OCR Text |
Show IRISH LANGUAGE WORK. I The annual observance of Feile Naq-imh Naq-imh Brighde (festival of St. Brigld) was held at the parlors of the Gaelic society, 64 Madison avenue, last Wednesday evening, and was one of the most successful suc-cessful gatherings ever held under the auspices of the society. As early aa 8 o'clock every chair was occupied, and during the entire evening fully one-half one-half of the audience were compelled to stand. . . The programme-commenced at 8:30 o'clock with a short address from the President, Major E. T. McCrystal. on the necessity for and the value of observing ob-serving appropriately every 'old Irish festival as1 one of the instruments to be employed in combatting the spirit of Anglicism. The first number on the card was a quartet, "Let Erin Remember the Days of Old," by Mrs. Helen O'Donnell, Miss M. Daly and Messrs. O'Mahony and Magee. and it was beautifully rendered. "I'm Alone," from the opera of "Lily of KUIarney," was so pleasingly rendered by Miss Daly. that she was; compelled to give "KUIarney" as an encore. Mr. Edward O'Mahony sang in Irish, "Drink to Her" and "The Harp," and in English, "Who Fears to Speak of '98?" Mrs. O'Donnell's rendering of "Like the Bright Lamp That Shone in Kil-dare's Kil-dare's Holy Fane" was rapturously encored, en-cored, an;l he responded in Irish with I : "The Fair Hill of Holy Ireland." Mr. Henry Magee sang the " Snowy-breast -j ed Pearl"' in Irish; Mrs. Pierce Kent recited "A Legend of the Blarney Stone." The other numbers consisted of a quartet, "Softly, Yre Night Winds"; j duet, "Is Truagh Gan Peata an Mhavir Agam." and "The Wearing of the Green" by Mrs. O'Donnell. I Mr. William J. Balfe read a splendid J paper on the "Life and Times of St. I Biigid." Major McCrystal made a I strong plea for support of the Irish i language movement, not only by those I cf Irish birth, but alao by Irish-Americans, illustrating the value of such by incidents in the history of Poland, Greece, Hungary. Wales and Germany. Mr. John Casey, President of the Philo-Celtic Philo-Celtic society, ako delivered a splendid address in Irish. The members were delighted with a visit from an eld friend and co-worker in the movement, Miss Maud Gonne.' The Gaelic society meets every Wed nesday evening for the study -of the Irish language and history and the cultivation cul-tivation of Irish music, literature and custoir.5. Every Irishman and woman should be a member, and particularly these who speak Irish should learn to reacJ and write it if they do net already know how. That is the best way to preserve and perpetuate Irish as a living liv-ing tongue. . The best evidence of the awakening of interest in Irish music as a result of the splendid Feis-Ceoils of the Oae-lic Oae-lic society for many years past and the lectures on Irish music by a member of the society, Mrs. Helen O'Donnell, in the course of free lectures by the board of education of this city, is that the residents cf the borough of the Bronx wish to have the Feis given last October Oc-tober repeated there. Father Tandy, the patriotic pastor of St. Jerome's Church, has organized a committee for this purpose, and incidentally to assist him raise funds; to complete his new Church, and the members of the Gaelic society have been requested to prepare the programme, so that its characteristics character-istics will be purely Galic. The concert con-cert will take place at the Metropolis theatre. One Hundred and Forty-third street and Third avenue, on Sunday evening, Feb. 25. Among the artists already al-ready engaged are Miss Helen O'Donnell, O'Don-nell, Mr. Edward O'Mahony and Ireland's Ire-land's greatest ballad singer, Mr. William Wil-liam Ludwig. |