LOST OPPORTUNITIES OF THE IRISH GENTRY

From Irish Ideas by William O'Brien, 1893

Page 28

LOST OPPORTUNITIES OF THE IRISH GENTRY

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and contains no taint or germ of that crazy Continental fanaticism which assails the Altar as ferociously as the Bastile, which breaks up the very foundations of society, defiles the sanctity of the Christian household, breaks down the glorious faith and hope that surround this fleeting world with the wonders of eternity, and counts the very Author of the Universe among the enemies of man. From this bleak abyss we have been saved by the deep and yearning spirit which teaches the Irish people that, even when all has been done that human devotion can do to reward industry, to alleviate suffering and brighten human life, there still remain in this wondrous spiritual nature of ours aspirations and capacities which will never be satisfied in this material world, and which will never consent to be stifled in the grave. We have been saved, furthermore, by the enlightened fortitude of some of those who have guided the religious life of Ireland, one of whom is not far away from us here to-night, and the other whose name will be honoured by the Irish race as long as the Rock of Cashel stands amidst the smiling plains of Tipperary. These men have identified religion, not with the privileges and the oppressions of the rich, but with the cause of the poor and the hopes of the oppressed. They have shown that no measure of equality among men, no struggle to exorcise the demons of selfish monopoly and luxury which have hitherto cruelly darkened the lives of the people, can be too bold or too sweeping for the religion of Him whose life of infinite piety was spent among the lowly, and whose inspired Apostles were chosen from the fisherman's hut and from the carpenter's bench, and not from the palaces of kings and nobles. Irish democracy in our day is in fact no new thing, but a return to the old golden days of … continue reading »

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