve for the betterment of mankind. We want our record from the voyage of Brendan, who antedated Columbus nine hundred and fifty years, to this country, down to the invention of Brennan of the monorail, inscribed upon the pages of history as products of Irish thought and ingenuity.
I will take a minute, if I may, to explain in a digressional way what I have alluded to in my last sentence. Mr. Louis Brennan, inventor of the Brennan torpedo and the Brennan monorail, of which he recently gave a successful exhibition in London, was born in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. He was, from 1887 to 1896, superintendent of the Government Brennan Torpedo Factory, of which he is at present the consulting engineer. The first monorail for commercial purposes will soon be in operation in the city of New York. Mr. Brennan estimates that it can easily attain a speed of 140 miles an hour, and that danger is practically negative.
Your Presidents-General, from Admiral Meade to Admiral McGowan, have been men who have stood for the great ideals of this country. Their labors in this Society have been crowned with success, and those of this group of executives who have been removed by the hand of Death can look from their exalted places tonight and feel proud of their meritorious work. They have erected the edifice; it is only left for us to maintain the structure. The work of this Society would be like a “Rope of Sand,” as my friend Clarke would say, unless we perpetuate our traditions and realize the anticipations of our forefathers.
This Society needs a Chapter in every State of the Union, where semi-annual meetings should be held for the purpose of reading historical papers, and at the same time to draw closer and closer together our people. Bring your sons into our Society that they, too, may enjoy the glorious association of our kinsfolk. (Applause.)
There is a tendency, however, among the young people (and this I say with regret) to regard anything Irish as unstylish and, perhaps, a trifle low. Now, such thoughts must be eliminated by their presence and coöperation with us, and their participation in all our allied interests.
My work among you has been a labor of love. The administration has been ably seconded in all its efforts, and the Membership Committee, headed by its indefatigable captain, has regenerated our Society by its colossal work. In two years our forces have been increased to nearly one thousand members (Applause) and the Society has benefited numerically and intellectually, as well as financially.
It is a well-known fact, that, in the event of death, either by illness or accident, of the Great Father of our Country, it was his express wish that the command of the Continental Army should be given to General John Sullivan. (Applause.)
That seven of the sixteen generals in that same army were Irishmen or Irishmen’s sons. That Commission No. 1 in the Continental Navy was given to Jack Barry of the City of Wexford. (Applause.) That the first naval victory of the Revolution on the high seas was won by Maurice O’Brien of Maine and his seven sons (Lexington of the Seas). (Applause.)
That four months before a shot was fired at Lexington, proclaiming the War of Independence, a handful of patriots, mostly Irish boys, led by John Sullivan of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, overpowered an English garrison at Newcastle and captured guns and ammunition that were used with deadly effect at Bunker Hill. (Applause.)
It was said this afternoon at our scientific gathering by one familiar with the subject that the finest lot of books that ever came into America at one time was presented to Yale College by Bishop Berkeley of Cloyne, Ireland, and formed the nucleus of its great library. That Thomas Dongan, Earl of Limerick, as Governor of New York, gave the Colony its first great Charter in 1683; and that twelve of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Irishmen or men of Irish extraction.
Wireless telegraphy owes its discovery to the son of a Dublin mother, steam navigation to a son of Erin, and the great Erie Canal—it ought to be the Erin Canal—to the descendant of a Celt. Through the bodies of eight presidents of our Nation coursed Irish blood, and many of the gifted dramatists and actors of our country have come from gentle Irish stock; whilst editors and literateurs have been pleased to call their inspiration purely Celtic. Fortified by such forces in the past, we are here tonight to blow life into the mummified historians of our day, and to awaken in them the honest motto of our Society, “That the World may know.” (Applause.)
George II had reason to say: “Cursed be the laws that deprived me of these subjects,” and how George III could re-echo these fateful words after his unjust taxation upon the early colonists is to be marvelled at; but the Irish were here then, as they are here now, ready to avenge to the hills their treasured wrongs.
It is not my purpose on such an occasion as this to dim your eyes or sadden your thoughts with unhappy reflections, but custom holds me to a strict account; therefore a befitting allusion to our departed brothers is not out of place, and such an omission would indeed be culpable.
Our ranks have been depleted during the past year by the Great Leveller. Many of these we could ill afford to lose, but, by Divine Command, they have gone where, with watchful eyes, they will continue to follow us in spirit. Let us be worthy of the heritage they have given us, and when we, too, part company from those we love, let it be said of us as it is said of them, “They are absent but not forgotten.” (Applause.)
The band will now play the “Star Spangled Banner,” and I will propose a toast to the President of our Nation, William H. Taft. (Toast drunk standing.)
President-General Quinlan: Ladies and gentlemen, you will kindly be seated. We are only upon the threshold as yet, we shall soon invade the building.
In my enthusiasm I forgot, in the opening part of my speech, to thank the men who have elected me for the third time to the presidency of this great Society.
I want the women here tonight to take this matter up with these derelicts—I won’t say whether it is father, husband or son. You see mothers are always before me, and I can’t get away from the mental picture as well as the physical one. But the women can do much good. Look what they have done tonight! If you could stand here and see this beautiful picture, effulgent with everything lovely, it seems that the flowers and shrubs of Paradise have been sent down here in order to give color and radiance to this picture! And then the inspiration—Mr. Crimmins says a feast in itself.
Now I want the good women to talk about the American-Irish Historical Society, to boom it, so to speak, and I feel confident that much good will be accomplished through their efforts.
I am going to ask the Secretary-General to read one or two communications from absent members, and we will go through this programme like Paderewski does with his touch on the piano.
Secretary-General Lee: Mr. President—
(Applause.)
Ladies and Gentlemen of the American-Irish Historical Society, I thank you sincerely. At the direction of the President-General, I have three communications to read. The first is from our fellow member, Mr. Victor Herbert. It is a telegram to the President-General:
“New York, January 8, 1910.
“Dr. Francis J. Quinlan,
“President-General American-Irish Historical Society,
“New York City.
“Am prevented from being present tonight on account of attack of tonsilitis, confining me to residence. Wish fellow members and guests a right good time.
“Victor Herbert.”
(Applause.)
The next two are letters from ex-United States Senator William E. Chandler, who is Vice-President of the Society for New Hampshire:
“Concord, N. H., January 6, 1910.
“My Dear Mr. Lee:
“It gives me pleasure to be allowed to apply to be a member of the American-Irish Historical Society.
“Should I be elected, please give me the necessary notice. I find I shall not be able to attend the meeting of Saturday; but if I can be of service to you in Concord or Washington it will give me pleasure to do so.
“Very truly,
“Wm. E. Chandler.”
“Washington, D. C., January 6, 1910.
“My Dear Mr. Lee:
“I recommend for membership John W. Kelley of Portsmouth, N. H. I reckon, however, he is now a member.
“Hastily yours,
“Wm. E. Chandler.”
I move you, Mr. President, Mr. Kelley’s election as a member of this organization.
President-General Quinlan: You have heard the motion that Mr. John W. Kelley be elected a member of the American-Irish Historical Society. Those in favor say “aye,” those opposed “nay.” Mr. Kelley is unanimously elected.
President-General Quinlan: It is necessary that you give your undivided attention to the next speaker. He is the financial agent, or, rather trust president of our corporate body. Mr. Dooley has been associated with the American-Irish Historical Society for many years. You all know Judge Lee, because he is in touch with you constantly upon the various matters that concern our Society, whether historical or social; but Mr. Dooley has so little occasion to remind you of your obligations, as the wave of financial return sweeps into him without any reminder from his office. He is quiet, modest and dignified, like a great many of our New Englanders.
Now, within the borders of that section of New England—notice New “England,”—it is now nearly New “Ireland,”—Mr. Dooley represents one of the largest moneyed organizations in the City of Providence. And he is so proud of his Irish blood that sometimes I am fearful lest he be overtaken with a patriotic seizure; his enthusiasm seems to know no bounds. We will now hear him in his own plain, honest words. I have the pleasure of presenting to you the Treasurer-General of our Society, Hon. Michael F. Dooley.
(Band plays “Oh, Mr. Dooley” amid hearty applause.)
Treasurer-General Dooley: This is not the first time I have been greeted with that song, and, while the voices here tonight have been exceedingly delightful to listen to, I can’t help thinking of a criticism that was once passed by the New York Sun upon the “Boston Ideals,” who had been singing English opera, and had done it splendidly. They came to New York determined to enter the field of Italian opera, and the morning following their first night the Sun, in its criticism, started in by saying: “Ideals rush in where artists fear to tread.” I congratulate you upon the song; you sang it so well.
I regret very much that an imperfect memory makes it necessary for me to read this paper to you, but its brevity, I hope, will make good what it otherwise lacks.