The journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. VI, 1906

by Various

ADDRESS TO THE SOCIETY BY PRESIDENT-GENERAL McGOWAN.

The following address was issued early in the year by President-General McGowan:

To the Members of the American-Irish Historical Society:

Gentlemen: Permit me to express my gratitude for the honor you have done me in electing me to be your president-general for the ensuing year. I accept the office, and will discharge its duties and responsibilities to the utmost of my ability.

To be the official head of a society such as ours is a position any man, no matter how exalted his place in life, should be proud to hold. My distinguished predecessors in the office—Meade, Moseley, Gargan, Crimmins, McAdoo—have ably presided over the Society’s affairs in the past and have reflected honor upon the organization, as honor has been reflected upon them in virtue of their being chosen to that high station.

The American-Irish Historical Society is now in its tenth year of existence. It has accomplished a vast amount of good, and the practical work it has so abundantly performed is of permanent value and utility. No organization was more needed and none has a broader or more glorious field in which to work.

The Irish chapter in American history is one of the most important and interesting in our career as a nation. It was a strong and important chapter in America for even a century before we became a nation, and has gone on increasing in importance and potency, in value and interest, as generation has succeeded generation, until today it stands unsurpassed in the respects mentioned.

As John Boyle O’Reilly once wrote,

We slight no true devotion, steal no fame

From other shrines to gild the Pilgrims’ name.

So I may say, we rob no race to gild the Irish name when we undertake to unearth the records of the past, showing what the Irish element has accomplished in the early colonial periods and in later periods when the republic was forming and had become a fact. We merely wish to claim, assert and set forth the credit which to us belongs, for the part that men and women of Irish blood took in bringing about the reign of liberty and freedom we now enjoy.

Toward people of all other race elements in the make-up of the American people—English, French, Dutch, German, etc., by whatever name they may be known or from whatever land they or their ancestors may have come—we entertain good will and desire them to have such meed of credit and of praise as to them belongs. We do not wish to praise ourselves by “masquerading in borrowed plumes,” nor have we any desire to detract one iota from the credit that is honestly that of others.

But the credit that is ours we demand and shall insist upon possessing. Our mission is “To make better known the Irish chapter in American history.” That brief statement of our principles conveys in a very few words our exact reason for existence as a society.

We are an American historical organization devoted to a work that shall place the Irish element in this great republic in its proper and merited position before the American people of which we constitute no small part, and which shall, at the same time, reflect glory upon the Irish fatherland. Our Society rests upon a generous basis. Its founders builded wisely and for the perpetuation of the heroic deeds of the past. I trust these founders will long be honored by every member of the organization.

Reviewing the work thus far accomplished by the Society, I am prompted to say a few words: With very limited financial means, we have, nevertheless, produced five handsome volumes of the Journal of the organization, two other volumes of great merit and a number of extremely interesting pamphlets. Copies of these publications have been placed in the leading libraries of the country, where they have been cordially welcomed. Our publications are in the libraries of such institutions as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, Georgetown, Princeton, and other great universities, where they are having an excellent influence.

Here in Washington our publications are in the library of Congress, in that of the George Washington University, in the Catholic University and in the newly-established Trinity College for young women. The United States Military Academy at West Point also has our works on its shelves, as has the Naval Academy at Annapolis. From many leading historical societies come reports of our publications being received by them.

Many of the great public libraries—North, South, East and West are in receipt of the works issued by our Society, and the same are in constant demand for consultation and reference. Among these public libraries are those of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Troy, Rochester, Oswego, Buffalo, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Denver, San Francisco and other cities.

This is practical work. I know of no other society that in so short a time has done so much of real, lasting value as has ours. Indeed, when we consider all the circumstances, we have done astonishingly well. Many societies hoary with age, in the possession of plethoric treasuries, and constantly receiving large bequests, have done no better, if as well, from a practical viewpoint.

Our Society is fortunate in having an indefatigable secretary, who from the start has worked in season and out of season to advance the interests of the organization. A competent secretary is a priceless possession for any society, and we have been especially fortunate in this respect.

The Hon. John D. Crimmins of New York City, my immediate predecessor in the office of president-general, has always been ready with purse, services and hospitality to forward the interests of the Society, and under his administration the organization has made splendid progress. Owing to his initiative, a movement has just been started to raise a permanent fund of $10,000 for the organization. This is good news, indeed, and I have no doubt the amount will be speedily raised. With a substantial fund such as this back of it, the Society will be enabled to be of even greater service in the future than it has in the past.

The salient work of the organization must be its publications. The more we have of these the better for the cause we have at heart. While a dinner, now and then, is desirable, the organization must never deteriorate into a mere dining club. Too many societies, started with the most comprehensive program, have done this and lost sight of their original purposes. Our Society differs from others in that it is established for historical purposes, to make original research into the records and documents of the past and to place the result of its researches in permanent, tangible form. Careful and frequent publications will enable us to do this.

A great deal depends upon the continued issuance of the annual volume of the Journal of our Society. That work has thus far been, and will continue to be, of the greatest possible utility. It gives the Society a recognized standing in the community that would be difficult to obtain by any other means. Its advent, year by year, therefore, is of prime importance.

Speaking incidentally, I may say that I would like to see special attention given during the year to a study of the material bearing upon the reputed voyages to these shores of the Irish missionary, Brendan. These voyages, attributed to a period many centuries preceding Christopher Columbus, appear to be fully as well authenticated as those of the Northmen to Vinland. Indeed, the Norse sagas mention remote Irish comers to these shores and duly credit a land here once known as Great Ireland. De Roo, in his recent work, the History of America Before Columbus, goes into this subject in a very entertaining manner. As a rule, our school text-books on history, while accepting implicitly the narratives relative to the Northmen and Vinland, find no room in their pages to even allude to Brendan and his voyages, although, as I have intimated, the latter seem to rest upon as secure an historical basis as the former. Mr. Justin Winsor and other distinguished writers, however, make special mention of the subject and treat the latter with respect.

The history of the early Irish in Virginia is also deserving of our special attention. Irish names are found in the Old Dominion prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, while in the Plymouth colony itself, Governor Bradford tells us, numbers of Irish arrived a few years after the coming of the Mayflower. The war against the Indian king, Philip, 1675–’76, found Irish enlisted on the side of the colonists, showing that at that period sons of old Hibernia were numerous and active here. These and other early periods and movements furnish our Society ample material for consideration.

As American history progresses, the material increases in volume and is greatly multiplied as the Revolution eventuates. But these facts are well known to you and require no lengthy narrative of detail on my part. I merely briefly refer to them in order, by way of review, to indicate the abundance of material awaiting development at our hands.

I am delighted with the project now under way by the Society to erect a bronze tablet in the Rhode Island state capitol to the memory of Maj.-Gen. John Sullivan. The idea is a most felicitous one and deserves the heartiest commendation. Sullivan was one of the great soldiers of the Revolution. The placing of the forthcoming tablet will be a merited tribute to his patriotism and military skill while in command of the Rhode Island department and during the entire period of the war.

There are many other great Americans of Irish blood who deserve like honors, and doubtless the Society will, from time to time, erect tablets to their memory or commemorate them in some other worthy manner. The suggestion that the occasion of the dedication of the Sullivan tablet be made a field day by the Society is a happy one, and will, I trust, be fully carried out.

As our Society grows in numbers and prosperity, the question of permanent headquarters will demand consideration. Books and pamphlets will accumulate by gift or purchase and a place will be needed where these can be displayed for consultation by the members and others engaged in historical research. Where these headquarters shall be located is a subject for future action. A number of cities are deserving of consideration. In many respects, Washington, the national capital, would be the ideal place, while, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and other cities, also present special advantages. But this whole matter can be fully considered at some future time.

The Society recalls with pleasure its visit to Washington a few years ago, when it was cordially received at the White House by our distinguished fellow-member, President Roosevelt. I hope that during my term as head of the organization the Society will again have occasion to visit the national capital and once more partake of Washington hospitality.

Again expressing my gratitude for the honor you have conferred upon me and hoping that I shall have, while president-general, the generous assistance of every member of the Society, I remain

Yours fraternally,

John McGowan,

President-General.

Washington, D. C., February 25, 1906.