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Show IS 100 JTEARS 0L0 REV. MOYNIHAN, PRIEST IN CHI-CAQO, CHI-CAQO, TURNS CENTURY MARK. Refuses to Disclose His Exact Age Is Still Very Active and Reads With-out With-out the Aid of Glasses Was Born In Ireland. Almost n century In tho. service of his church, 70 years of which havo elapsed since he wns ordnlncd a priest, nnd yet to be nblo to celebrate mass before an altar constructed In his own room, Is tho proud record of Very Rov. Canon Jcrcmlnh Moynlhan, who now makes his homo with friends at 193 Thirty-ninth street. Just exactly how old this grand old priest Is remains a secret which ho guards as carefully as does n coy maiden maid-en who has passed that mystic birthday birth-day when women would rather remain silent than divulge their age. Ho admits ad-mits that ho was born In 1808, but says that he will not tell any man, woman or child tho exact dato of his birthday. "They'd make a fims about it," ho says, "and that would be useless." "Old Fnthor Jerry," as ho Is familiarly famil-iarly known b thousands of admirers, says ,to live long and keep good health ono must eat ami sleep regularly, ohun tobacco nnd liquors nnd banish -.worry. Canon Moynlhan Is ncttve, ho cats well, ho sleeps well, ho laughs oh, so heartily and ho declares that ho can place a man of 70 on his back In a twinkling. Were it not for his advanced ad-vanced ago, he says he would have been a bishop, and vory likely the archbishop arch-bishop of New Orleans. He Is not at all discouraged with life, hut bccs humor hu-mor In everything possible. lie to-day looks llko a man of 70, and acts llko ono. When a baby the people of his home town of Kanturk, County Cork, Ireland, were still talking of tho sac-rlflco sac-rlflco of Itobort Emmet, and thero was a whisper here and thero of tho "wear-Ing "wear-Ing of tho grcon," but It hnd to bo only n whlspor. Tho rebellion of ten years previous still was on every Irish tongue. Canon Moynlhan wns born Into nn ntmoHphcrc of revolution. Ills baby lips learned tho syllables of every Irish song that moves n Celt to action. Tho sight of a red cont wns both a horror and an Indlgnntlon from tho moment his baby eyes learned to discriminate colors. "I mind them still," said Canon Moy-nlhnn Moy-nlhnn In nn Interview. "I mind the soldlory well. That's 90 years and more ago. I'll never forget them If I live DO years more." Canon Moynlhan Is rugged, deop-cliested, deop-cliested, and must hnvo been of groat physical strength in his day. He has plenty of gray hair about his temples, hut tho upper hend Is bald. With n hundred years of handicap, ho sees tho Joko long beforo you do. When you knit your forehead to find out the fine point, you seo htm laughing at you under his shaggy brows, "What plnco In Ireland did you come from?" ho snapped out suddenly whllo being Interviewed. "What's that you camo from Now York? Suro, It's the sanio thing. They used to call It the County Croker. I hear It's tho County Murphy now." "Spectacles? What's that? You wnnt to Insult a man who bears his 100 years with honor? Spectacles? What aro the llko for? I can seo through you so ensy I'd novor need thorn. What's that? I In, ha, ha! I never havo used them, and thank God I know my brovlnry from end to ond without neodlng them." Ho mndo a trip to Ireland many yoars ago and brought back from Dublin Dub-lin live Sisters of Chnrity, who took up tholr labors in Amorlca. Dosplto his Brent ago, ho colobratod mass at tho Church of tho Holy Angels An-gels two years ago. Ueforo coming to Chicago ho was rector of a parish nt riradford, 111. For CO years ho llvod in New Orleans, whoro ho was mado a canon. Ho speaks six Innguages. |