MASTER 1 V. •ft E T / 91-80229-11 MICROFILMED 1991 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States ~ Title 17, United States < - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material... Columbia University Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: O H LL, ENEAS TITLE: i^- ■^'^ ?"*'{•■■■ aSM m 1 *-"". ir JLj/m. \^ m2j • l\ CDONNELL... D DA TE : 18 COLUMBIA UNIVEI^ITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT Master Negative if DIDLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARCF T Original Material as Filmed - Fxisling Dibliographic Record ■sr jpv-,-'^'""'* J V^^' libtTsil con^-TilauVions ^"0 \W diffusion % '"s. 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Bound out of sequence: _Page(s) or illustration(s) filmed from copy borrowed ff om: Other: iOTyf^Jiimim.^i,f(iMJF;L "^ * « ^» * • c Association for Information and Image Management 1 1 00 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1 1 00 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 iiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiili III 8 9 10 iiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliii 11 J 12 13 14 15 mm iiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiii rrr Inches I I I I I Til 1 1.0 I.I 1.25 T "^ 111= ■so '""^^ |4 lU 1.4 TTT 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 I I I MflNUFPCTURED TO fillM STflNDRRDS BY PPPLIED IMAGE, INC. SPEECH DKLIVBRED BY ENEAS MAC DONNELL, Esq. AT A MEETING OF THE INHABITANTS OF MAYO, HELD, JULY 16th, 1826; WHXaSIR THE ANCIEKT FAMB OF IRELAND, AND HER LIBERAL CONTRliUTIONS TO THE DIFFUSION OP RELIGION, SCIENCE AND CIVILIZATION, THROUGHOUT GREAT BRITAIN AND OKTHER NATIONS, ARE, IN PART, ILLUSTRATED. DEDICATED TO THE PROTESTANT CLERGY OF ENGLAND, AND THE CATHOLIC CLERGY OF IRELAND: In the hope, that its perusal may induce the former to bear themselves kindly towards their Irish Fellow-Subjects ; and the latter to cultivate iu their Flocks, the memory of those Times and Circumstances in the History of their Country, which they cannot disregard without shame« or refer to without comfort, and much national advantage. LEEDS: PRINTED AT THE MERCURY OFFICE, BY EDWARD BAINES & SON. 1828. SPEECH or ENEAS MAC DONNELL, Esq. %. A Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Parish of Mayo was held on the 16th July, 1826, at the old Monastery of that name, to consider the propriety of soliciting British aid towards the erection of a School-house, a Chapel, and an enclosing Waill round the extensive Grave -yard. The place now used, alternately, for a School, and for religious worship, is a low thatched house, situated in the midst of the venerable ruins, with a damp earthen floor, two small windows, and a shattered door, which in the week days is unhinged, and converted into a table for the use of the Scholars. It was truly afflicting to learn that this is the only place for religious or literary instruction in the parish, and to contrast its wretchedness with the unerring marks of former magnificence displayed in the splendid relics that surround it. Here and there w^ere to be seen fragments of pillars, bases and capitals, of various dimensions and forms, with many beautiful specimens of ornamental sculpture, scattered over the graves, or collected in monumental heaps ; at the same time, that the interest evinced by the numerous peasantry, in contemplating and talking over the scene, was not the least affect- ing of many excitements to earnest and sympathizing attention. At the appointed hour the parishioners assembled in tiie little Chapel, and some friends attended to co-operate with them in the promotion of their object, including Eneas Mac Donnell, Esq. Agent, in England, to the Catholics of Ireland, who was on a visit with his relatives in the county of Mayo, of which he is a native. Upon the motion of Alexander Coghlan, Esq. the Reverend David Wahh. was called to the Chair. Mr. J. W, Coghlan was requested to act as Secretary. Mr. Eneas Mac Donnell opened the proceedings, and address- ed the Meeting to the following effect :— Mr. Chairman and Countrymen, As I had some share in convening the present Assembly, I feel that I am called upon, in the first instance, to state the circumstances in which it originated, and under which I presumed to interfere in your parochial concerns.^ I had been at the house of my esteemed relative, your good friend and neighbour, Mr. Joseph Macdonnell, of Carnacon, whom your venerable Archbishop, the Most Reverend Doctor Kelly, was pleased to honour with a visit, at the same time. On the day before yesterday, your worthy Pastor, now in the Chair, waited upon your revered Prelate, when the miserable condition of the Parish (-napel, and the total want of means, on your part, to provide a suitable place of worship and a School-house, became the subject of a conversation, at which I was present. I was not such a stern philosopher as to listen, with cold indifference, to the affecting recital. Knowing something of the ancient history of our Country, and her claims on other nations, and upon none so much as Great Britain, for vast contributions towards their religious and literary instruction, I had often made the matter subject of observation in public meetings and private circles, in London ; and it is only bare justice to those who were present, on such occa- sions, that 1 should add, that my appeal was always received with- out a single dissentient voice, and rather with marks of attention and sympathy. It struck me, that the peculiar claims of the sacred spot upon which we now stand, could be advantageously placed before the view of our British fellow-subjects, of every country, class, and creed. For, if the testimony of historians, Protestant and Catholic, as well foreign as domestic, ancient and modern, and particularly British, be not most false, it is a fact not to be doubted, that the nations of England, Scotland and Wales, are all, alike, bound, in the discharge of the obligations of gratitude, to acknow- ledge to Ireland very many services, in the diffusion of religion, science, and civilization among them. I make this assertion, de- liberately and advisedly, and, although I do not pretend to any extraordinary literary researches or information, I pledge myself to prove the truth of ray position before I sit down ; not, however, in a spirit of illiberal contrast or invidious nationality, but in the hope of eliciting friendship from our British fellow-subjects, and exciting, among my countrymen, an imitation of those practices and good feelings wnich we honour in our ancestry, and may make the subject of our just pride and boasting. It is right, before we proceed further, that the object of our pre- sent meeting should be distinctly and precisely defined, as well to guard against any erroneous anticipations, among my good friends who now surround me, as to prevent misconceptions and misrepre- sentations on the part of others, less friendly to our interests. Our object is, then, simply this; to consider the propriety of solicit- ing British aid, towards the erection of places of religious and literary instruction upon this ancient site, and of an enclosing wall round this extensive burial groimd. The want of the Chapel and the School is obvious to us all, at this moment, and we have only to pass the threshold of the door, to witness not less equivocal or painful proofs of the necessity of an enclosing wall ; as we should behold the bones of your ancestors, and probably, nay certainly, «f many worthy and sainted Britons, actually rooted out of their tombs by the swine that stroll through their graves. (Loud expres- jions of horror, accompanied with ejaculations of " 'tis true, 'tis true.") My friends, I do not point to these circumstances in order to offend or upbraid you. I know that this lamentable state can only be attributed, so far as you are concernetl, to your utter ina- bility to remedy it ; and it is the consciousness of this truth that obliges us to be convened here this day. AHiatever may be the cause of this inability, I am quite certain that it does not originate in circumstances over which you have any controul, or for which you should, in fairness, be held accountable. But, of the existence of that state of destitution I have seen unquestionable illustrations, in the wretched condition of your cabins, and still, more, if possible, in this fact, that among the many hundreds of children whom I observed as I passed along the road, there was not one, no not a single one, that wore a whole suit of clothes, or a hat, a cap, a stocking or a shoe. I shall now proceed to state, as briefly as the subject will admit, the grounds upon which I formed the sugges- tion of your making an appeal to Great Britain ; and when we consider the generous ardour displayed by the people of that Island, in relieving your physical wants, so lately as the year 1822, I can- not permit myself to doubt, but that if we could establish a well- founded, rational claim upon their gratitude and favour, in this instance, you will find them not less disposed to aid you, in your present pursuit. I think that such a claim can be established on the part of Ireland, generally, and in a most particular manner, on the part of that si)ot of our country in which we are now assembled. In the first place, we find that eminent geographer, Ptolemy, who wrote in the second age of the christian era, in his Table of Europe, enumerating, in the Greek language, ten distinguished cities in the interior, and on the coast of Ireland ; and his annotator adds, that the same Ptolemy placed Ireland amongst the most celebrated Islands of the world. In confirmation of this view, we can refer to that English Protestant writer, Edmund Spenser, eaually distinguished as a politician and a poet, and who had been a Cnief Secretary here. In his treatise, entitled a " View of the state of Ireland," written about 200 years ago, he says, " all the customs of the Irish which I have often noted, and compared with what I have read, would minister occasion of a most ample discourse of the original of them, and the antiquity of that people, which in the truth, I think to be more ancient than most that I know in this end of the world." In another part of the same work, he describes our country as " a nation so antique, that no monument remains " of her beginning and first inhabiting," and he adds again, " It is certain that Ireland hath had the use of letters very ANCIENTLY, AND LONG BEFORE ENGLAND." In the writings of another Enghsh Protestant historian, of still more exalted rank, the luminous Camden, who flourished more than two centuries ago, we find similar testimonies, to some of which I shall refer more particularly, by and by. For the present, I shall merely notice his statement, in the third volume of his "Britannia," that " from thence (Ireland) our old Saxon ancestors seem to have had the form of their letters, as they plainly used tht same characters ivhich are at present in use among the Irish. This opinion is also fully sustained by the writings of another Protestant historian, of more modem times, a man eminent for the extent of his learning, and the broken suavity of his manners, George Lord Lyttleton ; who, in his history of the life of Henry the Second, written about 60 years ago, states, " a school was formed at Armagh, w^hich soon became very famous. Many Irish went from thence to convert and teach other nations. Many Saxons out of England re- sorted thither for instruction, and brought from thence the USE OF letters TO THEIR IGNORANT COUNTRYMEN." Again, we find the celebrated Dr. Johnson in his " History of the English language," prefixed to his Dictionary, making this observation — " WTiat was the form of the Saxon language, when about the year 450, they first entered Britain, cannot now be well known. They seem to have been a people without learning, and, very probably, without an alphabet." Here then are two nations, the one without literature or even an alphabet, the other in possession of both, and the islands adjoining one another. The obvious conclusion must be, that one obtained its knowledge from the other, provided it be admitted that there existed an intercourse between them. Upon that point I could adduce innumerable proofs ; but I shall only very briefly refer to two or three, at present, as I shall have occasion to trespass con- siderably on your indulgence. In the first place, venerable Bede, (the most esteemed by the English, of all tneir Historians) in his " History of the Primitive Church of England," written eleven hundred years ago, designates Ireland thus, " gentem innoxiam, et nationi Anglorum semper amicissiviamj'" (an inoffensive country, and always most friendly to the EngHsh nation.) In the same man- ner, the celebrated Alcuinus, who wrote about seventy years after venerable Bede, bears similar testimony ; and, in his Poem about the Prelates and holy men of the Church of York, describes the People of Ireland as " Anglis semper amicos" (alwai/s friendly to the English.) If any further evidence were necessary, to prove that intercourse between Ireland and every part of Great Britain, it could be deduced from the language of King James I. of England, who, in his answer to the Irish Agents, when they applied for that which Ireland is still obliged to solicit from England, simple justice, said to them : — " There is a double cause why I should be careful of the welfare of that People ; first, as King of England, by reason of the long possession the Crown of England hath had of that land ; and also as King of Scotland ; for the ancient Kings of Scothind are descended from the Kings of Ireland." Dr. Johnson, in another work, entitled " a Tour to the Hebrides," or western Isles of Scotland, observes: — "We heard of manuscripts that were, or had been in the hands of somebody's father or grand- father, but at least we had no reason to believe they were other than Irish ; and, in his letters to the illustrious O'Conor, of Belenagare, he says: — " I have long wished that the Irish literature were cul- tivated. Ireland is known, by tradition, to have been the seat of piety and learning ;" and, again, he says, " Dr. Leland (the Irish historian) begins his history too late. The ages which deserve an enquiry are those times, for such there were, when Ireland was the school qf the West." I. Were I to rest upon this general and circumstential evidence, alone, I do not think that any impartial tribunal could hesitate to admit its direct application and cogency, in proof of the position, that Britain stands indebted to Ireland for a large portion of her early acquirements in science. And 1 pray you to mark the character ol my authorities. I do not refer to any oral traditions, or legendary tales, or to any witnesses interested in maintaining the high pretensions of our country. On the contrary, all my witnesses, hitherto, art. of the most esteemed characters, all English, with a single exception, and Protestants with only two exceptions ; and, as I shall have re- peated occasions to refer to one of them (Bede), I may here observe, that his authority is recognised, equally, by Protestants and Catli- olics. We find him noticed by the most earnest Protestant pub- lication of our day, the Quarterly Review, in the number for De- cember, 1811, in the followmg words :— " If ever there was a iiidu who could be truly called Venerable, it was he to whom the appel- lation is constantly fixed, Bede, whose life was passed in instructing his own generation, and preparing records for posterity." To these records I now refer, on behalf of my country, and oi this sacred spot upon which we are met ; and, under the high sanc- tion of this truly venerable Bede, I claim a liberal hearing for our appeal. The admission of this Reviewer is the more valuable, when we observe, that the paragraph, from which I make the extract, con- tains proof of the disinclination of the writer, to do justice to the learning, zeal, or piety of Irishmen ; and, therefore, we possess the advantage of obtaining this corroborating testimony from an adverst- witness ; for, while he extols the splendid institutions of Malmsbury and Lindisfame, in England, he suppressess, altogether, the fact of their having been indebted to Ireland for their founders and most eminent doctors, although informed of it by that same historian, I and other distinguished writers. . i. , • Let us proceed, now, to more direct evidence, furnished, m part, by the same witnesses, and, for the remainder, by others equally unimpeachable. I shall endeavour to sketch their testimony as briefly as possible, consistent with a due regard to the impoitanct and novelty of the discussion. The works of venerable Bede abound with information favourable to my position. In the third Book of his History, already quoted, he gives an account of the conversion to Christianity of Oswald, King of Northumbria, by Aidanus, a venerable Irish Missionary, who had been sent to him in compliance with the King's request, "that those who had conferred the Sacrament upon his son Alfred, and his attendants, while in Ireland, would send some zealous and learned Prelate, to instruct his English subjects in the faith if Christ, and administer the Sacravients to them." " After this (adds the venerable Historian) many Priests began to come daily /ro7w Ireland into England, to preach the Christian faith, with great zeal and devotion, in every part of King Oswald's kingdom, and to admin- ister the sacrament of Baptism to all such as were converted. Churches were built in many places ; the people with joy assemblwi to hear the word of God." 'Sr,-*!*,"- 8 The extent of the services thus rendered, by this Irish Prelate, may be fairly estimated, when we recollect, that the kingdom of Northumbria comprised nearly the whole of the counties of Northum- berland, Cumberland, Durham, V^estmoreland, Lancaster and York, being the country North of the Humber. In the next chapter he gives a brief history of the mission of St. C'olumban, the Irishman, to Britain ; a mission not inferior, in its pursuits, or results, to any that has been undertaken since that of the Divine founder of Christianity. He tells us that — " In the beginning of the reign of Justin the Younger, who succeeded Justinian intheGovernmentof the Roman Empire, A.D. 565,Colum- ban, a Priest and Abbot of great celebrity, whose life corresponded with the habit of a Monk, which he had taken, came from Ireland into Britain to preach the word of God to the northern Province of the Picts (Scotland.) He converted the whole nation in a very short time, by his eloquence and good example. As a tribute of gratitude for which, he received the Isle of Icolmbkill, to build and endow a Monastery." Of the labours of this Irish Institution for the diffusion of Christianity, during several centuries, we have the concurrent proof, of every writer of every country, who has treated of this subject. The Irish missionaries whom it sent forth among all the nations of the earth, but most particularly throughout Britain, whether we estimate their value by their num- bers, their zeal, their purity, their piety, their learning, or their labours, appear second only to those who received the faculties of their mission directly from Christ himself, or his immediate apostles. But, interesting and truly flattering as the subject is, this is not an occasion upon which it would become me to dwell at greater length upon it. Were I to recite to you the beautiful illus- trations of the characters of those learned and sanctified Irishmen, furnished by this venerable writer, and several others, nay, even of any one among them, as, for example, that pure and perfect Aidanus, you could not fail to exidt in the reference. I may here again refer to Dr. Johnson, who observes in the same " History of the English language," to which I have already adverted, that *' the Christian religion always implies or produces a certain degree of civility and learning." It, surely, is not unreasonable to suppose, that the diffilsion of that religion by our Irish worthies, throughout Great Britain, must have produced such blessed results. I shall make but one, and that a very short, extract from the description given by venerable Bede, of the habits of that same Aidanus, which will be found well suited to the promotion of such " civility and learning." He states that " the principal of these virtues (of Aidanus) were his love of peace and cnarity, continence and humility; his complete victory over anger and avarice, and his sovereign contempt of pride and vain glory ; his diUgence in both performing and teaching the commandments of God, as also in watching and reading; his supporting the dignity of his epis- copal authority, in reproving the haughty and powerful, and, at the same time, his tenderness in comforting the afflicted, and in relieving or defending the indigent." AssERius, a writer of considerable eminencCj who was a cotem- M \ I norarv with King Alfred, informs his readers, in his " annals" lor SJr7eaT 65?: tLf Furs'eus, another V^^ f-Ct'^ir* the" tolled also bv Bede, viated the territories of Sigibert, King ot tne EasrAn'les (comprising Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridge,) and fonvertd^to the Xistifn faith large numbers of h.s sub^ects^ Cr.. a writer in the thir^enth century, s^^^^^^ S/s^er^Kingsof^*^^^^^^^^^ S^f of 'th °ir suWec*. He enumerates the following Kings con- S bf them-namely, Gaudfridus, Oswaldus, Oswy, Osw.n, ''tri^ft themostapproved historians, that the district, nowknowfas the fcounties of York, Durham, ^^"^ Nojthumbe - land were indebted to Ireland not only for missionaries, who in ^ructed them in religion and science, but for the educatio" of A«r most renowned PreUtes, as Ceadd, Bishop of Y"^^, who, BeUe says, had been educated by Finan the Irishman ; a""! ^'^° <^^',,^^^^ foundation of Episcopal Sees. Thus, the See of Dvn-ham h* bee" established, originally, by Aidanus at Lindisfarne, (or Holy l»'ana), from wS it was removed to Durham, in consequence of the r";^atrd incul^ions of the Norwegians. Three Wshmen A.danu^s Finanus, and our own Colmanus, were the first Bishops '" s'^^C"" fion the second of whom, Finanus, we are mformed by ^de, brit^CatSal Church for himself and his successors in Holy Island, where his predecessor Aidanus, had f.lf-dy established a Monaierv William of Malmsbury, says—" fhe King oi tne NoThumLians governed all the county which i^ bey°M the "ver Humber, even into Scotland ; and there were the Archbishop ot York tlie Bishops of Hexham, of Lmdtsfarne, xai oi tmutiaa ;astle, where was ''""ftly vished professors to the most jamous Universities of Europe; as Claudius Clements to Paris Albuinus to Pavia in Italy, Johanes Scotus Erigena to Oxford, in England. The English Saxons received from the Irish their charac- ters or letters, and with them the arts and sciences which have flourished sifice among these people, as Sir James Ware proves in his treatise on the Irish writers, chap. 13, of the first book, where may be seen an account of the celebrated academies and public schools which were maintained in Ireland in the 7th, 8th, 9th, and lOih ages, which were resorted to, particularly by the Anglo Saxons, the French, and ient Britons, who were all received there with greater hospitahty anv '*! any other country of the Christian world. And, again, he thanu "^y (^^® ^"sh) "were inundated by the irruption of a states, tii. 'mber of Danes, and other people of the north, who, frightful nu ""s in France, and about the same time, destroyetl like the Normv. ^ their Colleges and Monasteries, put to death an their cities, niine^ '^onks and Priest*, and reduced that country infinite number of i»- ^ historians of that time declare, the most ' (which was then, as the -rsery of all sciences and virtues,) to the civilised of Europe, the liu \ it should not be imagined that this last state of barbarism. »»* ng continuance ; on the contrary, state of our country was ^^ *^- ticing Giraldus Cambrensis and the same Sir James Ware, *"^\ "''^.^rwegian plunderers, who. In Jocelin, observes-- Although the N. ^., j^j^^^ ^^^ > iL 9th age ^^^^\,^,^^^2urc^^^^^ ^^ ^''> neveXles^ destroyed ahno^^^^^^^^ b-f^- ^ ,,, , the eleventh age Ire. ^^ta/.lS"V'-i/ /'^^--^ '°'^ and learned men. . 'll i» 11 Here then I have the support of two other most esteemed and ekvated Protestant writers/L my assertion of the -nk -^^^^^^^^ of mv countrv. But I must return for a moment to Lord Ly ttleton. 1 wish thatJu those who endeavour to vilify and proscribe our hne country and our venerable ancestry, would only condescend to reTL following brief extract from the work of that English Pro estant Peer ; but, still more earnestly, would 1 recommend its perS^^ those, of our own creed and country, who, while they E of their knowledge of Grecian and Roman antiquities, and o ^e hilry of ti^^fr cele^^^^^ men; and travel, at great toil am expen^^^^^^ distant states, never never turn a thmight to^he amiquities or celebrated men of the land of their birth, unl ssindeel to ridicule her ^-torians or to sco^r s-er a^^^^^ pretensions. Often, very often, my good friends, when farremoxeil from these scenes of my youth, have 1 dweh with shame .and pain Sn^- c S this detestable, and alas ! tx>o prevalent hlbit of our countrymen. They are greatly mistaken, when they imagine that such conduct is approved ^y foreigners; on the con- trary, it excites unmhigated contempt and disgust. But, I thank God that I can, with perfect sincerity, and I speak advisedly dedar that already anticipate a general change from that bad habit, among all my countrymen, without religious distmction ; tcr, in th^ maintenance of our' country's honorable fame we are all, equally concerned ; and it would be the greatest mistake imaginable to suppose, that we elevate ourselves in the estimation of good men of another countrv by viUfyfng or disregarding our own liie 'ruly glorious attestations to her merits which I ^ave selected^^^^^^^^^ a mass of foreign, and particularly and prmcipally British Protest- anT writers, must satisfy every man, that among those writers there could have existed no disposition to promote or encourage the vihh- cation of Ireland. It is a very painful duty, ^^^wever, to add tnat • 1 cannot make the same boast on behalf of certam British Catholic writers, of the present day. I allude particularly, to an esteemed private friend, against whose omissions, or rather suppressions, for he could not be ignorant of the facts, I persona ly remonstra ed. and which, contrary to my expectation, have not been rectified.- His injustice towards Ireland must be obnous to every candid reader of his "Book," acquainted with the history of the early ages to which the writer refers ; so that we should be justified m applying to him the stricture pronounced by himself, and justly tod, upon his controversial play-mate. Dr. Southey, " on theines like these how much iWd justice call upon you to dw^ell! This desire to despoil Irishmen of their fair fame has been, more generally, manifested by Scotch writers, whose injustice, ingratitude, and bare- faced assumptions, on this head, have been long notorious and much condemned in the learned world ; and the mgratitude is the less to be excused, when we recollect that no writer, of ancient or iDodern times, has attempted to alledge, that the generous labours of Irishmen, on behalf of Great Britain, were any other than purely liberal and gratuitous contributions to the happiness of her people ; for which no return was ever received or required. Nor is it to be forgotten, that, at the time when those great services were rendered 12 by Ireland to Britain, the two islands and their respective govern- ments were perfectly free and independent of each other, and, of course, none of the obligations of fellow-citizenship could have governed that conduct of Ireland. Our inestimable author. Lord Lyttleton, says : — ••We learn from Bede, an Anglo Saxon, that about the seventh centurj-, (being the period of the institution of this monastery of Mayo) numbers both of the noble and second rank, of English, left their country, and retired out of England into Ireland, for the sake of studying theology, or leading there a stricter life ; and all these, he affirms, the Irish, (whom he calls Scots,) most wit- linfly received and maintained, at their own charge; supplyiiiff them with books, and being their teachers, without fee or reward ; which Is a most honourable testimony, not only to the learning, but likewise to the hospitality and bounty of that nation ! Great praise is likewise due to the piety of those Irish Ecclesiastics, who, (as we know from the clear and unquestionable testimony of many foreign writers,) made themselves the apostles of barbarous heathen nations, without any apparent inducement to such hazardous undertakings, except the merit 4 1 ^ work. By the preaching of these men, the Northumbrians, the East Angles, a^i the Northern Picts, were converted Convents were also founded by tliem in Burgundy, Germany, and other foreign countries, where they dis- tinguished themselves by the rigid integrity and the purity of their lives; so that Ireland, from the opinion conceived of their sanctity, was called the Coun- try of Saints."— And, again, when referring to the atrocities of the northern invaders of Ireland, he adds :—" The fierce spirit of their religion increasing the natural barbai-ity of their minds, they turned their rage more particularly against the clergy, whom they massacred without mercy : and in their hatred to them, burned their books, their schools, and their convents. Among the many learned men who were driven by the terror of this persecution to take refuge abroad, none distinguished themselves more than Albin and Clement, whom the Emperor Charles the Great received in his Court, and honoured with K ^^^^^^' ^^ *^he last of these it is said, by a contemporary Geriran writer, that, through his instt uctions , the French might vie with the Romans' and the Athenians. John Erigena, whose surname denoted his country, (Ere or Erin being the pro- per name of Ireland.) became, soon afterwards, famous for his learning and good parts, both in England and France. Thus did most of the lights, which in those limes of thick darkness cast their beams over Europe, proceed ovt of Ireland! The loss of the manuscripts, which the ravages of the Pagans destroyed, is much bewailed by the Irish, who treat of the history and antiquities of their country, and which may well be deemed a misfortune, not only to them, but to the viholc learned world" j > .f Nor was it by the English and Scotch, only, that Ireland was frequented, for the purpose of obtaining instruction. The same spirit that induced our ancestors to send forth missionaries to foreign states, led them to invite foreigners to receive education in our island : thus, venerable Bede informs us, that Agilbert, Bishop of the We%i Saxons, " was a native of France, but had lived a long time in Ireland, for the purpose of studying the Sacred Scriptures." And, in order to prove that the labours of our country, in extend- ing religion and science, embraced all practicable modes of attain- ing the object, we may observe that venerable Bede also testifies, that Egbert, the celebrated British missionary, had been educated in Ireland, where the illustrious Archbishop Wildibrord, another English missionary to the Netherlands and parts of Germany, and follower of the example of Egbert, was also educated, for twelve years; of whom (Wildibrord) Alcuinus says — " Nufrivit studiis Hibernia sacris." And again, " that Britannia was his fruitful parent, but Ireland his " c/ara Magisira." Am not I then, after such proofs, well justified in claiming, for our too long vilified country, a rank not only equal but superior to that of any other nation ? The labours of Ireland, the excellence of her sons, in all the liberal sciences, were not confined within her own territorial extent. With a profuse generosity, she shared her blessings among all the nations of the earth. Neither was her »!• 'i%-' fei 13 eminence in science and civilization limited to a few years, or a single age — no, it embraced many centuries. Mark, however, that Lord Lyttleton does not stand alone in this gratifying testimony ; on the contrary, you have observed that other English writers were equally loud in their praises of our country's fame. I shall refer, once more, to that other English Protestant, Camden, who, in addition to what I have already extracted from his works, says, in concurrence with many othe|^ writers, whose names it is not neces- sary to recite — " No men came up to the Irish Monks in Ireland AND Britain, for sanctity and learning, and they sent forth swarms of hoh/ men all over Europe : to whom the monasteries of Luxueil in Biirgundy, Pavia in Italy, Wurtzburgh in Franconia, St. Gall in Switzerland, Malmesbury, Lindisfarne, and many others, owed their origin." He then recites a list of eminent Irishmen, and adds— "of these Monks we are to understand Henricus Anti- siodorensis, when he writes, thus, to Charles the Bald, (middle of the 9th century) —'' AVhy should I mention almost all Ireland, with its crowd of Philosophers, despising the dangers of the sea, and flocking to our shores .>'' And, in another part, he adds — "The Saxons (English) also, at that time, flocked to Ireland, from all quarters, as to a mart of literature. \Vlience we frequently meet, in our writers of the lives of Saints, " such an one was sent over to Ireland for education ;'' and in the life of Sulgenus, (who lived 600 years ago;) *• Exemplo patrum commotus, amore legend!, Ivit ad Hibernos, sophia mirabile Claros,'» (Moved by the example of his ancestors, he went, in search of literature, to the Irish, who were distinguished for wonderful science.) Both of these eminent historians accord with their Anglo-Saxon predecessor, Aldhelm, to whom I have already referred, and who is estimated as the most learned of his times ; nay, we are told by William of Malmesbury, that he was the first Anglo-Saxon that wrote Latin. He writes thus to Eadfride (A. D. 690) that " the Students resorted to Ireland from England in such crowds as to re- (juire Jleets to carry them ;— and, again, he says — " Ireland is a rich and blooming country of Scholars, as I may say ; you might as soon reckon the stars of Heaven as enumerate her Students." Sir James Ware, in his dedicatory epistle, prefixed to his treatise on Irish writers, says : " From the relics of those times, any im- partial man must perceive the state of Literature of every age, from the dawn of Christianity down to his own times" (1635); and, in his address to the reader, (1636) that "it will result from all the evidence on the subject, that Ireland, for ages after the coming of St. Patrick, abounded with most learned persons ; and, on account of the multitude of most holy men, as well those resident therein, as those who departed to foreign countries to gain sonls to Christ, was justly called the Island of Saints." This same Sir James Ware enumerates the names of one hundred and fifty-six Irish writers, who flourished in the different ages, from the 5th to the 16th, and tells us that the 10th age was called by the Irish sceculum ohscurum et infelix, on account of the few eminent men it produced. Mosheim, so much esteemed as a protestant writer, uses these words ; " That the Irish were lo\'ers of learniT^g, 14 and distinguished themselves in those times of ignorance, by the culture of the sciences, beyond all other European nations, travelling the most distant lands, with a view to improve and com- municate their knowledge, is a fact with which I have been long acquainted ; as we see them in the most authentic records of an- tiquity, discharging, with the highest reputation and applause,^ the functions of Doctors in France, Gerrtiany and Italt/ ;" and Scaliger, "the younger, says, that "for two hundred years after the time of Charlemagne, (A. D. 800) all the truli/ learned men were from Ireland." , . . I have confined myself, principally, to English authorities, and every one of them of the highest reputation ; I could have no diffi- culty in naming a large number of Foreign writers, equally respect- able, and equally contributors to our fame. Suffice it to say, that the calendar of the Church contains the names of many Irishmen, and that there is scarcely a district, of any extent, on the Continent of Europe, that does not honour the name of some Irishman, as an Apostle or tutelary Saint. I might here quote several instances in Italy, France, Germany, &c., but I cannot suppose it possible that the proofs I have already adduced can require much additional confirmation, in any fair and rational mind. It is admitted by the French nation, that their University of Paris was founded by an Irishman ; and I do not think there is any doubt but the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, derived their origin, as literary Institutions, from similar sources. Sir James Ware, in his treatise upon Irish writers, distinctly states— " Johannes Erigena, (that is the Irishman) in the year 884 or 883, being invited by King Alfred, came into England (from France,) and the King used his labours in a few years after in the re-establish- ment of science at Oxford ; where it is stated by the same writer and others, he taught geometry and astronomy ; and 1 may here notice, that busts of King Alfred aud of Johannes Erigena, having been discovered there, are now pointed out to visiters as objects of peculiar respect. In a small volume, entitled '' The Foundation of the Universitie of Oxford," by Thomas Jenntr, (A. D. 1651,) the writer, after stating various opinions as to the origin of that University, proceeds :— " But the chiefest agree that Alfred, of some called Alured, King of the West Saxons, about the year 872, was the chief and principal founder thereof ; and that (besides, the ancient hostles for scholars, which it is evident were there remaining after many overthrows of war,) he caused to be erected therein three Colleges or public Schools, for the teaching of gram- mar, philosophy, and divinity, sending thither his own son Ethelward." It is stated by several writers, and sanctioned by Primate Usher, that three most learned Irishmen, namely Duflanus, jVIacbaethus, and Magilmumenus, had proceeded to Alfred ; and it is not unreasonable to conjecture, that those three learned' men superintended the three Colleges, which that King established. The words of the learned Usher, are—" Fabius Etheiwardus, and the Saxon annals state, that three Irishmen came from Iteland in the year 891, to Alfred, King of the Enghsh ; Duflanus first, Macbaethus second, Maciinniunus, or Magilmumenus ^ 15 third ;" who is described by Usher, and others, as " artihus fron." dens, littera doctus, magister insignis" The most eminent writers, as Ingulphus, Asserius, William of Malraesbury, and I think Alfred himself, and after them, Boethus, all agree that Johannes Erigena had been previously invited over by that King ; and add, that the education of the Royal children was confided to him ; all which circumstances furnish most cogent evidence, to prove, that the literary Institution of Oxford owed its origin to Irishmen. Be- sides, it is to be borne in mind, that there was no country in Europe Mt the time so capable as Ireland of furnishing those learned men, whom Alfred must have sought to procure, for the estabhshment of his favourite College. Now, as to Cambridge University, we find it stated in the " Antiquitates Cantabrigiensis Academiee," by Johannes Caius, written about 260 years ago, that Johannes Erigena was, as writers assert, " one of the founders of the Academy of Cambridge." Jen- ner, whose opinions as to the original foundation of Oxford Univer- sity, I have already noticed, wrote a similar treatise upon tlie " Foundation of the University of Cambridge" — and he states, " the chiefest conclude and agree, that Sigibert, King of the East Angles, was the principal founder thereof, about the year 630 and 636." We have already seen that this King was converted, together with many of his subjects to Christianity, by Furseus and Finanus, both Irishmen, and also, that all the learned men in Britain, at that time, were Irishmen. Moreover, that age, (the 7th) was the most distinguished of all, for the number of learned men of Ireland ; and we find accordingly, that in Sir James Ware's list of Irish writers, he mentions a larger number within that age, than within any other. So that, whether the University of Cambridge was founded in the time of Alfred, or before his reign, in the time of Sigibert, all the probabilities concur in demonstrating, that, in either case, it com- menced its literary fame under the auspices and direction of Irishmen. The foundation of Trinity College, Dublin, is considered by many to have originated with Queen Elizabeth. — That is a great mistake ; she did no more for it than to allow it a participation in the general plunder of the ancient Religious and Literary Institutions of our country ; for the loss of which, it is a very miserable compensation, indeed. That University, now the only one of very many hundreds once subsisting in our country, was founded by Alexander Bignor, Archbishop of Dublin, (A. D. 1320) and confirmed by Pope John 22nd. Johannes Lechus, the predecessor of Alexander, commenced it under the auspices of Pope Clement 3th, but did not complete it. So that here we find the three Universities of England and Ireland, all deriving their original fame and rank, as literary institutions, from our vihfied Catholic Ireland : and, at this day, we are exclud- ed from the honours and most of the advantages of each, for no other reason than because we do not consent to apostatize from the religion of their founders, and of those eminent teachers, who for more than six centuries brought honour and praise to two of them. Upon these testimonies 1 rest the first part of my case ,* and I insist, with confidence, that 1 have, fully and satisfactorily, proved 16 the claims of Ireland, generally, upon the other nations of Europe, and most of ail upon Great Britain, for sympathy and aid, at the present day, such as we solicit ; and, on behalf of this ancient site of Mayo, I demand a participation in this general right. We come, now, to the consideration of the second branch of the subject, namely, the peculiar claims of the inhabitants of this Parish of Mayo upon British gratitude and regard. The Monastery and College, whose ruins now surround us, endured, not only all the ravages of Pagan and less ancient hostili- ties, but also repeated injuries from fire ; so that, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to trace, in this country, any of its records. But, even in its present dilapidated state, there is still sufficient remaining to prove that it must have comprised buildings of vast extent, of beautiful form and symmetry, and embellished with much ornamental architecture and sculpture. The story of its original institution and uses is, fortunately, as well authenticated, and as precisely narrated, as it is possible for any fact to be, in any period of the history of this or any other country. We are indebted for it to the same English historian, venerable Bede ; and when we recollect that he was born before its founder died, and may, therefore, be almost considered to have been contemporary with him, the accuracy of the statement cannot be controverted. The account is given in the 4th chapter of the Uh book of Bede's history of the Primitive Church of England to which I have so often referred. " Bishop Colraan, (says the venerable historian,) who, as we before observed, was a native of Ireland, on his return home, took with him all his countrymen, and about thirty Englishmen, who, under his directions, had been educated in the Isle of Lindisfarne ; and leaving some English Monks there, he first went to the Isle of Hii, (called also lona and Icombkille) from which he had formerly been sent to preach the Christian faith to the English nation; and afterwards, to a very small Isle, which lies at a distance from Ire- land, to the west, and is called by the Irish Innisbovinde, that is, the Isle of the White Calf," (now Innisboffin, about 25 or 30 miles from this place.)— Here he built a Monastery and placed in it the Monks of both nations who had accompanied him. But these soon disagreed, on account of the different customs of different nations ; for, the Irish were accustomed to leave the Monastery in the Summer season, at the time of harvest, and to wander about such places as were well known to them ; and then, as soon as the winter came, they would return and expect their part in the pro- visions which the English had collected at home, which they thought unreasonable to allow them. To remedy this dissension, therefore, Colman travelled far and near, till at length he found a commodious place, called by the Irish Ma jo, for building another Monastery in the island of Ireland. There he procuretl a plot of ground from the proprietor to whom it belonged ; this condition being also added, that the Monks, who should reside in the Monastery, should offer their prayers to God, for him who let them have the ground. Thus, a new Monastery being soon erected, by the assistance of the proprietor and all their neighbours, he placed 'the English alone in it, the Irish being leit at the i 17 above mentioned isle. The same Monastery is, to this day, possess- ed by the English Monks, and is now commonly called Injuges having been, of late, greatly enlarged. Here, (says Bede, when writing about the year 730) resides a famous congregation of religious Monks, assembled from diferent mrts of England, who are much reformed in their institute, and foUowmg the edify- ing example of their venerable founder and patron, live, by the labour of their hands, in the most sincere dispositions of piety and virtue, under the direction of a Canonical Abbot," This is the account given by Bede, who wrote, only 65 years after the foundation of this Monastery, which was in the year 665, being the year after the discussion in England, respecting the time for observing Easter, in consequence of which Bishop Colman, or Colmanus, who took a principal part in it, returned, in dissatisfaction, to Ireland ; but, his care of the English Monks proves, that he was not influenced by any unworthy or unchristian prejudices. . Primate Usher, referring to this account, says, «m which place (Magio or Mayo) as we have heard that, in the time of Bede, there was a magnificent Monastery, so also the compiler of the Book of Ballimote establishes, that in the time of St. Cormac and Adamnanus, it was the residence of a hundred English Monks' ^^ Mervin Archdall, publisher of the '' Monasticon Hibemicon" states thst the Monastery of Mayo, called Magio na Sassan, (Mayo of the English or Saxons) was founded A. D. 665, and that the building covered half an acre of ground. In the 9th cen- tury it was pillaged and destroyed by Turgesius, the Danish invader. It was rebuilt for the English Monks and Students, but destroyed by fire, in 908. It was again rebuilt for them, but was consumed by fire, a second time, in 1169. It was plundered by an English Chieftain in the year 1204; and, in the year 1380, when the English Government obtained a settlement, the only reward given to the Irish for all those repeated liberal services, during 700 years, was an enactment, that no mere Irishman should be permitted to make his profession there. At the period of the Reformation it was a victim, with one thousand others of our ancient institutions, to the spirit of those times ; and, at this mo- ment, the only remnants we have of its ancient greatness are the mouldering walls that we now behold. Our traditions inform us that it contained, at one time, two thousand English and Foreign Monks and Students ; that the Great Alfred, himself, had visited it; that one of his sons was a student and resident in it, and, having died here, his remains now lie' interred, a few paces from us, in a corner of the grave yard, near the road. There is nothing improbable in this ; as we have seen that Irish Monks were selected by that illustrious Monarch for the instruction of his children, and the institution of his Colleges, and there could be nothing more likely, than that he should have sent one of those children to the fountain head of science and holiness. We can also point to the graves of two Royal Princes of France ; while the rehcs of many thousand English, of lesser rank, are deposited around us, unpro- tected against those swine which, while I speak to you, are turning 18 up their graves ; nay, as I passed along I noticed that the earth, which, according to tradition, and in such cases tradition is entitled to much respect ; that earth, I say, which covers the remaisns of the sainted founder, has been rooted up. My friends, my friends, these are melancholy reflections ; the worldling may scoff at us for mourning over them ; our enemies may exult over us : but no, oh ! no, our human nature, lowly and perverted as it may sometimes be, cannot become so entirely debased. These, these my friends, are the real records of Ireland, and the country that can boast of them, never, never, should be dishonoured, disclaimed or neglected by her children. An Irishman was the founder of this Monastery — an Irishman granted the ground on which it stands — Irishmen supported it — Irishmen rebuilt it when destroyed by the invader, or consumed by fire ; while Englishmen, alone, enjoyed all its ad- vantages and blessings. I do not think that your appeal to England, founded upon such facts, can be wholly unavailing. Dr. Johnson, in his " Tour to the Hebrides," to which I have referred before, tells us, that when he visited the island of lona, (where the celebrated Irish Institution was established in the 6th century, and continued dispersing the choisest blessings of religion and science to the world, for nearly a thousand years) there were the remains of two Convents and Churches, and five other Chapels standing. '' We were now, (he writes) treading that illustrious island, which was once the luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence savage clans and roving barbarians derived the benefits of knowledge, and the blessings of religion." Oh ! most gratifying testimony to the fame of our country, and the labours of her chil- dren. He proceeds : — " That man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plains of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warm among the ruins of lona." And shall we, my friends, be blamed, because we cannot stand wholly unmoved, among the ruins and the tombs of Mayo.'* It cannot be. Mark, again, the similarity of our condition, when he adds : — " This island, which was once the metropolis of learning and piety, has now no school for education, or temple for worship." And oh, how gladly do I adopt the sentiment which his parting words excite, when he says, " Perhaps in the Revolution of the world, lona may be sometime, again, the instructress of the western region !" Let us substitute ; " Perhaps in the changes of the world. Mayo, yes, our own Mayo, may be sometime, again, the hospitable friend, the instructress and the asylum of Englishmen ! !" Dr. Johnson was a Protestant ; nor was he the only Protestant who mourned the destruction of the Monastic Institutions of these Islands ; even Sir Edward Coke, was of the number, because, as he says, they '' provided alms for the poor and education for the rich.'' Marsham, a Protestant, in his preface to Steven's additional volumes of the Monasticon Anglicanum, introduces these words : — " Our Monasteries have long since perished, nor have we any foot- steps left of the piety of our ancestors, besides the tattered walls, and deplorable ruins. We see, alas ! we see the most august Churches and stupendous monuments dedicated to the eternal God, than which nothing can be now more defaced, under the specious k- M I < I 19 pretence of superstition, most filthily defiled, and expecting utter destruction. Horses are stabled at the Altar of Christ, and the relics of martyrs are dug up." How beautifully, yet severely, does Denhara, another Protestant, notice the destruction of the Monas- teries, in his poem of " Cowper's Hill :" — " Who sees those dismal heaps, but will demand. What barbarous invader sacked the land ? But when he hears no Goth, no Turk did bring This desolation, but a christian King; When nothing but the name of zeal appears 'Twixt our best actions, and the worst of theirs. What, can he think, our Sacrilege would spare, When such the etfects of our devotion are ? Surely, when such sentiments are expressed by English Pro- testants, for Denham, though of Irish birth, was reared in England, it cannot be made a matter of serious charge against Irish Catholics that they should be willing to credit those proud testimonies to the fame, and above all, the literary fame of their ancestors, whom it is the fashion of the times to decry, and not un frequently to dis- claim, as an uncivilized uncultivated race of barbarians! How triumphantly can we answer them, from this spot ! Indeed, there is not a part of our island more abounding in the excitement of such reflections. We see, at the short distance of fifteen miles from us, the mountain of Croagh Patrick, upon which our first Apostle com- menced his Heaven-born mission ; while, at an equal distance from us, rest the remains of the last of the Kings of Ireland, Roderick, among the splendid ruins of Cong. If you turn to the west, you behold the ruins of Burriscara, of Ballintubber, of Oughaval, of Murrisk, and of that Innisboffin, or Innisbovinde, in which we have seen that Colmanus first established a monastery, before he settled here. If you look to the east you see those of Ballinsmalla and Ballyhaunis, aiid towards the south, the seven Churches of Tuam, now ahnost razed to the ground, and Abbey-Knockmoy ; towards the north, those of Strade, Benada, Moyne, &:c., and towards the south, those of Ballinrobe, Cong, Ross, Clare-galway, and Galway. Nor should I overlook the splendid ruins of Borris- hoole, only seventeen miles distant from us, upon the coast, where one thousand students, at one time, received their education ; nor the ancient relics of the island of Clare Island, of Innisglora and of Innishmeena, not much further distant. I could recount upwards offorty of them, within less than forty miles of this monastery, and yet, we are told that our ancestors, who founded them, and erected those beautiful buildings, were barbarous and uncivilized ! These splendid edifices constitute the defence of our ancestry ; every one of them contradicts their calumniators. Let me suppose for a moment, that any traveller over the countries which formed the states of ancient Greece, or Rome, were to write, that within forty miles of some place where he had rested, there stood more than forty ruins of religious and literary establishments, many, nay, most of which bore marks of ancient splendour and magnificence ; would not his reader hesitate in his confidence, and the caution be considered not more than reasonables? But, let the doubting reader come here ; let him visk our tottering walls of Mayo, and any one, the very youngest amongst us, will point out to him how he can h 20 realize the story ; yes, here in uncivilized Ireland ! !— Let us, on the other hand, suppose that there were, at this day, even one such vast literary or religious Institution existing in our Province, instead of forty in the limited district to which I have referred, would not it be the subject of general boasting, and the object of general curio- sity and admiration ? But, there is no such one— no, not one within our Province, in this age of civilization ; whereas we could point to fuUy a hundred large and small within the same Province, which had existed in the times of our uncivilized ancestors, who invited, received, supported, and educated, gratuitously, crowds ot Students, from all the nations of Europe, and most particularly England. Those who upbraid us, at the present day, should recol- lect, that if our People are uneducated, the fault is not with that People but with those who demolished their institutions, plundered their hbraries, burned their books, and persecuted their teachers ; with those British laws which, until a very late period, made it a felony for an Irish Cathohc to teach or to be taught, and with that bad spirit, which, even at the present day, influences all those functionaries, who are entrusted with public money, for the pro- motion of education among the poor of Ireland : while the higher classes of Irish Catholics are, as we have ahready seen, excluded from any participation in those inducements to the cultivation of genius, which are provided by our only University. As well might the Turk upbraid the Greek for his lowhness, as the British Legis- lator upbraid the Irish Catholic, of the present day, for the defects of his education ! Those who reproach us with a disregard of education, should be prepared to answer all enquiries as to the ap- propriation of that property which was taken from the Monasteries, and which was, in Catholic times, so liberally applied, as we have seen, to the diffusion of science. The same observation applies to that immense fund in tithes, which is equally diverted from those purposes to which it had been appHed by our ancestors— the principal of which were the cultiva- tion of hterature and the relief of the poor. In like manner, has the property of Cathohc Irishmen been confiscated since the Reform- ation, and transferred to other hands. In the Supplement to the 8th Report of the Commissioners of Irish Records, there is reference to fifty-two Rolls, from 18th to 36th of Charles II., contammg no less than 2212 grants of land in Ireland. It is not reasonable, then, to charge us with the neglect of education, when we were thus deprived of the means, and actually interdicted, by most severe laws, from the right of receiving or diffusing that blessing, in our native land ; and the taunt is the less to be endured, when we bear in mind that these reproaches come, principally, from the very persons who are either in possession of the means taken from us, or most clamorous in approving the system that deprived us of them. The extent of the desire of the Irish Prelates of the Established Church, to diffuse education, may be ascertained by the fact, that after a possession of those revenues, for nearly three centuries, there are but two diocesan Libraries in all Ireland— namely, m Armagh and Ossory ; as appears by their returns to the Record Commis- sioners. 21 The Reports of the Commissioners of Education Enquiry prove, beyond all doubt, that the Irish CathoUcs of the present day, Clergy and Laity, inherit all that love of Hterature which dis- tinguished their progenitors, and have preserved it undiminished, through the most severe ordeal that ever afflicted a christian People. But, then, it is said, that Cathohcs should not be entrusted with education funds, because they are opposed to the use ot the Bible, as a school book ; and, indeed, it is insisted that we are opposed to the Bible, altogether. We know that our objection is not to the use, but to the abuse of the sacred volume. The Catholics consider that book as a collection of sacred writings, to be used only for re- ligious purposes, and never to be opened by us, but with the view of obtaining or communicating reHgious or moral instruction. 1 hey do not think that this great gift should be degraded to the rank of ' a mere school-book, for education or entertainment, much less tor i ' arrogant and captious examination ; and, in this opinion they are joined by some of the most eminent Protestant divines, and ecclesi- astics. It is a fact, equally notorious as lamentable, that, in the present times, the sacred volume is fully as often referred to, tor purposes of uncharitable strife and cavU, as for the promotion of christian love. . i n .- ♦v <. Nothing can be more untrue or unjust, than the allegation, that » the Catholics have endeavoured to prevent the printing of the Bible. I a^ain refer to Protestant authority, in support of my views. Panzer, a German Protestant Minister, wrote the annals ot pnnting; and, in the fifth volume, we find the precise account of not less than two hundred and thirty-two editions of the Hebrew Bible, or parts thereof, or translations, (of which there were 193) printed before the year 1500 ; and^ when we consider that the art ot printing was then in its infancy, it must be admittted, that the number of editions then printed was very great. The Reformation had not ♦ then occurred, nor was it thought of, or at least established, tor thirty years after ; before which time there were seventeen additional editions, as appears in the eleventh volume, making altogether 249 editions before the Reformation, and within a space of sixty or seventy years; besides other editions, whose date cannot now be precisely fixed. Audit is to be observed, that about 150 of the versions from the Hebrew were printed in Italy, France and Belgium which were, and still are strictly Catholic countries. An English Protestant Clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Dibdin, m his book, entitled the «' Library Companion," published only three years ago, states that the editions of the Bible about the year 1500 were innumerable. If it should be said that none of those editions were printed in Ireland, we may well and truly rejoin, that Ireland was not then a free agent, but under the severe misrule of English government, which despoiled, or neutrahzed her resources, and wholly disor- ganized the social system ; and, shortly afterwards, the Reforma- tion set in, and introduced that legislative spoUation and persecution, to which I am not anxious again to refer more minutely ; but which, in every rational mind, must constitute an abundant defence on our part, against the imputation of having been negligent of, or opposed to the printing of the sacred volume, or of any other books, in those times. 22 Here, again, I may with safety enquire, how far the Irish Protestant Prelates, Clergy and Laity, and British Settlers in Ireland contributed to the work, which we are upbraided with neglecting, after they had got possession of the only means that we could have applied to such objects ? 1 apprehend, that the result of such an enquiry would only prove the indiscretion of their friends in provoking it. We all admit, and lament that the education now given in our schools is much inferior to that which we would desire to establish, or which was given in those ages to which I have referred ; but we know, on the other hand, that the insuffi- ciency of means, and the mischievous spirit engendered by the law are the causes of this decline. — The zeal of Irishmen in the ad- vancement of science is further proved by this important fact, that in every civiUzed country where, when persecuted, they could obtain an asylum, or where their despoilers could establish a depo- sitory for their spoils, large collections of books, taken from Irish libraries, may, even at the present day, be met wuth ; as in France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark and England ; and I have often thought, that it would well become us to petition the Crown to procure andpublish, if not copies, at least catalogues of those relics of the Irish writings, which Lord Lyttleton, as I stated at the outset, considered most important '* to the whole learned world;" not however such slovenly lists as were furnished by Trinity College to the Commissioners of Records, but real guides to the contents of each volume. The same love of literature, and desire for its diffusion, marked the Irish Catholic Clergy, under more recent persecutions, as distinguished that order during the northern ravages that afflicted it in a pecuhar degree, in former ages. Thus, we find them, when forced by most cruel laws from their native land, still clinging to the anxiety to provide instruction for their countrymen; and, for that purpose, making exertions such as never were excelled or equalled by any other body of men since the beginsing of the world, and that too, under the pressure of most galling privations and afflictions. In the execution of such desires, their first care, whenever they could obtain a settlement in any foreign country, was to establish an institution to educate teachers, who proceeded, when properly qualified, to their country, to perform their offices in defiance of many dangers, or rather of many certain injuries. Upwards of twenty such institutions for instruction were establish- ed by them on the Continent of Europe, since the reformation ; being a greater number than have been established by the Pro- testant Hierarchy, for such purposes, throughout this island, since that event placed the wealth of the Church in their possession. Thus did those Irish Priests manifest their fitness to succeed the great men, who obtained for their country such high reputation, in distant ages ; and thus has the love and the promotion of science been uphekl, by that much injured order, in calumniated Ireland, for a longer period than any other people the world can boast of. I do not make this assertion in vilification of other nations, but in defence of our own; and, if my zeal has led me to ex- il ♦. ; ♦ r 23 ceed our just pretensions, the fact can be set right by persons better informed on such subjects than 1 am ; at the same time, I apprehend, that the more fully the subject is enquired into, the more cortiplete wiU be my own justification, and the triumph of my country's fame. 1 think that it fairly results from these facts and observations, that there is no disinclination on the part of our people to receive instruction, or on the part of our Clergy to communicate it. I trust that 1 may now be permitted to insist, that I have redeemed the pledge with which 1 set out, of proving the claims of Ireland, and of this place in particular, upon the gratitude and generosity of Britons ; and I am scarcely less anxious to have it considered, that I have done so, ^vlthout offending any national or religious feelings. Should your British fellow-subjects be disposed to cherish an interchange ot liberality between the two islands, you will, by this appeal, afford them a favourable opportunity for the indulgence of such dispositions. Proceed, then, with alacrity: justice and honour, and gratitude, and generous, pride must plead on your behalf, ^nd I do not think that they will plead in vain. . , . -. i ^ * Mr. Mac Donnell's adchess* was received with the most flat- tering marks of approbation. He then submitted the follow- ing series of resolutions to the consideration of the meeting, which were severally moved, and seconded, and unanimously adopted : — 1. That the Population of this Parish amounts to nearly three THOUSAND Souls, but is so generally destitute, that no sufficient funds can be raised, amongst us, towards erecting a School-House, a decent or convenient place of Worship, or an Enclosing Wall around the Burial Ground, wherein the remains of many Noble, Learned, and virtuous Britons lie interred, and are now, daily, subject to be disturbed. 2. That it appears by the writings of learned Historians, parti- cularly English, by the ancient records of Ireland, and by the national and local traditions, that this ancient Monastery and College of Mayo, and the adjoining lands, were originally granted, many centuries ago, to provide maintenance and education tor N atives of England ; and that they were so used and enjoyed by them and their Successors, of the same Nation, so long as the Government ot Ireland was administered by CathoUc Irishmen. 3. That, resting upon such claims to British gratitude, and such inducements to British generosity, we will present respectful 1 eti- tions to our Beloved Sovereign, and to both Houses of Parliament, humbly praying aid towards our objects ; and, as we lately experi- enced the bounty of our British FeUow Subjects, when our physical privations were exposed to their benevolent view, we cannot doubt but we shall obtain similar consideration, when our present appeal and condition shall be made known to them. 4. That we respectfully entreat his Royal Highness the Duke of .}iSi£ia£M^MiSSSi^^SMM- 24 Sussex to present our Petition to the House of Lords, and to support it with the information upon such subjects, for which that Illustri- ous Prince is so eminently distinguished ; and that our Petition to the House of Commons be confided to that great Advocate of Irish Claims, Henry Brougham, Esq. whose ardour in the diffusion of science and liberality secures to us his support. 5. That we respectfully solict our kind friend, John Smith, Esq., M. P. whose name never can be absent from the grateful hearts of the Irish Poor, and that excellent Englishman, Edward Blouxt, Esq., Secretary to the CathoHcs of Great Britain, to col- lect and receive contributions, on our behalf ; and that, in request- ing those gentlemen to associate for this purpose, we are governed by the perfect conviction, that no two could be found more disposed to assist in the promotion of any measures intended for the benefit of our Country. 6. That we request our revered Archbishop, the Most Rev. Dr. Kelly, our Reverend Pastor and Chairman, and our worthy neigh- bour Alexander Coghlan, Esq., to accept the oflice of Joint Trustees and Treasurers, for the receipt and management of such funds as may be raised. PUBLISHING BY JAMES RIDGWAY, r y^nd which may be had, by Order, of every Bookseller in the United Kingdom. Printed b7 Edward Baines and Son, Leeds. THE SPEECHES OF THE RIGHT HON. GEORGE CANNING, corrected by Himself; with a Memoir of his Life, By R. Therry, Esq., of Gray's Inn, Barrister at Law ; illustrated by a fine Portrait, Fac-similes of his hand-writing, a Plate exhibitive of his mode of correcting and revising his Speeches, &c., in two important passages from the celebrated one on Portugal : 6 vols. 8vo. £3 12^. « A biographical memoir of the most illustrious statesman and accomplished orator of our age, prefixed to the only authentic edition of his Speeches, has far superior claims to notice and credit over any of those ephemeral and hur- ried sketches of his life, which, without authority, and for mere abject pur- poses of lucre, have been thickly palmed upon the public attention. * * * It embraces the essence and substance of all the truth that (except it should be through the aflfectionate and venerating zeal of personal friends or kindred,) will, probably, ever be told of the life of George Caninng r— Monthly Review. « We recommend this edition of Mr. Canning's brilliant, splendid, and statesmanlike Speeches, as the noblest literary memorial that can be preserved of him." — Literary Gazette. « This excellent and valuable edition of Mr. Canning's Speeches, by Mr. Therry, contains, among other things, a remarkable instance of the applica- tion of the new process of typolithography. There is, in the first volume, a fac-simile of the proofs of the celebrated Speech on the affairs of Portugal, with all the corrections made by Mr. Canning. Every mark which he made in the letter-press, every reference, and every word written on the margin, is represented as it appeared in his hand- writing in the proofs." §.«' .1 L \ ft- Valuable Works now Publishing hi/ J. Ridgway. THE SPEECHES OF THE H0\. THOMAS (afterwards LORD) ERSKINE, when at the Bar, on Subjects connected with the Liberty of the Press, and against constructive Treason : 5 vols. 8vo. £2 10*. " These Speeches, stored as they are with the soundest political doctrines^ the first moral sentiments, and the pure, t oratorical beauties, arc calculated eminently to enlighten, and permanently to please — they are qualified to make men not only wiser, but better — to expand their views, to study their principles, and to ameliorate their hearts — to teach them to pursue the dictates of duty at every pain and peril, and to uphold the interests of humanity in \^ every sphere and season." — Jloruing Chronicle. u We take the opinion of the country, and of every part of the world wher? the languajife is understood, to be that of the most unbounded admir\ THE SPEECHES OF THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES JAMES FOX in the House of Commons, with a correct^ Portrait by Opie : 6 vols. £4 Ss. 1^ A HISTORY of the PENAL LAWS against the IRISH CATHOLICS, from the Year 1G89 to the Union. By Sir * Henry Parnell, Bart. M. P. Fifth Edition, 3*. (yd. boards. PAPER MONEY, BANKING, aud OVERTRADING ; including those parts of the Evidence taken before the Com- mittee of the House of Commons, which explain the Scotch System of Banking. By Sir Henry Parnell, Bart. M. P. Second Edition. 8vo. 5*. Gd.