16
AN GAODHAL.
support it," THE GAEL may soon be made a
power for good in the community.
I will conclude by praying (a sort of Doxol¬
ogy) that the mass of the Irish people may
even yet arouse from their criminal apathy —
arouse to a realization of the fact that he was
more than a mere rhetorician who said, “The
language of the conqueror in the mouth of the
conquered is the language of A SLAVE."
Respectfully,
A MORGAN DEELY.
POLITICS.
This Journal will be independent in politics
— favoring no section or party, but will hon¬
estly exercise the right to criticize when
deemed necessary. We favor such conduct of
the political system as will give every citizen
an equal share in its determination. We be-
lieve that every citizen should have a direct
voice in the appointment of all governmental
officials, and that the influence which the Gov¬
ernor of a State or the Mayor of a city may
wield, through the patronage of appointing
subordinate officials, is subversive of freedom,
and a pregnant source of begetting rings,
bosses, &c. It is an insult to the intelligence
of the citizen to say that, though he is quali¬
fied to elect his Mayor or Governor, he is not
qualified to elect minor officials. The whole
secret of this is, that if all important officials
were elected by the people, the occupation of
the kid-gloved politician would be gone.
PERSONAL.
James M. Shanahan, Esq., of the Board of
Education, is an enthusiastic admirer of THE
GAEL.
Counsellor John C. McGuire, at the Acade-
my of Music, eloquently defended the stand
taken by the executive of the Land League in
Ireland.
Mr. D. Gilgannon, President of the P. C.
Society, is another warm supporter of THE
GAEL.
Mr. Higgins, formerly a teacher with the
Franciscan Brothers in Butler Street, is now
with Appleton, N. Y.
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
BROOKLYN. — “I have noticed the termina¬
tions an and ly to many Irish names. Can you
give their origin and meaning in the next
number of THE GAEL?" — Enquirer.
[It seems to us that these terminations are
an Anglicization of the genitive case of the va¬
rious names from which they are derived.
Thus, Gabha is the Irish of McGowan, and
Gabhan is its genitive case. Sheanlaoich is
the Irish of Shanly, the genitive case of which
is Sheanlaoigh, and by syncopation we have
the Anglicized form Shanly.]
READER, do you believe that the people of
any nation ought to know something about
the language of that nation? If you do, buy
THE GAEL, show it to your neighbor, and
make him buy it also. The cost of it is only
five cents a month, or sixty cents a year — a
little over a cent a week. We have heard
many Irish people say that they never saw the
Irish alphabet. Will they, now that they have
the opportunity, try to get a knowledge, not
only of the alphabet, but of the language also,
Or will they give their children the opportu-
nity which the force of circumstances denied
themselves, by getting THE GAEL, and by mak-
ing them study it? There is no other people
on the face of the globe to-day that do not
know something about their native language
but the Irish alone! Will they not make
some effort to wipe away that slur from their
otherwise fair fame? We appeal to the learned
of our kindred, the patriotic of our kindred, to
wipe away this stain. We appeal to the mem-
bers of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and
the St. Patrick's Alliance to take this matter
into consideration, and to assist in the move¬
ment for the preservation of their mother
tongue. We call on the clergy, who have
been the leaders of the people whenever their
honor or welfare was at stake, to come to the
rescue of this one remnant of their ancient au-
tonomy.
THOSE of our readers residing in New York
and Brooklyn, who cannot master the Gaelic
matter in this journal, will receive all instruc-
tion gratuitously by attending the meetings of
the various Irish Language Societies in those
cities. The Brooklyn Society meets at Jeffer-
son Hall, cor. Adams and Willoughby Streets,
Thursday and Sunday evenings at 7½ o’clock.
The New York Society for the Preservation
of the Irish Language meets at Clarendon
Hall, 114 and 116 East 13th Street, Wednesday
evenings at 7½, and Sundays at 3 o’clock.
The New York Philo-Celtic Society meets
at 295 Bowery on the evening of Thursday at
7½, and Sunday at 3 o’clock.
At all those places competent teachers are
always ready to impart all the necessary in
struction — gentlemen and ladies whose only
compensation lies in the consciousness that
that they are discharging their duty to mother
land.
