So he did not come and the assemblage at Brown was denied the sunshine of his presence. O’Brien died of a wound received in battle and was given a soldier’s burial in Greenwood. Nowhere was his death more deeply felt than among his friends in Providence.
I have already alluded to James G. Dougherty of the class of 1865. In 1862 he enlisted in the Tenth Rhode Island Volunteers, and saw service in Virginia. The close of the war was enthusiastically celebrated at Brown. Dougherty was chairman of the committee of arrangements and introduced President Sears to the great gathering assembled on that occasion. Mayor Doyle of Providence was also among the speakers. There was music, an illumination and unbounded enthusiasm.
The university has long numbered among her brightest students young men of Irish lineage. From the days of long ago down to the present, graduates of Irish descent have gone forth and won honorable distinction in life. The dear old alma mater has proudly watched their career and rejoiced in the credit reflected by their success. Americans they are, Americans they have been, by birth, by association, by education, in sympathy, in allegiance, in patriotism. Not that they love the land of their ancestors less, but that of their nativity more. Of Brown’s alumni may be mentioned in this connection:
McGuinness, twice secretary of state of Rhode Island, and twice mayor of Providence.
Whitney, later ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood.
Harson, the prominent merchant, the vigorous writer, a founder of the fraternity Phi Kappa Sigma.
Sheahan, clerk of the house of representatives; member of the bar.
Monaghan, United States consul to Mannheim and Chemnitz.
Brennan, a lawyer of note; judge-advocate-general on the staff of Governor Davis.
And so on, through a long and imposing list,—Murphy, Quinn, Holland, O’Connor, Kiley, McDonald, Gillrain, McGinn, Smith, Corcoran, Fitzgerald, Magill, Sexton, Cunningham, O’Neil, Hamill, O’Donnell, Mahoney, Hoye, Feeley, Cavanaugh and the rest.