John Lynch.
Mr. O’Donovan Rossa, Skibbereen.
I went to the banquet. Jerrie Hodnett, of Youghal, presided. Father Ned Mulcahy, Timoleague, delivered an address in the Irish language, and Brian Dillon raised the roof off the house singing “O’Donnell Aboo” and “Is truadh gan oighre ’nar bhfarradh.” Father Ned is dead. Riding by his side at a funeral one day, he told me, he had had his parishioners ready to start into the field with him in ’48, if there was any fighting going on anywhere. He was one good Irish priest. Oh, yes; I believe there are lots of good Irish priests who aren’t known to be good, but who would show themselves good if the people were any good. When people show themselves slaves, it is not the duty of priests to make soldiers of them. It is not for such work as that, that men are ordained priests.
Brian Dillon died in prison. I have here a letter of introduction that he gave Michael O’Brien, the Manchester Martyr, to John O’Mahony, when Mike was leaving Cork in 1862. I may as well let you see it; blessed are the words of the brave dead:
Cork, 23d April, 1862.
Dear Sir—I had the pleasure of introducing the bearer, Mr. Michael O’Brien to you, the evening you visited the National Reading-room in Cork. He was the Secretary of that room, and was since ’58 an active, zealous brother and “B” of mine. He will himself tell you the reason of his visit to America, where he is so well known as to make this introduction of mine quite superfluous.
The news of the Colonel Doheny’s death has caused a wide-spread feeling of sorrow here. I trust in God, should his remains be ever brought over to Ireland, their landing will be the signal for that resurrection of the old land for which he labored so earnestly and well. All friends here deeply sympathize with Mrs. Doheny in the loss she has sustained, and it ought assuredly be a consolation to her to know that in the hour of her affliction, thousands of the truest in the old land have offered up their prayers for the repose of the soul of the eloquent, noble-hearted man and patriot who was her husband.
Mr. O’Brien will tell you all about the departure of Messrs. O’Carroll and O’Mahony to Queensland.
Fraternally yours,
Brian Dillon.