HIBERNIANS PAY ANNUAL TRIBUTE / ST. PATRICK AND GLORIES OF THE RACE RECALLED — SERMON AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH

# HIBERNIANS PAY ANNUAL TRIBUTE ## ST. PATRICK AND GLORIES OF THE RACE RECALLED — SERMON AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH *The Butte Daily Post (masthead: "THE BUTTE INTER MOUNTAIN"), Friday, March 17, 1911, p. 12. Continued from page 1. Read from the clipping image by claude-sonnet-5-5; proofed by claude-opus-5-5, 4 Oct 2026.* *The clip holds the page-12 continuation only: the opening of the article is on page 1 (not in the clip), and the lines between "military glory" and "afternoon is as follows:" run below the clip's lower edge.* (Continued from Page One.) [...] rick's and many today remembered that eventful occasion. Father Cushnahan spoke brilliantly and feelingly, and in burning words of patriotism for Ireland and loyalty to the Catholic church, called on the congregation to go on their knees before God on the alta[r?] and pray that when "we meet again next St. Patrick's day, wherever we may be (and there is no body of men in the world I would sooner meet than my old Irish friends of Butte, staunc[h?] and true), we may foregather to celebrate the fact that Ireland is free, that she has been redeemed, disenthralled and regenerated from the Saxon yoke of centuries." ### Concert at Auditorium. This afternoon at 2 o'clock the elaborate concert, consisting of Irish selections on piano and violin, Irish dancing and Irish singing by the best in the city, opened. A large attendance filled the Auditorium. John J. O'Meara, state president of the Ancient Order of HiberniansIrish societiesAncient Order of Hiberniansin America from 1836The largest Irish Catholic fraternal order in America: sick and death benefits for members, St. Patrick’s Day parades, and steady support for Irish nationalism.More in Key terms →, under whose auspices the concert was given, presided. The priests of the city were present as invited guests. Every number on the program was well received. When Very Rev. J. J. Guinan, who sang the mass in the morning, stood up to speak, he was received with cheers and loud applause. His remarks were timely and struck home a responsive chord in the hearts of his listeners. ### St. Peter and St. Patrick. Father Cushnahan in his sermon told of the commission of Christ to his apostles, and how Peter entered Rome to start on the mission of Christianizing the world. He then came down to the time of St. Patrick, whom he likened to the first apostle. In telling of the land that St. Patrick was to Christianize, Father Cushnahan said: "Oh, beautiful choir of angels, whose voices are purer than mine, let you mention that sacred word, Ireland; Ireland, thrice beaten, yet thrice triumphant; Ireland that through the ages of storm and persecution is still facing the harbor of peace and security; Ireland, the isle of saints and scholars." He described the poverty of St. Patrick as he set forth on his mission. He told of his captivity among the Irish people, years before, his being sold into slavery and his visions of the children of the Gael calling to him in the night to come and preach to them his faith, to tell them of his God, to make them his people. He featured democracy of the Catholic church, that was founded by the Carpenter's Son, and later in Ireland perpetuated by one who was once a slave. ### A Memorable Moment. "Oh, glorious moment," said Father Cushnahan, "when on the golden sands of the beautiful shores of Ireland. the feet of St. Patrick first pressed Irish earth! No more portentous moment has ever been in history! Poets and essayists have failed to describe the greatness of that day, when the greatest saint in the calendar started the crusade of Christianizing the world into all lands and unto all ages, until the angels shall tell us that time is no more. ### His Crusade Was Bloodless. "Not a drop of blood was shed in planting the cross of Christ on the hill tops, the valleys and the seashores of Ireland. So firmly planted was it that the storms of ages have been unable to shake it. "I might be asked, does the mission of St. Patrick endure? If trials, sorrows and tribulations count for aught, then Ireland has ever struggled manfully forward to the hill top of perfection. Her story is written in golden letters, and no history is greater than that of the sons and daughters of St. Patrick. Every land has welcomed them and offered them a home and a refuge, when they wandered away from the green vales of beloved Innisfail, once the Athens of the world. Again Ireland is awaking to become the home of learning, and the world will again point to it as the Island of scholars and doctors. ### Proud as a People. "We are all proud of Ireland. No people have a right to be prouder than we are. We are proud of her civilization, her refinement, her learning. We are proud of her tears, for there is no shame in them, these tears that have been shed over the graves of her countless martyred dead. And I as a priest of dear old Ireland, glory in the tears shed for Irish nationality and Irish faith. "Through weal and woe Ireland has clung to the fait[h?] of Christ. Today she is glorious at home and abroad. In faith and nationality she is one. The church of God has proven victorious, so will Ireland too. Today the English lords are trying to devise ways and means to preserve their existence." Father Cushnahan paid glowing tribute to the Hibernians, "that grand old organization whose members flung to the breeze their challenge and said that they at least were not ashamed of their race and their religion. When I look around this church and behold you Hibernians gathered here, dare anyone ask me if the mission of St. Patrick has been a failure? ### Spires Everywhere. "Look at the bright spires of the Catholic churches of New York standing like sentinels in the world's greatest mart; visit Australia, when not long ago the savage roamed; behold the churches erected all over the country, in every one of which the sweat of the Irisaman [Irishman?], and his honest dollar has been imbedded in the cement of the building. Look at your own Butte. Here are the priests of God, who have come from the Sainted Isle, with the mother's kiss on their forehead and the father's God bless you, my boy! Here we have the Bridgets of purity, the consecrated virgins like the daughters of olden Erin who have dedicated their lives to the teachings of the Christ crucified. We have the Irish mothers whose very lives are a priestly consecration on the altar of the home; we have the fair and beautiful daughters of Ireland, without spot or stain; we have the grand old organization of the Hibernians. ### A Prophecy. "Yes, and the day will come when the house of commons shall be torn to its foundation, and the tyrant's sword shall be handed back, blunted and ineffectual and the plains shall resound with the glories of a free Ireland." The speaker told of the military glory [the rest of this column is below the lower edge of the clip] [...] afternoon is as follows: Chairman—State president of the Hibernians, John J. O'Meara. Remarks and introduction by the chairman. Drill and step dance by the children of St. Joseph's school under the direction of Miss Marie Thompson. Violin selection, "Medley of Irish Airs," Miss Edna Smith; piano accompaniment by Miss Margaret Murphy. Dance, "Irish reel and jig," the Leahy brothers; violin accompaniment by Dave Gleason. Vocal solo, "The Minstrel Boy," James Murphy; Miss Marie Thompson accompanist. Recitation, M. J. Gavigan. Vocal solo, "Killarney," Mrs. Martha Collins; accompanied by Miss Katie Ronan. Speaker of the day, the very Rev. J. J. Guinan. Vocal solo, "The Singer Was Irish," Ed Lee; accompanist, Miss Katie Ronan. Recitation, Miss Imelda Kelly. Double quartet, "The Low Backed Car" and "The Dear Little Shamrock," with special musical arrangement by Al Paynter. Mrs. Fitz Butler, leader. Sopranos, Mrs. Fitz Butler and Miss Nellie Brennan; altos, Miss Verroneau and Miss Kate Earls; tenors, Al Paynter and Dick Callaway; bassos, William Sampson and Fitz Butler. Instrumental duet, violin and piano, Miss Dalling and Master Dalling. Step dance, J. J. Crowley and C. Leary. The children of St. Joseph's school taking part in the program are: Girls—Anna McCarthy, Esther McNaulton, Montana Tobin, Ivon White, Cecelia White, Mae Lyden, Louise Lenz, Margaret Egan, Isabelle Foley, Eva Laird, Mary Ronan, Kate Ronan, Marie Driscoll, Mary Elliot, May Burke, Florence Rogers and Mildred Woods. Boys—Joseph Lyden, Richard Winegardner, Tony Carroll, Donnie Manley, Herbert Winegardner, John Lyden, Ray Carroll, Peter Gallagher, James Coleman, Frand Loid, Robert Allen, John Harrington, John Lenz, Joseph Lenz, Joseph Byrnes, Roy La Raundeau and James Brackett. ### A Large Audience. The audience at the Auditorium this afternoon was the largest in the history of Butte. From all sections of the city they attended the excellent concert provided for them and at press time the crowd was so large that not a single other person would fit in the large hall, either on the ground floor or in the galleries. The decorations carried out by Jimmy Hurley of the Hennessy window dressing department were especially admired. The forefront of the stage showed a mass of potted plants rising out of a bed of green foliage. At the back the Stars and Stripes of America mingled with the green and gold of old Ireland. ### Mr. O'Meara's Remarks. In his opening remarks John J. O'Meara, state president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, commented on the fact that Irish patriotism in Butte, so many thousand miles from home, is just as alive as ever, as is evidenced by the large crowds who went to St. Patrick's church this morning and the equally large crowd that filled the Auditorium this afternoon. He said all should be proud of the old land and jealously guard its honor. He told of the aspirations of Ireland for her independence and the hopes that filled the hearts of her children for the accomplishment of those ideals in the near future. ### High Mass at Sacred Heart. Special solemn high mass was celebrated this morning at the Sacred Heart church. Father Venus was celebrant. He was assisted by Rev. Father Sullivan of Helena. Father Leschner of the Sacred Heart, and Father Pirnat of Holy Savior church, Meaderville. Father Barry of the Immaculate Conception parish preached a very eloquent sermon on the meaning of the celebration of St. Patrick's Day all over the world. ### At Other Churches. At St. Lawrence church the usual St. Patrick's day sermon was preached by Father Crawley, to a large congregation. At the Immaculate Conception church Father Barry said mass this morning and preached a sermon on the day. At St. Mary's high mass was celebrated at 9:30. The altar was beautifully decorated and the effect was enhanced by the brilliancy of the numerous electric lights. A large congregation was in attendance, and the choir did ample justice in music and song to the great feast day of the sons and daughters of St. Patrick. A very eloquent sermon was preached by Father McCormick, who, after paying a glorious tribute to the brilliant achievements of the Celtic race in spreading and upbuilding Christian civilization, pointed out the duties of the present generation to make for themselves, under the inspiration of these high ideals, a record that will compare favorably when consigned to the pages of history, which will be pursued by the descendants of our race in this great republic—the land of our adoption. --- **Page-12 right half ad (separate from the article — catalogued in this page's `peripheral_items`):** M. J. Connell Co. New Spring Furnishings FOR MEN. Blue Serge Suits, Men's Clothing — 50 suits made to sell for $18 placed on sale tomorrow for $10 each. Men's Silk Negligee Shirts $3.50. Men's All-Wool Underwear. Men's Fancy Negligee Shirts 45c. Men's Handkerchiefs 8 1-3c each. Men's Fine Dress Shirts $1.25. Men's Bandanna Handkerchiefs 5c. Men's Fine Linen Handkerchiefs 25c. Men's Fine White Initial Handkerchiefs 12½c. Men's Dress Socks, Cotton Socks, etc. M. J. Connell Co., Butte, Mont. ## Correction from the dossier pass (26 Sept 2026, Opus agent clips-c2, read from the image) The programme line reads "Vocal solo, \"The Minstrel Boy,\" James Murphy" (the machine transcription has "Duet solo, \"The Minuet Boy\""). Miss Imelda Kelly, his sister-in-law, gave a recitation on the same programme. Identity: uncertain (a plain "James Murphy"; the older namesake cannot be excluded).