“I will not go back to the early days of the country’s history. It is sufficient to say that in a parliamentary inquiry as to the conduct of the war against the colonies by a committee of the House of Commons of which Edmund Burke was a member, this interesting fact was brought forth. In the cross-examination of Major General Robertson, Mr. Burke asked the question, ‘Of what elements is the Continental Army composed?’ Robertson said, ‘On authority of General Lee, I inform you that more than half the Continental Army is made up of Irishmen.’
“The illustrious names that adorn our country’s history are entitled to imperishable renown because of great deeds well done in that Revolutionary struggle. Among them is a list of men of Irish birth, beginning with the man who struck the first blow, General Sullivan, and continuing along the line to the close of the war. And when I think of the contributions made, the common sufferings endured, and the sacrifices made without limit as to time or circumstance, I say the Irish and their descendants are entitled to the privilege of claiming with proud confidence that this is their own country.
“The history of Ireland is confined to an island with its curious, sad and heroic circumstances, but the history of the Irish people is limited only by the inhabitable portions of the globe.
“I have been, as you have been, chagrined to perceive the disposition to rob these people of the credit which is truly and justly their due. Who can read of Burke and Goldsmith and Johnson and Sheridan and Tyndale as English authors without a feeling that some one has been guilty of grand larceny and misrepresentation.
“Who can read the page of history which places Arthur Wellesley as an Englishman without feeling that the hero of Waterloo has been misplaced? Why deny to this island, bereft of the right to control its own destiny, the privilege of claiming the honor and distinction properly due to the achievements of its distinguished sons?
“It is desirable that a society like unto this should be established in England to change the trend which leads to error and confusion. What we undertake here should be undertaken there. I am glad that this Society has taken up the work of developing the history of the Irish and their descendants in the United States, for it is a great and glorious feature in American history. While proud of the past, while proud of the achievements of those whose deeds we record, it is important, I think, that we should at the same time bear in mind the duty we owe to the future.
“I would that the Americans of Irish birth and descent in this country could unite their energies and make of this force in American life a leading force for higher conceptions of civic duty, a force looking to better living, a force working for a civilization such as has not been dreamed of by those who have struggled in the past. This we may do while recording that which has gone by with fidelity and truth. Let us be true to ourselves by working for such conditions as will make our race more distinguished henceforth in its achievements than it has been in the splendid work of the past.”
President-General Quinlan: The next and last toast of the evening is “Advantages of Historical Research to Irish Americans.” The response will be made by a noble American of Irish ancestry, who comes from the granary belt of the great Northwest, the land of Sitting Bull and the brave Sioux, where the ardent flames of patriotism burn with the intensity of true Americanism.
What means this gathering here tonight,
What Spirit moves along