106
AN GAOḊAL.
too much." And that same story
has been rehashed in America to-
day by the representatives of the
self same soupers, and with much
greater effect than it had in the
Old Country and hence the large
number, distinctively Irish names
who are members and support¬
ers of the various Protestant deno¬
minations in this city; who are al¬
so rabid members of the A P A.
Some years ago the Gael made
the assertion that the greatest en¬
mies of the Irish element in Ame¬
rica were the English-educated off¬
springs of well-to do illiterate Irish
parentage — it repeats it to-day, and
with much greater emphasis. Our
assertion then was evoked by a
young lawyer (whose parents were
from the county Sligo) asking us
if the Irish had an alphabet (im¬
plying that it was not a cultivated
language). Now, this lawyer must
have believed that he was the off¬
spring of barbarism and, of course,
logically, that the English lies were
facts
About a month ago, a young
man, a doctor, just graduated from
the Pennsylvania college — was in¬
troduced to us, and his introducer
requested of us to read some of the
Gaelic matter in the Gael. We did.
The doctor said he was not aware
that the Irish had a written lang¬
uage. We told him of the lawyer
referred to above (whom he knew)
He said that he did not know either
that the Irish had a written lang¬
uage. We asked if he had read the
history of English Literature, that
taught in the schools here in the
city. He evaded a direct answer,
and launched into the usual anti
Irish strain that "The Irish did not
know what they wanted — that they
were never so well off as they are
now."
The doctor's father was an hum¬
ble, illiterate, steady man, who sa¬
ved some money years ago and in¬
vested it in suburban lots, which
have now become of considerable
value, so that he was able to send
his son to college to be educated
and receive a medical diploma.
"The Old man" (as the son call¬
ed him) made his little money in
the comparatively humble, but re¬
spectable, calling of going through
the city edging tools
Had that man (he died five or
six months ago) kept Gaelic litera¬
ture in his house for the perusal
of his children when they were
young and under his control, they
would know that they were not de¬
scended from a barbarous ancestry
and would not be in danger of for¬
saking every thing that was near
and dear to him, and which would
make him curse the day that he ed¬
ucated them in anti-Irish schools,
could his spirit conceive their prox¬
imity to that terrible abyss, —.
The Irish-American press has it
now in its power to do much grea¬
ter service to its element than it
ever had before by urging its read¬
ers to form branchs of the Amer¬
ican Gaelic League in every town,
city and hamlet in the Union Ne¬
ver before has the barefaced att¬
empt been made to denationalize
us, by characterizing us as Anglo-
Saxons, that has been made today,
and every Irishman should do all
in his power to resent this ruffian¬
ly, malevolent, lying and black-
guardish characterization. News¬
paper men have now the opportu¬
nity to serve their element: actions
and not words are necessary.
We had a letter from Mr. James
Carney, Aughleam, Belmullet, Co.
Mayo, a few days ago, saying that
much distress prevails in that lo¬
cality. Mr Carney is N S Teacher
there, and is well acquainted with
the sad condition of the place.
