IRISH SOCIETIES REPLY TO LETTER OF MR. BRENNAN

The Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, 1914-12-02, p.7

Dateline: Butte, Mont., Dec. 1.

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  • headlineHeadline

  • reportThe letter, first column ("To the Editor of the Standard")

  • reportThe letter, second column, through the eight signatures

  • signaturesThe eight signatories, officers of Butte's Irish societies

    James Joseph "James J." Murphy

  • name as printed"JAMES J. MURPHY, County President A. O. H.", second of the eight signatories

    James Joseph "James J." Murphy

Summary

Joint letter to the editor of the Anaconda Standard, dated Butte Dec 1, 1914 — four months into World War I, when Butte's German-American and Irish-American communities were jointly being smeared by a "John F. Brennan" letter to the paper as German sympathizers (the reply's own sarcastic words about the Allied side: "fanatical Asia and savage Africa ... contending against the brave, gallant and happily triumphant forces of his imperial majesty the kaiser of Germany"). The reply is signed by **eight officers of the major Butte Irish societies**, refuting Brennan as "no such man" listed in the Butte directory and offering "John F. Brennan" a one-way ticket from Butte to the nearest British recruiting station at Calgary, Canada — i.e., putting the burden of pro-British martial sentiment on Brennan himself. The fife and drum band of the Irish societies will play "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning" to escort him to the depot. **Signatories (THE entire 1914 Butte Irish-society leadership on one document):** - W. P. M'CARTY — President Division 3, A. O. H. - **JAMES J. MURPHY — County President, A. O. H.** - JOHN H. MURPHY — President Division 1, A. O. H. - JAMES CONNOLLY — Secretary Division 1, A. O. H. - MAURICE DROHAN — Captain, I. V. - Mrs. MAMIE LENAHAN — State Secretary, L. A. A. O. H. - BERNARD CARR — Secretary, Gaelic League. - JOHN H. O'MEARA — President, R. E. L. A. (Robert Emmet Literary Association). ARCHIVE SIGNIFICANCE. (a) **The most complete single-document list of Butte Irish-society officers in any clipping in the archive.** Eight people, eight organisations / offices, one date. (b) JJM as county AOH president signing a position letter on WW1 alongside a captain of the I. V. (Irish Volunteers) (Drohan), a women's-auxiliary state secretary (Lenahan), a Gaelic League secretary (Carr), and an REL Association president (O'Meara). Lays out the Butte Irish institutional landscape complete. (c) JOHN H. MURPHY as Division 1 president, separate from JJM (Division 2 / county) — a distinct Butte AOH Murphy in 1914. JJM is on Division 2 per the Dec 1909 election clipping, while Division 1 is this John H. Murphy's domain. (d) The letter's pugnacious tone — offering Brennan a one-way ticket to the British recruiting station — is the same JJM voice the 1915 Mayor-Smith letter shows ("a few underground bigots"). His publicly-printed voice on Irish-American political subjects is consistent over the period. Surrounding clipping fragments (peripheral to this article on the same page-7 column): funeral notices for Wilfred Chatello, Charles A. Schmidt, Dennis Driscoll, Dan Callahan, Mrs. Mary Quilty — undertakers Joseph Richards, M. J. Walsh, Larry Duggan, Sherman & Reed.

In its time

Narrative

Officers of Butte's Irish societies write to the Standard answering a correspondent signing himself "John F. Brennan," whose attacks on their organizations they call scurrilous and whose name they say appears in no Irish society in Montana nor in the current directory. Declaring their sympathy with Germany against England, Russia and Japan, they publicly invite Brennan to the Standard office at 4 o'clock on Thursday, December 3, where they will furnish him a free ticket to the nearest British recruiting station at Calgary, on condition his friends bond that he proceed to the front — with the Irish societies' fife and drum band to escort him to the depot playing "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning." The letter is signed by W. P. M'Carty, James J. Murphy, John H. Murphy, James Connolly, Maurice Drohan, Mrs. Mamie Lenahan, Bernard Carr and John H. O'Meara.

  • “Our minds are made up, our policy is fixed, our determination unchangeable.”
  • “They are the craven idolators of the union jack and cannot be reasoned with.”
  • “we promise him that we shall see to it that the splendid fife and drum band of the Irish societies will be glad to escort him to the depot”

AI-generated (claude-opus-5). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

People

Also mentioned

  • John F. Brennan · subject_of_reply_likely_pseudonym

    The reply explicitly notes 'a careful perusal of the most up-to-date directory fails to reveal any such name as John F. Brennan. We are therefore of the opinion that some one has had the temerity to utilize your space to fling his abuse and slander at the membership of some of the oldest, most patriotic and respected organizations in our community.' i.e., the signatories believe Brennan is a pseudonym for someone with an anti-Irish-Catholic axe to grind. Bears watching for any later identification.

  • BERNARD CARR · secretary_gaelic_league
  • Wilfred Chatello · peripheral_funeral_notice
  • Charles A. Schmidt · peripheral_funeral_notice
  • Dennis Driscoll · peripheral_funeral_notice

    Same Dennis Driscoll attending the 1911 Silver Bow Club St Patrick's banquet? Possibly — three years later.

  • Dan Callahan · peripheral_funeral_notice
  • Mrs. Mary Quilty · peripheral_funeral_notice

Places

Themes

Story threads

Tags

Source type

letter_to_editor, news_item, list_of_officers

Related sources

Transcription
transcription: complete · confidence high
# IRISH SOCIETIES REPLY TO LETTER OF MR. BRENNAN *The Anaconda Standard, Wednesday, December 2, 1914, p. 7.* **To the Editor of the Standard:** As old-time readers of your valued paper, and as officers of the various Irish societies in this community, permit us to express our surprise at the publicity given to the scurrilous attacks on the Irish societies which we represent — societies, the history of which is so closely interwoven with that of Butte itself since its earliest days, as a straggling mining camp, down to the present hour. We have no intention of entering into an argument as to our policy with any person. Our minds are made up, our policy is fixed, our determination unchangeable. We have no desire of entering in detail into the various insinuations or misstatements of fact contained in the illogical inuendo [sic] of your correspondent who signs himself "John F. Brennan," beyond saying that if he knows as little about Germany, as his remarks indicate, as he does about the feelings of the Irish race in this country, then certainly he is more to be pitied than despised or derided. We know of no such man in any of the Irish societies of Montana, and a careful perusal of the most up-to-date directory fails to reveal any such name as "John F. Brennan." We are therefore of the opinion that some one has had the temerity to utilize your space to fling his abuse and slander at the membership of some of the oldest, most patriotic and respected organizations in our community. As American citizens, we believe that any man who prefers an alien to a national government for his native land would also be willing to impose upon his adopted country a foreign sway. To such creatures our American institutions, laws and flag make no appeal. They are the craven idolators of the union jack and cannot be reasoned with. If there be such a man in existence as "John F. Brennan," it is entirely probable that he is more than eager to be with his compatriots in this war, in defense of the high principles of "civilization" and "Christianity" for which England, Russia, Japan and the brown and dusky hordes of fanatical Asia and savage Africa are now contending against the brave, gallant and happily triumphant forces of his imperial majesty the kaiser of Germany. Sympathizing as we do with his isolated and ignominous [sic] position among the more than 20,000,000 of his race in this country, feeling that this republic would be well rid of him and anxious to put to a practical test the genuineness of his love and loyalty to England, we herewith publicly invite him to call at the Standard office at 4 o'clock Thursday afternoon (Dec. 3), where the undersigned, in behalf of the Irish organizations, will gladly furnish him with a free ticket to the nearest British recruiting station, which we believe to be at Calgary, Canada. The only condition on which John F. Brennan can procure this ticket is that his freinds [sic], British or otherwise, guaarntee [sic] a good and sufficient bond that he will proceed to the front. If Brennan accepts our offer, we promise him that we shall see to it that the splendid fife and drum band of the Irish societies will be glad to escort him to the depot, to the stirring strains of "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning," even as his prototypes, the British redcoats, evacuated Boston to the same martial strain, on that glorious St. Patrick's morning when the fires of the revolution that gave birth to the republic blazed so gloriously on the historic slopes of Bunker Hill. Trusting to be excused for encroaching on your valuable space, believe us, very respectfully yours, W. P. M'CARTY, *President Division 3, A. O. H.Irish 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 →* JAMES J. MURPHY, *County President A. O. H.* JOHN H. MURPHY, *President Division 1, A. O. H.* JAMES CONNOLLY, *Secretary Division 1, A. O. H.* MAURICE DROHAN, *Captain, I. V.* Mrs. MAMIE LENAHAN, *State Secretary, L. A. A. O. H.Irish societiesDaughters of Erin / Ladies’ Auxiliaryfrom 1894The women’s side of Hibernian life. The AOH’s national women’s body was organised in 1894 as the Daughters of Erin and later took the name Ladies’ Auxiliary.More in Key terms →* BERNARD CARR, *Secretary Gaelic LeagueIrish societiesGaelic Leaguefounded 1893Founded in Dublin by Douglas Hyde and Eoin MacNeill to keep Irish a spoken language. Branches in American cities ran language classes, dances and concerts and raised money for the work in Ireland.More in Key terms →.* JOHN H. O'MEARA, *President R. E. L. A.Irish societiesRobert Emmet Literary AssociationButte’s camp of the Clan na Gael — the secret Irish republican brotherhood in America — meeting publicly as a literary society. Its minute books record members by number rather than by name.More in Key terms →* Butte, Mont., Dec. 1.

Dotted underlines mark key terms on first mention — hover or tab to one for a reference note. The wording is the source’s own.

Open questions

  • John H. Murphy (Division 1 president 1914) — DISTINCT record needed. Two-records rule. Promote on back-pass.
  • Verify page assignment (p07 predicted from page-context; confirm against the Anaconda Standard pagination for Dec 2 1914).
  • The Brennan letter itself (one week earlier?) would be a worthwhile companion clipping to ingest if findable.