An Address Delivered before the Hibernian Society and
Association of Friends of Ireland in Savannah
at the Church of St. John the Baptist,
on the Festival of St. Patrick, March 17th, 1829
by James Cullinan, a Member of Both Societies.
Printed in Savannah by T.M. Driscoll, 1829.

Savannah, March 23d, 1829.

To Dr. James Cullinan:

DEAR SIR--Having been not merely pleased, but highly gratified by your Oration pronounced before the Hibernian Society of the city on last St. Patrick’s Day; and being desirous of possessing it in a form to which they can have reference, as well as that others who could not have an opportunity of hearing it delivered, may enjoy some of the same gratification, the undersigned request that you will favor them with a copy for publication.

To the resolution of thanks which upon that day was received and passed by the Society with such unanimous evidences of gratified feelings, the mover o that resolution would have appended a request similar to the present, but for an unwillingness to draw from its Treasury any of those funds which had been contributed for the purposes of charity.

They remain with assurances of high respect,

M.W. STEWART, JOHN M’INTIRE, P. DUFFY, ROBERT W. POOLER, M.H. M’ALLISTER, JOHN B. GAUDRY, JOHN GUILMARTIN, WILLIAM ROCH, P. PRENDERGAST, WILLIAM CONDON, J.V. BEVAN, HUGH CASSIDEY, JNO. CUMMING, J. HUNTER, G.B. CUMMING, R. CAMPBELL, WY. J. HUNTER, M. HOPKINS, W.D. WRAY, L. O’BYRNE, JOSEPH STOKES, THO’S M. DRISCOLL, JONATHAN COOPER, WM. P. HUNTER

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Savannah, April 1st, 1829.

To John Cumming, Ja’s. Hunter, G.B. Cumming, R. Campbell, Wy. J. Hunter, Matthew Hopkins, Esqs. and others.

GENTLEMEN--Your flattering letter was handed to me yesterday. I feel honored by the request which you have made, and am thankful for the kind terms in which it was conveyed. As your approbation of the address which I delivered before the Hiberian Society on last St. Patrick’s Day, has given to that address a value which I did not originally believe it possessed, I have no hesitation in complying with your desire to give it publicity. Should the address, when published, happily be the means of raising the voice of a single additional freeman in favor of the most insulted and abused country under Heaven, or should it afford to you, or others of her friends, that gratification which you so obligingly anticipate from its perusal, I shall consider myself amply compensated for the trouble of its preparation.

I am, Gentlemen, with sentiments of the highest respect,

Your Obedient Humble Servant,

JAMES CULLINAN.

MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN OF THE
HIBERNIAN SOCIETY:

WHEN at the request of your Committee, I undertook to give some expression of Irish feeling before you to-day, I was perfectly aware of my inadequacy to the task, and the more so, as the time allotted for consideration of the subject, was limited. But, I was willing to contribute my mite to the celebration of this national festival, and as a distinguished and highly gifted son of Erin* had promised to give before long, the history of his country's wrongs, I knew that much would not be expected from me. I hoped too, that in what I would say, I might be able in some measure, to supply by zeal, what I might want in eloquence, and I trusted to your kindness to supply the deficiency.

We are met, my friends, in accordance with those feelings, which upon this day, congregate our countrymen in their different societies in every quarter of the globe. We are met, for the purpose of raising our hearts in humble gratitude to that Being, who sent his illustrious servant to dispel the mists of ignorance, and of superstition, in which our native country, like all other heathen nations, was once enveloped. We are met for the purpose of indulging, with an honest pride, in the recollection of that country's former greatness: of shewing, that however fallen she may have since been, we are not ashamed to avow ourselves her sons; and of proving, that however distant we may be from her shores, we are neither forgetful of her wrongs, nor unmindful of her misfortunes. We are met, for the purpose of drawing still more closely together those ties which bind us to each other, as fellow-beings, as fellow-citizens, as fellow-laborers in the cause of injured Ireland.

The all-wise Creator of the Universe has, for the best purposes, implanted the love of country in the mind of man, and he is unworthy of the name, who is incapable of feeling it, or who feeling, is ashamed or afraid to avow it. The love of country is a feeling which is interwoven in our nature; it can neither be explained by reason, nor proved by argument. It is a feeling of which every honest mind may be sensible, but which the most eloquent tongue cannot describe. It is a feeling which seems to extend to almost all nations: which is peculiar to none. It rules the Asiatic in his silks, and the Laplander in his bearskin. Ask the Arab, as faint with toil and thirst, he traverses the sandy wilds, would he exchange the hardships of his desart's wilds, would he exchange the hardships of his desart's waste, for the ease and comfort of the most fertile lands? No! dearer to him are his burning sands, sweeter the waters of his troubled wells, than all the luxury of the finest plains, the richest liquor of the luscious grape. Behold the Greenlander, content with his dreary isle, his storms of snow, and his six months' nights. See the South American cling to the greedy land, that frequently devours thousands of his race. The love of country animates the breast of the enlightened citizen, amidst the cares and ceremonies of polished life, and the untutored savage is sensible of its influence, whilst he roams through forests as wild and as uncultivated as himself.

"The Savage loves his native shore,
"Tho' rude the soil, and chill the air,
"Then well may Erin's Sons adore,
"The isle which nature formed so fair."

There is something in the love of country that elevates the mind of man above the petty considerations of self-interest; something that ennobles his soul, and shews it in its true character, the representative and image of a God. It is this love of country, which, upon the Anniversary of Ireland's Apostle, has collected us together. It is the feeling, which, upon this day, unites in social and patriotic bonds, the Sons of Hibernia, whether they be scorching beneath the burning sun of the Tropic, or shivering mid the eternal snows of the Pole. Upon this day, the successful son of Erin, whatever wealth he may have acquired by his industry, or whatever honor by his talent, recognizes the person of a friend in the humble wearer of any Shamrock that he sees; and upon this day, the most lowly wanderer from the Island of Patrick, forgets his sorrows and his cares, and only remembers that he is an Irishman. Let the cold, the selfish, and the unprincipled, affect to ridicule or despise, what they have neither the sense to understand, nor the virtue to appreciate. With such, we would enter into no explanation; for with those, we would desire to have no community of feeling, no identity of sentiment; the virtuous, the enlightened, and the patriotic of every country, will enter into our feelings, and do justice to our motives. In other countries--and thank God, in none more particularly than in this--annual festivals are the proud reminiscences of individual glory or of national greatness. But Ireland, stripped of her former splendor, persecuted and oppressed, could only commemorate her disasters and her sufferings. Her patriots are not successful heroes, whose achievements are honored in song, and recorded in story--they are martyrs to her cause, who died in a dungeon or perished on a scaffold. To praise her unfortunate sons, would be treason; to honor them, death. Unable from their own melancholy situation to shew their affection for those, who had sacrificed every thing in the attempt to establish their liberty and independence, it is not surprising that a people, who have suffered far more than any other for the sake of religion, should pay particular honor to the memory of him, who had implanted it amongst them. Accordingly, all honorable and patriotic Irishmen have long regarded the Anniversary of St. Patrick, as a day, upon which, however, they might conscientiously differ on some matters, they should unite in brotherly affection to advance the prosperity and happiness of their native land.

To enter into any lengthened detail of the labors of St. Patrick, would perhaps be superfluous, and any studied eulogium on his memory would be equally unnecessary. He has long since received the eternal reward of his virtues. He has long since been elevated far beyond all human praise, far above all earthly glory. A few particulars of his life may however be expected. Ireland cannot lay claim to the birth of Patrick: the best accounts agree in saying that he was a native of France; and if that great and gallant country had no other claim upon our affections than this, the birth-place of Ireland's Apostle would still be entitled to the lasting regard of her sons. Although believed to be of a respectable, if not of a noble family, yet being brought a captive to Ireland, his occupation in his youth was of a very humble nature, and such as fitted him to be a laborer in the same cause with those lowly fishermen, whom the great founder of christianity, as if to shew the insignificance of the high, and the mighty of this world, had especially chosen as his favorite disciples. After attending to cattle for a few years, Patrick was released form captivity and went into France, whence, after some stay and much study, he proceeded to Rome, wherein the year 432, he was consecrated to Bishop, and appointed by Pope Celestine to take charge of Ireland. Although Christianity had been introduced to Ireland prior to the mission of Patrick, yet to him, the great merit of establishing it there, is undoubtedly due. He met with but little opposition, and if we except an imprisonment of a few days, with no personal violence. His exemplary piety and amazing zeal were soon amply rewarded. In less than five years, having converted the King of Munster and Connaught and most of their subject, we behold him received with the highest honors, and seated amongst the learned men at the great national assembly at Tara. This was a triennial convention established about 1300 years before the renowned monarch Ollam Fodlah. One of the chief duties of the sages who attended, and with whom St. Patrick acted, was to examine the antiquities and annals of the country. Thenceforward, the progress of the Saint was uninterrupted and rapid. He converted the entire island to christianity, placed the Irish Church upon a permanent foundation, and erected houses devoted to religion, and to science, throughout the land. Death closed his long and useful life in the year 496.

Ireland, which even for centuries before its conversion to christianity, had been highly distinguished for learning, became now, from the admirable system of education and discipline established by St. Patrick, renowned for literature throughout Europe; and the youth of the most respectable families repaired thither for instruction. The venerable Bede says that numbers of his countrymen, the Anglo Saxons, who went to Ireland, were maintained, taught and furnished with books, without fee or reward. It is well known that Alfred, the wisest and best monarch that ever wielded the English sceptre, received his education in Ireland; and that King Oswald applied to that country for learned men to teach his people the principles of Christianity. Nor was it to England alone, that Ireland sent her sages to diffuse the blessings of education. A writer under Charles the Bald of France, says "why should I mention Ireland, almost the whole nation despising the dangers of the sea, resort to our coasts, with a numerous train of philosophers." These are honorable testimonials of the learning of our ancestors; and when we couple these facts with that law, which obliged all natives who contemplated a removal to another part of the country, to give due and public notice of their intention, lest the stranger and the traveller should be disappointed of that kind reception and entertainment, to which the law considered them by social claim entitled, we can readily account for the amazing number of young men who attended at their schools, and can easily believe, that at one college nearly five, and at another, seven thousand students were at one time instructed. Ireland continued for upwards of four centuries after the death of St. Patrick, to be the sun of literature, from which the light of science and the rays of knowledge were communicated to the world. The descents of the Danes, at length called away to the youth of Ireland from the pursuits of science, to the defence of their territory; and never was more convincing testimony given of this truth, that the education of a people is the surest bulwark for the liberty of a country. The Northern Barbarians had overrun, or made settlements in, most of the kingdoms of Europe, and had subjected to their sway, the neighboring island of England. Still the Danes though daily receiving fresh inforcements, were able to make but little progress in Ireland, and in the bloody battle of Clontarf, one of the most desperate and hard-fought of ancient times, the renowned warrior Brion Boroihme, nearly annihilated their forces. Forty thousand of the vanquished are said to have fallen on the ocean's shore, or to have perished in its wave. Amidst the general subjugation of Europe, Ireland maintained her independence, and became now as famous for her valour, as she had been for her learning. But the ‘ra of Ireland's misfortune now approaches. Their frequent conflicts with the Danes, aroused the martial fire of the Irish, and gave them a distaste for literature, and the quiet occupations of social life. The division of the island into a number of independent principalities, gave much room for jealousies, and afforded but too frequent opportunities for the indulgence of this dangerous and turbulent spirit. We cannot then be surprised that in little more than a century after the rout of the Danes at Clontarf, internal dissention should accomplish what foreign force had failed to effect. The Irish quarrelled amongst themselves, and whilst some espoused the cause of virtue and of their country, others unfortunately supported the unhallowed designs of a sceptered ruffian. Dermod King of Leinster, taking advantage of the absence of the Prince of Breffny from his home, induced his wife to break her vows and her allegiance, and to accompany him to his capital. The outraged husband flew to arms, and applied to O'Conner, the monarch of Ireland, for assistance, which was cheerfully afforded. To screen himself from the punishment of his guilt, Dermod called in the English. Thus the profligacy of an individual eventually destroyed the liberties of a nation. Ireland was conquered, literally conquered by herself. The English, who in the reign of Henry the 2d, landed at Waterford, scarcely amounted to 3,000 men; a force, which unsupported by the natives, would have been utterly inadequate to the subjugation of even a petty Prince of the country. Notwithstanding the divisions amongst the Irish themselves, and the constant influx of troops and settlers from England, the dominion in Ireland during the reign of Henry, and for upwards of 400 years later, did not extend beyond what is called the "Pale," which only comprehended some of the chief seaports and a few counties contiguous to the capital. Beyond the "Pale," the native chieftains still held sway and acted as independent sovereigns. Scarcely had Henry obtained a footing in the country, when, conscious of his weakness and of his inability to maintain his newly acquired possessions, against the active opposition of a united people, he commended that system of division which his successors have, with such persevering cruelty, followed up to the present day. At the same time that the new comers artfully fomented dissensions amongst the natives, they seized every opportunity of insulting and oppressing them. Henry had given those Irish chieftains who had submitted to him frequent assurances of his favor and protection, yet we soon find him shamefully violating his promises, depriving them of their honors and possessions, and bestowing both upon his Norman followers. His example was considered by his successors worthy of their imitation. They appear even to have vied with each other in acts of wanton and atrocious barbarity. Severe laws were passed against those who should attempt to teach the Irish language, and against English subjects who would form alliances or marriages with the Irish, who would take an Irish name, or use the Irish language or apparel. The murder of what was called "a mere Irishman," might be committed with impunity. Nay in many instances, the most inhuman encouragement to murder was held out by the law. One act authorized any subject of the King to kill, by day or night, any Irishman whom he, upon mere surmise, or actuated by private pique, might choose to suppose going to rob or steal, and if the head of the man, thus murdered, were cut off and carried to the portreeve of the county town, and the portreeve was obliged, under a penalty of œ10, to give a certificate of the receipt of the head, upon the strength of which certificate, the murderers could levy a certain sum of money of every house and ploughland in the Barony. But the most intolerable grievance of all was that, which gave to the military the privilege of free quarters. Soldiers were allowed to live on, plunder, and in every way insult and outrage the people. Sir John Davies, Attorney General to King James I, whose official situation gave him the best opportunity of knowing the true state of the country, and who, from his connexion with those in power, cannot be suspected of partiality for the oppressed, uses these words-- "This was indeed the most heavy oppression that ever was used in any Christian or Heathen Kingdom; and this crying injustice did draw down as great or greater plagues upon Ireland, than the oppression of the Israelites did draw upon the land of Egypt: for the plagues of Egypt, though grievous, were of short continuance, but the plagues of Ireland lasted 400 years together." And he notices a saying, that "though it were first invented in Hell, yet if it had been used and practiced there as it had been in Ireland, it would long since have destroyed the very kingdom of Belzebub." Much more recently, even Leland, in many instances the gross calumniator of Ireland, forgetting the prejudices of the historian, in the honest feelings of the man, declares that "these barbarians by their horrible excesses, purchased the curse of God and man." Such was the barbarous system of oppression exercised against the Irish, for no other crime than that of being the original inhabitants of the island. The idea of thus placing a country beyond the pale of legislation, and of making outlaws of a whole people, is monstrous and inhuman; and yet, this was the system acted on for 400 years--happy would it have been for Ireland, had it ceased even then!

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